India’s cities face an unprecedented waste management challenge. With urban populations projected to reach 600 million by 2030, municipal solid waste generation is expected to exceed 165 million tons annually. Delhi’s Ghazipur landfill has grown to 65 meters tall—higher than a 17-story building—and continues rising. Mumbai’s Deonar occupies 326 acres of prime land worth thousands of crores. Bangalore faces nightly “waste wars” as surrounding villages refuse garbage trucks entry.
Traditional landfills are failing. They occupy valuable urban land, pollute groundwater with toxic leachate, emit methane (a greenhouse gas 25 times more potent than CO₂), breed disease-carrying mosquitoes and rodents, and catch fire regularly, blanketing neighborhoods in toxic smoke.
Incineration isn’t the answer either. Burning waste in excess oxygen creates harmful dioxins, furans, and heavy metal emissions that endanger public health. Many Indian incinerators have been shut down due to emission violations and community opposition.
The solution exists, proven globally over 25+ years: advanced gasification technology that converts waste into clean energy while reducing landfill volume by up to 94%.
What Makes Gasification Different from Incineration?
The key difference lies in the chemistry:
Incineration burns waste in excess oxygen at 850-1,200°C. Complete combustion produces CO₂, water vapor, and toxic byproducts including dioxins (formed when plastics burn in oxygen-rich conditions), furans, nitrogen oxides, and acid gases. Ash contains concentrated heavy metals requiring hazardous disposal.
Gasification heats waste in controlled sub-stoichiometric conditions (20-40% of the oxygen needed for combustion) at 800-5,000°C. Insufficient oxygen prevents complete combustion. Instead, complex organic molecules break down into simpler gases: hydrogen (H₂), carbon monoxide (CO), methane (CH₄), and carbon dioxide (CO₂). This mixture—called syngas—has roughly 50% the energy density of natural gas.
The critical advantage: Gasification’s controlled temperature and oxygen levels prevent dioxin and furan formation. The chemistry simply doesn’t support these toxic compounds. What becomes pollution in incineration becomes valuable energy in gasification.
Our 200 TPD Gasification Process: How It Works
Our facilities, powered by KANKYO Group’s proven technology, process 200 tons of municipal solid waste daily through a carefully engineered system:
Step 1: Pre-Processing and Segregation
Trommel Screens: Rotating cylindrical drums with perforations separate waste by size. Small inert materials (soil, sand, broken glass) fall through and bypass gasification. Larger combustible materials continue for processing.
Magnetic Separation: Powerful electromagnets extract ferrous metals (steel cans, iron) for recycling. We recover 3-5 tons of metal daily, generating ₹2.7-4.5 crore annually while preventing equipment damage.
Manual Sorting: Trained workers extract non-ferrous metals (aluminum, copper), high-quality recyclable plastics, glass bottles, and textiles. This employs 15-20 people per shift—often former rag pickers now in formal, safer employment with protective equipment and health benefits.
Shredding: Industrial shredders reduce remaining waste to uniform 50-100mm particle size, ensuring even heating and preventing clogs in the gasifier.
Drying: Heated conveyors using waste heat from gasification reduce moisture content from 40-60% (typical Indian MSW) to 20-25%, significantly improving efficiency.
Step 2: Gasification in Thermal Reactors
Prepared waste enters the gasification reactor—a refractory-lined chamber designed for extreme temperatures. The process occurs in controlled zones:
- Drying Zone (100-200°C): Remaining moisture evaporates
- Pyrolysis Zone (200-700°C): Volatile compounds break down
- Gasification Zone (700-1,200°C): Carbon reacts with limited oxygen
- Optional Plasma Zone (3,000-5,000°C): Plasma torches complete destruction of tars and complex organics
The result: syngas composed of 18-24% carbon monoxide, 12-18% hydrogen, 2-4% methane, plus CO₂ and nitrogen. This gas contains 4.5-6.5 MJ/Nm³ of energy.
Step 3: Syngas Cleaning
Raw syngas contains particulates, tar, and acid gases requiring removal:
- Cyclone Separators: Remove large particles through centrifugal force
- Wet Scrubbers: Water spray chambers dissolve acid gases (HCl, SO₂)
- Electrostatic Precipitators: Electric fields capture 99.5% of fine particles
- Activated Carbon Filters: Final polishing removes trace organics and mercury
After cleaning, emissions meet stringent CPCB and NGT standards: particulates <5 mg/Nm³, dioxins <0.1 ng TEQ/Nm³.
Step 4: Multi-Product Generation
Clean syngas becomes multiple valuable outputs:
Electricity (Primary Output):
- Gas turbines generate 4-5 MW
- Annual production: 20-25 GWh
- Grid sales at ₹2.7-3.2/kWh
- Revenue: ₹20-28 crore/year
Pyro-Oil (Secondary Output):
- Condensed liquid fuel from syngas
- Yield: 18-25 tons/day
- Industrial fuel for boilers, furnaces
- Revenue: ₹12-18 crore/year
Biochar:
- Carbonized residue
- Soil amendment or activated carbon production
- Revenue: ₹5-8 crore/year
Hydrogen & Oxygen:
- Electrolysis using waste-derived electricity
- 1 TPD hydrogen + 9 TPD oxygen
- Applications: fuel cells, industrial processes
- Future revenue stream as hydrogen economy grows
Recoverable Materials:
- Inert slag for construction (10-15 TPD)
- Revenue from metals and slag: ₹2-4 crore/year
Environmental Benefits: Measurable Impact
Volume Reduction: 85-94%
A 200 TPD plant processing 73,000 tons annually reduces landfill deposits to just 4,380-10,950 tons of inert slag. Over 20 years, this saves 300+ acres of valuable urban land that would otherwise become dumping grounds.
