A beautiful environment starts with us. Keeping that in mind various entrepreneurs are making a lot of inventions to keep our environment safe. And, to encourage all those companies or individuals who work for the environment, few organizations launch prestigious awards.
One such prestigious prize is The Earthshot Environment Prize. The Earthshot Pize is a new global prize for the environment. Therefore, any individual or company who comes forward with their incredible solutions to climate change and environmental issues wins this prize.
Similarly, Prince Williams, Duke of Cambridge, and David Attenborough launched this award in 2020. However, The Earthshot Prize is a prize awarded annually to five winners from 2021 to 2030.
Vidyut Mohan and Takachar
Recently India Shared a proud moment when Vidyut Mohan bragged Earthshot Environment Prize. He won this prize for his cheap technology innovation of creating a machine that converts agricultural waste into fertilizer.
Vidyut Mohan is a Delhi-based entrepreneur and is 29 years old. He leads an Indian company, Takachar, a company that fights climate change and focuses on increasing the utilization of waste agriculture residue. Also, the company economically transforms waste biomass into marketable products. Therefore help poor communities by creating income opportunities.
Conversion of agro-waste into saleable agro-products.
Takachar has developed and patented the design of small-scale, low-cost, portable technology that attaches to tractors in remote farms. This machine converts crop residues into bio-products like solid fuel, fertilizers, and other specialty chemicals. To do this, they used a novel concept, called ‘oxygen-lean torrefaction.
Torrefaction is the process of removing moisture and volatiles from biomass, thus leaving bio-coal. Using Torrefaction reactors, Takachar turns small pockets of biomass into products that can be further used in agriculture.
Economically and environment friendly innovation
Sending waste biomass to centralized conversion facilities can cost a lot. On the other hand, Takachar’s system is more profitable, as it reduces the logistic cost of hauling loose, wet, and bulky biomass. The company buys rice husks, straws and coconut shells from farmers and turns them into charcoal.
Takachar enable farmers to make most out of the waste and earn extra income by converting stubble into value-added chemicals.
Agriculture waste is something that farmers do not burn. Therefore, it causes air pollution. This innovation in turn, prevent open burning of the residue, saving the debris from the fires. Takachar claimed that their aim is to improve air quality. However, if it scaled, it could cut billions of tonnes of carbon dioxide a year. Thus, it will help farmers to win fight against climate change.