NIT-T team works to recycle combustible waste mined from Ariyamangalam dump

NIT-T researchers are innovating methods to recycle combustibles from landfill waste, promoting sustainability and reducing environmental impact.

Researchers at the National Institute of Technology–Tiruchi (NIT-T) are working on developing scalable methods to convert plastics mined from landfills into reusable raw material.

The researchers, led by S.T. Ramesh, professor of Civil Engineering, with team members G. Saravanan (Prime Minister Research Fellow) and Siddharthan (M. Tech. Scholar), are looking to use the combustible portion of bio-mined waste known as Refuse Derived Fuel (RDF), sourced from the Ariyamangalam dumpyard.

Over 1.05 lakh tonnes of RDF has been mined from legacy waste in the Ariyamangalam yard. Around 7.6 lakh cubic metres of waste has been scientifically processed, reclaiming roughly 39 acres of the sprawling 47.7-acre site under the initiative of the Tiruchi Corporation.

Much of the RDF is transported to cement factories across several States where it replaces fossil fuels in industrial kilns, cutting emissions, and reducing landfill burden.

A significant portion of RDF consists of mixed plastic waste material that were once considered too dirty or too complex to recycle. Regulatory changes allow recycling of all types of plastic waste provided proper sorting and cleaning are carried out.

The NIT-T team is piloting waterless “dry washing” methods using fluidised sand to remove dirt. This technique has achieved high cleaning efficiency and allows the sand to be reused, making the process more sustainable.