Pakistan to Get First Full-Scale Plant to Turn Crop Waste Into Clean Energy

The University of Northumbria has received nearly £1.25 million from the UK government to construct Pakistan's inaugural full-scale plant capable of transforming agricultural waste into clean energy. The Safer Plus initiative, spearheaded by the university's School of Engineering, Physics and Mathematics, involves converting cotton stalks and sugarcane residues into bio-coal pellets through a heat treatment technique referred to as torrefaction.

Each year, farmers across Punjab burn vast quantities of agricultural waste, resulting in significant air pollution and smog. This project aims to repurpose this waste into fuel while generating supplementary revenue for rural women. A women-led biomass cooperative will gather and deliver the agricultural waste. Over 120 households situated close to the plant will receive formal payments for the materials that farmers usually pay to dispose of.

At least 60% of the training slots will be reserved for women, and payments will be seamlessly transferred to their mobile wallets. The bio-coal pellets have the potential to substitute imported coal in brick kilns and textile mill boilers, at a price 40% to 50% lower than the current cost. Pakistan currently spends over $2.5 billion annually on coal imports for industrial purposes, according to project director Dr. Jibran Khaliq.

Three Pakistani textile companies have signed letters of intent to evaluate the bio-coal as boiler fuel. The project intends to transform six years of study into a commercial facility that Pakistan can emulate and scale up.