Kochi — Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Friday inaugurated Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited’s Compressed Biogas (CBG) plant at Brahmapuram, marking what he described as a major step in sustainable waste management for the state.
The facility, set up to process 150 tonnes of source-segregated biodegradable municipal solid waste daily, is expected to generate 5.6 tonnes of compressed biogas and 28 tonnes of organic manure per day. Vijayan said Kochi has become the first city in Kerala to commission a CBG plant dedicated to biodegradable waste treatment. He added that similar plants are planned in Kozhikode, Kollam, Palakkad, Thrissur and Kottayam.
The event was attended by Suresh Gopi, Minister of State for Petroleum and Natural Gas and Tourism, who said the project was the result of collaboration between the Kerala government, Kochi Corporation, BPCL and the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas. He noted that seven CBG plants are planned in Kerala as part of a national initiative to establish 195 such facilities across India under the National Biofuels Policy, 2018.
The Brahmapuram site had been burdened with approximately 3.5 lakh metric tonnes of legacy waste and drew attention following a major fire in March 2023. The Kerala High Court subsequently directed the state to implement a long-term solution.
The plant processes waste through segregation, shredding and anaerobic digestion to produce biogas, which is purified and transported via pipeline to the Kochi Refinery for use as fuel. The remaining digestate is converted into organic manure.
