Electricity generation from Rohingya camp waste begins

COX'S BAZAR, May 18: The Department of Public Health Engineering (DPHE) has started generating eco-friendly electricity from waste and abandoned plastic in the Rohingya camp of Cox's Bazar by using the Omni process method.

Omni process is a technology where electricity, distilled water and ash are produced from human sewage and biodegradable and non-biodegradable plastic waste through various mechanisms.

Bangladesh has entered the era of integrated power generation from waste as the third country in the world under a pilot project funded by Asian Development Bank (ADB).

The DPHE has implemented the project in Rohingya camp in Ukhia of Cox's Bazar.

Sources concerned said that 11 and a half tonnes of waste are being used in the project every day. The total production per day is 40-50 KW electricity, and also 1,200 litres of distilled water and 1,500 kg ash.

If such projects are implemented in the Rohingya camps, the environmental pollution will be controlled to some extent. About 1.4 million Rohingya people are now staying in Ukhia and Teknaf upazilas where about 12,000 acres of forest land has been destroyed for the refugees' habitation.

The environment is being destroyed due to the excrement of this huge population and the plastic waste used by them.

In the present situation, to protect the environment in the Rohingya camp and in its surroundings, the government has taken the Integrated Waste Management Project (through Omni process technology) to generate electricity from waste under the emergency aid project.

The DPHE implemented the project in Ukhia Rohingya Camp-4 extension of Cox's Bazar with the help of ADB in 2021 at a cost of Tk600 million (Tk60 crore). Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina inaugurated the project on November 10, 2023.

Executive Engineer of the DPHE, Cox's Bazar Md Mostafizur Rahman said, "The Omni Process technology is the first of its kind in Bangladesh and the third in the world. After Senegal and India, it was installed in our country."

"Our plant is fully automatic; so workforce is very less. Besides, this plant does not require any external electricity to run. We operate it with our own generated electricity. We have the capacity to generate 60-70 KW electricity per hour but 40-50 KW is now being produced per day ." he added.

"Such technology holds potential for a bright future. Another technology we have is gasifier where we produce electricity and ash from organic and inorganic wastes through gas engines. All in all we can undoubtedly say that such technology will help Bangladesh become smarter," Mr Mostafizur Rahman said.

"If we look at this from a commercial point of view, it can be said that the ash and distilled water that we produce have a lot of market value and we can make a good profit by selling them. The ash we produce here is used to make cement," he continued.

"This can be done on a large scale to supply power to the national grid. I would like to reiterate that Omni Processor is a technology that has multi-faceted benefits that will play an important role in keeping our environment safe," he said.

He also said that six tonnes of faecal sludge, five tonnes of organic waste and 500 kgs of single layer plastic are required every day to keep the plant fully operational.

As there are some restrictions in the Rohingya camp, only 10-12 hours of work can be done on the project.

The plant has the capacity to generate 60-70 KW electricity per hour, produce 1,000 to 1,200 liters of water and 1,200 to 1,500 kg ash.

If the project can be fully implemented, it will be possible to meet the monthly expenses by selling the produced water besides supplying the electricity generated here.

At the same time environmental damage can be controlled. At present, about one lakh people will be benefited from the project, said the engineer.

Mohammad Aliul Haque, plant in-charge of the project, said it is an environment-friendly technology that has multiple benefits.

"For example, if we burn plastic, huge harmful carbon and gases will be released into the environment, which is a threat to all, including the environment. But we are generating electricity from that plastic and it is completely an environment-friendly process. Zero carbon emission and green energy are our principles," he added.

Faridul Alam Shahin, joint convener of Dhoritri Rokkhay Amra (Dhora), an environmentalist organisation in Cox's Bazar, said that starting from plastics used by around 14 million Rohingya people and locals, organic, inorganic and sewage wastes are having a huge negative impact on the environment and surroundings.

The amount of waste used daily in this project will reduce environmental damage to some extent. More such projects can be taken up.

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