Foreign infrastructure development companies have proposed an environment-friendly and profitable disposal mechanism for the toxic chromium sludge generated from leather tanneries in Kanpur.
The proposal is to utilise the sludge for generating fuel to meet various industrial energy requirements like boilers and kilns.
A French firm, A2Z Infrastructure, and another Britain-based company have taken the initiative in this. Officials of Clarke Energy have visited the sludge dumping site in Ruma and have taken some samples with them for testing and analysis.
“The preliminary testing has been found to be successful,” said D P Singh, general manager of the Ganga Action Plan in Kanpur.
Singh told Business Standard experiments had established that mixing a special kind of powder increased the calorific value of sludge, which made it highly suitable to use as fuel. “We are examining the details of the proposals put forward by the interested companies,” he added.
These companies are planning to set up private plants for energy generation from this dumped waste, which will also solve the huge problem of waste disposal currently plaguing the city.
The prepared fuel is expected to be cheaper than conventional fuels like coal. The companies will design and perform turnkey installations and commit to long-term maintenance contracts guaranteeing availability.
The substitute fuel would be prepared by mixing the brickets of the chromium sludge with a specially prepared powder, which will make it usable for energy purposes. The prepared fuel can be used for meeting energy requirements in cement factories and brick kilns, thus saving huge costs and saving fossil fuels.
“The project however is still in its evolutionary stages,” added Singh.
The initiative can prove a boon for the farmers of Jajmau area of the city and provide a viable solution to the problem of polluted groundwater in the city. Recently, in the latest survey of UPPCB, the ground water was found to breach pollution level hundred times more than permitted.
The waste water from tanneries is treated in common treatment plant following which the solid waste sludge generated is disposed untreated in outskirts of city. This waste chromium reaches and contaminates the groundwater. Sometimes it catches fire also and proves a threat to neighbouring people.
