NEWS

New technology to convert waste into petroleum
The Economic Times , August 23, 2007

A small-time Mumbai-based company claimed to have developed a technology to convert waste into petroleum fuels in a cost-effective manner and is set to commercialise it, already bagging an overseas customer.

Mumbai-based Sustainable Technologies & Environmetal Projects Pvt Ltd (STEPS), which has eight engineers and three scientists working for it, has come out with a caged catalyst unit for conversion of waste into petroleum fuels.

The technology is one of the gold winners of the Lockheed Martin India Innovation Growth Programme, which focuses on commercialisation of innovative Indian technologies.

The unit developed by the one-year-old company converts hydrocarbon-based materials, including plastics, auto fluff, bio-medical waste, slaughterhouse waste, animal fats, petroleum sludge, sewage, grass, organic matter and petroleum byproducts into liquid, gas and solid fuels.

STEPS director Raghavendra Rao T said that the company had just signed an agreement with Australian firm B100 Biofuels under which the latter would use the technology for conversion of agriculture waste.

"B100 Biofuels plan to set up very large biodiesel plants in the Far-East region. They are looking at this technology for conversion of agriculture waste, particularly waste coming from palm oil mills and agricultural fields," Rao said.

"They would like to convert the waste either into methane gas or liquid fuels so that they can power electrical needs to run the plant and also meet other social needs."

Rao said the company is in discussion with five-six overseas companies to clinch similar deals. "We see huge market." According to him, prototypes of this technology has been tested in Far-East, Europe and India.