University to lead Pakistan waste-to-energy scheme

Northumbria University is set to spearhead Pakistan's inaugural full-scale plant designed to transform agricultural waste into clean energy. Dr. Shahid Rasul and Dr. Jibran Khaliq are at the helm of this initiative.

Academics from the UK university have successfully secured funding for the project, named Safer Plus. This undertaking, led by Northumbria University's School of Engineering, Physics and Mathematics, will convert cotton stalks and sugarcane waste into biofuel.

Annually, millions of tonnes of these waste products are incinerated in Pakistan's Punjab province, exacerbating air pollution and contributing to the region's seasonal smog.

The UK government has awarded nearly £1.25 million to the project, which will also create a new income stream for women in Punjab through the collection and supply of agricultural waste.

The raw materials will undergo a heating process called torrefaction to be converted into bio-coal pellets. These pellets have the potential to replace imported coal in brick kilns and textile mill boilers, offering a cost reduction of 40-50%.

Dr. Jibran Khaliq, one of the project's lead academics, stated, "Pakistan spends over $2.5 billion every year importing coal to power its industries, while millions of tonnes of crop residue are burned in fields because there is no market for it." The bio-coal pellets are anticipated to serve as a substitute for imported coal.

A key component of the project is a women-led biomass co-operative responsible for supplying the waste product. According to the university, women in rural South Punjab typically spend three to six hours daily collecting fuelwood and often work without pay on family farms.

Through the co-operative, over 120 households in the vicinity of the plant will receive a formal income for materials that farmers currently pay to dispose of. At least 60% of the project's training positions are reserved for women, with payments directly deposited into their mobile wallets to ensure independent control over their earnings.

Three Pakistani textile manufacturers have committed to trialing the bio-coal as boiler fuel.

Khaliq emphasized, "What makes this project different is that we are not proposing another laboratory study. We have spent six years developing the knowledge and now we are building a live commercial facility with three textile mills already committed to using the fuel. This is the step that turns research findings into an investable, replicable business that Pakistan can own and scale."