Climate Action:
Every plant prevents:
- 15,000-25,000 tons CO₂-equivalent from avoided methane emissions
- 20,000-25,000 MWh of fossil fuel displacement
- Net benefit: 35,000-45,000 tons CO₂-equivalent annually
- 20-year total: 700,000-900,000 tons—equal to removing 150,000 cars for a year
This qualifies for carbon credits generating ₹3-6 crore additional revenue.
Pollution Prevention:
- Zero untreated leachate (no groundwater contamination)
- Near-zero air emissions (CPCB compliant)
- No odors or visible smoke
- No spontaneous fires
- Enclosed processing eliminates disease vectors
Public Health:
Communities near landfills experience 40-60% higher respiratory disease rates and elevated malaria/dengue from mosquito breeding in leachate pools. Gasification eliminates these health hazards through enclosed processing and emission controls.
Economic Viability: The Business Case
Investment:
- Capital: ₹320-380 crore (approximately ₹350 crore midpoint)
- Annual Operating Costs: ₹55-60 crore
Revenue Streams:
- Tipping fees: ₹18-30 crore
- Electricity sales: ₹20-28 crore
- Pyro-oil sales: ₹12-18 crore
- Biochar sales: ₹5-8 crore
- Metals/slag recovery: ₹2-4 crore
- Carbon credits: ₹3-6 crore
- Total: ₹60-90 crore annually
Returns:
- Annual EBITDA: ₹20-35 crore
- Payback period: 10-15 years
- Equity IRR: 14-20% (with moderate leverage)
- Project IRR: 10-14% (unlevered)
With Viability Gap Funding (VGF) from government and favorable Power Purchase Agreements, returns improve significantly.
Social Benefits: Green Jobs and Community Integration
Employment Creation:
Each 200 TPD plant creates:
- 30-45 direct operations jobs (3 shifts)
- 15-20 maintenance technicians
- 10-15 pre-processing workers
- 5-10 environmental monitoring staff
- 100-150 indirect jobs (transportation, services)
- Total: 160-240 jobs per plant
Rag Picker Integration:
India’s 1.5-4 million informal waste workers face dangerous conditions—cuts from sharp objects, respiratory diseases, zero health insurance. Our projects formalize employment:
- Formal contracts with regular wages
- Personal protective equipment (PPE)
- Health insurance and medical care
- Skills training in sorting and operations
- Dignity and social acceptance
Studies show integration programs reduce occupational injuries by 70-80% and increase income stability by 40-60%.
Addressing Common Concerns
“Is gasification truly safe?”
Yes. Modern gasification with KANKYO’s emission controls achieves near-zero harmful emissions. Continuous Emission Monitoring Systems (CEMS) track stack gases in real-time. Third-party audits verify CPCB compliance. The emissions profile is dramatically cleaner than landfills (uncontrolled methane) or traditional incinerators.
“What about the cost?”
While capital investment is substantial (₹320-380 crore), cities save on expanding landfill infrastructure while generating multiple revenue streams. Municipalities already spend ₹30-40 crore annually maintaining landfills—without energy recovery. Gasification converts that expense into a revenue-generating asset.
“Can existing landfills be cleaned up?”
Absolutely. Our landfill reclamation services excavate legacy waste, segregate recoverable materials, and process organics through gasification. Remediated land returns to productive use. Cities worldwide—Germany, Japan, Singapore—have successfully reclaimed landfills using similar approaches.
Real-World Applications: Where It Works
Our technology is proven across diverse conditions:
Sri Lanka (2018): 150 TPD facility in Colombo processes hotel and commercial waste, achieving 92% volume reduction and 18 GWh annual generation with zero violations in 5+ years.
Malaysia (2020): 100 TPD industrial park facility handles electronics, textile, and food processing waste, converting syngas to methanol for chemical feedstock.
Rajasthan (2022): India’s first KANKYO-Vaigunth urban pilot (50 TPD) demonstrated 87% reduction on legacy landfill waste, securing CPCB certification.
Target Cities: Our current focus includes Ghaziabad, Okhla, Bhalswa, and Ghazipur—all facing critical landfill crises where gasification offers immediate relief.
The Path Forward for Indian Cities
India has committed to ambitious climate targets: 500 GW of non-fossil fuel capacity by 2030 and net-zero emissions by 2070. Waste-to-energy must play a central role. With 62 million tons of urban waste currently landfilled annually, the potential is enormous.
What’s needed:
Policy Support: State governments should mandate landfill diversion targets (50% reduction within 5 years, 80% within 10 years) and differential tipping fees that incentivize gasification over landfilling.
PPP Frameworks: Public-Private Partnerships distribute risks and leverage private efficiency. Municipalities provide land and waste streams; operators invest in technology and operations. Revenue-sharing ensures mutual benefit.
Community Engagement: Early consultation with waste picker communities, residents, and environmental groups prevents opposition and ensures inclusive benefits.
Financing Mechanisms: Viability Gap Funding, multilateral development bank loans, and carbon credit monetization make projects financially viable.
The technology exists. The environmental case is compelling. The economic model works. What’s needed now is political will and coordinated action to scale deployment across India’s cities.
At Zerosigma Shakti, backed by KANKYO Group’s 25 years of global expertise and Vaigunth Ener Tek’s local implementation excellence, we’re committed to making this vision reality—one city, one project, one ton of waste at a time.
Because the future of urban India depends on it.
