Fly ash helps in rapid compost process

Hyderabad: In the context of around 170 million tonnes of fly ash being generated annually by thermal power plants in the country, an innovative approach has been adopted for extenuation of fly ash hazards by the Academy of Scientific and Innovative Research of the National Environmental Engineering Research Institute (NEERI), Nagpur. There are thermal power plants in Kothagudem, Ramagundam, Jaipur (Mancherial) and Damarcharla towns of Telangana.

Two research fellows of the academy, Ashootosh Mandpe and Sunil Kumar, in a paper on the innovative approach mentioned the use of fly ash for rapid composting of agricultural and kitchen waste through an in-vessel composting system. The duo submitted the paper at the International Conference on Biotechnological Research and Innovation for Sustainable Development (Bio-SD 2018) that concluded last month at IICT in Tarnaka.

According to the paper, ‘the experimental set-up for composting comprised application of fly ash in varying proportions of 10, 20 and 30 per cent of the total volume of the substrate in 10 plastic vessels. The finished compost from all the vessels was employed for pot studies to Solanum Lycopersicum seeds, and analysis of its growth response was done in 12 pots. The first 10 pots contained the compost from the vessels, while the 11th and 12th pot contained soil and compost mixture from all 10 vessels respectively.

The final germination percentage was found maximum in pot 9 which contained the compost having 20 per cent fly ash composition, while the maximum dehydrao-genase activity was observed in pot 5. The samples were also analysed for pH, electrical conductivity, bulk density, cellulose, hemicelluloses. The use of fly ash by the researchers for rapid composting of agricultural and kitchen waste is timely, in view of the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) directing the State Boards to strictly implement the Supreme Court directive on utilisation of fly ash from coal and lignite-based thermal power plants by December 31.

The CPCB has called for mixing of fly ash in brick-manufacturing and use of ash in reclamation projects. It has noted that fly ash and toxic remains of coal and lignite-burning in power plants is full of chemicals that not only pollute local soil, air and water, but also cause harm to public health. Although the Centre has notified a policy on the use of fly ash in 2009 its implementation has been tardy. Hence CPCB has directed that non-use of fly ash generated by plants was resulting in major environmental problems.