Kochi Corporation, BPCL-KR at odds over Brahmapuram CBG plant performance

The functioning of the 150-tonne Compressed Biogas (CBG) plant at Brahmapuram remains a bone of contention between the Kochi Corporation and BPCL-KR, the plant operator, more than seven months after it was commissioned.

The Kochi Corporation complains that frequent shutdowns disrupt waste disposal and that the plant is still far from achieving its optimum capacity. BPCL-KR, on its part, blames the poor quality of waste supplied by the Corporation for the recurring breakdowns and the plant’s inability to reach its designed capacity.

Mayor V.K. Minimol contested that the agreement allowed 6% to 8% rejects of the total feed. “The proposal to establish a new plant at Brahmapuram with a capacity to treat 150 tonnes of biodegradable waste became imperative to bridge the shortfall in the treatment capacity of the CBG plant,” she said. The proposal submitted by G3 Renewables Private Limited was approved through voting amid stiff protests from the Opposition Left Democratic Front (LDF) on August 14.

BPCL-KR sources, however, maintained that poor-quality feedstock frequently clogs the machinery, forcing halt of operations to manually clear the system. “Unless people are made aware of the importance of proper segregation, the problem will persist. There have even been instances where the waste included carcasses. We do share the registration numbers of vehicles bringing mixed waste so that the Corporation can trace the areas from where it was collected,” they said.

Ms. Minimol admitted that improper segregation of waste at source in West Kochi remains a matter of grave concern. Haritha Karma Sena members engaged in waste collection will be held accountable for mixed waste, and junior health inspectors have been directed to maintain strict vigil before waste is loaded onto vehicles.

“However, improper segregation alone does not explain the large quantity of rejects generated after treatment. There have been days when the company claimed to have treated 110 tonnes of waste, but this effectively resulted in up to 40 tonnes of rejects,” she said.

At present, the Corporation does not have a facility to process these rejects. Consequently, the civic body has prioritised the establishment of a 50-tonne compost plant capable of treating them.

Meanwhile, negotiations are under way with Bhumi Green Energy, which is currently engaged in biomining legacy waste, to process the plastic fraction among the rejects.

V.A. Sreejith, the LDF parliamentary party leader, accused the UDF-led council of making a concerted effort to discredit the CBG plant to suit the interests of private parties eyeing land at Brahmapuram.

“The council’s decision to write to the Chief Minister seeking a high-level meeting to address the plant’s operational issues has not yet been acted upon. Instead, private projects such as the proposed new plant at Brahmapuram are being pushed on the pretext of the CBG plant’s operational problems,” he alleged.