Biochar fuel from Agri waste | Fusion - WeRIndia

Agricultural waste is one of the major issues in the country, as many farmers burn it after the harvest. It leads to air pollution due to toxic gas release into the environment.

Priyadarshini Karve, a scientist from Pune, spent most of her childhood in a small town in Maharashtra, where she used to see the burning of agricultural waste and its ill effects. She was wondering whether agri waste can be managed in an eco-friendly way.

She had been exploring effective ways for waste management during her graduation and post-graduation.

She wanted to convert agri waste into coal and started working on it after submitting her thesis. The Department of Science and Technology supported her research by providing grant under the Young Scientist Scheme.

She used the opportunity and developed a technology to convert agricultural waste into biochar briquettes. She also designed a stove to cook meals for a family with 100 grams of these briquettes.

She also received the international Ashden award for her innovation.

Priyadarshini modified the biochar making unit and cooking stove several times until she satisfies with the design.

The present model, Samuchit Trashflasher Kiln, helps manage garden waste in urban areas. Also, the Samuchit Steam Cooker Stove, designed for rural areas, emits no smoke and works more effectively than other firewood stoves.

Several people appreciated the efforts of Priyadarshini. However, her journey was not smooth in this process. She faced many challenges. Several people asked her why they need to use Biochar when LPG is available.

At present, low-performance biomass has been used as fuel in inefficient stoves in rural areas. But, Priyadarshini developed a technology to design high-performance fuel and effective stove. In this way, she convinced the people. Also, these stoves help solve waste management issues effectively.

Priyadarshini established a company and sold 60,000 steam cooker stoves. Each stove costs ₹3,500.

Image Credit: SuSanA Secretariat / CC BY 2.0 < >, via Wikimedia Commons

Source: https://www.flickr.com/photos/gtzecosan/13359486113/

Image Reference: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Biochar_briquettes_produced_from_artificial_faeces_by_the_Sol-Char_System_(13359486113).jpg