IIT Bombay converts garden waste into fuel pellets to power student meals

Fallen leaves help provide sustenance for over 1200 students at IIT Bombay. With the support of the startup Infixen, funded by IIT Bombay, nearly two tons of daily garden waste are being converted into fuel pellets used to power the kitchen in Hostel 16.

This innovation has allowed for a 60% reduction in liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) consumption, helping to cook food for more than 1200 students. The same garden waste, which previously cost the institute almost 50 lakh rupees annually for transportation, is now being transformed into a valuable energy resource.

Thus, IIT Bombay is transforming discarded leaves into a sustainable solution, turning waste into cooking fuel.

The Indian Institute of Technology Bombay (IIT Bombay) provides meals for over 1200 students using organic waste.

With support from the startup Infixen, funded by IIT Bombay, nearly two tons of garden waste are converted daily into fuel pellets for cooking.

Thanks to this innovation in Hostel 16, meals are prepared for 1200 students, while the consumption of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) is reduced by 60%. Previously, the campus spent about 50 lakh rupees annually solely on transporting garden waste.

Now, the same leaves are used to power the kitchens, demonstrating that sustainable solutions can be implemented directly on the IIT Bombay campus.

The Indian Institute of Technology (IIT Bombay) is transforming garden leaves into fuel for cooking, providing breakfast, lunch, and dinner for 2000 people and reducing liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) consumption by 60%.

India imports about 60% of its LPG, much of which passes through the Strait of Hormuz—one of the world's most unstable choke points. If supplies are disrupted, millions of kitchens could be left without gas. This raises the question of how Hostel 16 cafeteria at IIT Bombay prepares lunches for 1200 students using leaf granules instead of gas cylinders.

The company Infixen, funded by IIT Bombay, converts two tons of garden waste collected on campus daily into clean cooking fuel. Previously, the institute spent 50 lakh rupees annually just on the removal of this waste; now, this waste is used to feed students and staff.

The process of the plant and the cafeteria is detailed in the 'Solved in India' program from The Better India, demonstrating how this transformation occurs.