CSIR-National Chemical Laboratory (CSIR-NCL), Pune, celebrated National Technology Day on May 11, 2022. On this occasion, Shri Vidyut Mohan, Co-Founder and CEO of “Takachar” rendered the National Technology Day Lecture on the topic “Harvesting value from Agricultural and Forest waste.”
Shri Vidyut Mohan started with an overview of his journey, explaining how he turned from an engineering student to an entrepreneur. He briefly informed about the waste generated in the agriculture and forest sector and its issues. He threw light upon the crop residues, their harvesting, problems, and opportunities in the industry. More than Rs. 9 lac crore worth of crop and forest residues are burned at a global level in the open space every year. Farmers cannot sell hugeagrowaste due to several reasons and eventually burn it causing catastrophic consequences for human health and the environment. The burning of agricultural waste causes air pollution, reducing life expectancy by a decade in some areas.
Shri Vidyut informed that his company has developed a low-cost, small-scale, portable technology that works in coordination with the tractors on remote farms. The machine converts crop residues into sellable bio-products like fuel and fertilizers. He asserted that it could reduce smoke emissions by up to 98%, which will help improve the air quality. If scaled, it could cut a billion tons of CO2 per year, and it will be a milestone in the fight against climate change. He shared valuable information on logistics challenges, current paradoxes, and solutions. Using a novel concept called oxygen–lean torrefaction, his company has designed portable equipment to convert waste biomass into solid fuel, fertilizer, and other valuable chemicals. This technology significantly reduces the logistic cost of hauling loose, wet, and bulky biomass. Shri Vidyut highlighted the applications of this novel technology and shared the positive impacts of how it will increase the income of rural communities by 40% by creating a market for residues.
Earlier, Dr Ashish Lele, Director, CSIR-NCL, welcomed and introduced the speaker Shri Vidyut Mohan to the audience. He also informed all about the importance of the National Technology Day.
