Agency:News18Hindi
Last updated:
There was a teacher in Kalahandi, Odisha, but in 2007, he quit his job to do paddy business. Even everything was fine but a new twist in his story came when he did an innovation. This makes them …Read more
In your mill, Vibhu changing rice husk into silica’s gaelie. (Photo Cretid: The Better India)
New Delhi. This is the story of Bibhu Sahu. But it is a little different from other stories. Bibhu is from Kalahandi of Odisha who lived in the news for a time due to starvation. There was a teacher in the same Kalahandi, but in 2007, he quit his job to do paddy business. Even everything was fine but a new twist in his story came when he did an innovation and earned Rs 20 lakh annually. The website of Bibhu, which converts rice husk into “black gold”, has been published by website The Better India.
“Kalahandi is the second largest producer of rice in Odisha. There is about 50 lakh quintals of paddy cultivation every year. After the paddy business, I also decided to step into the rice mill business in the year 2014. There are dozens of para blowing companies, which treat rice. It produces a large number of husk. It is produced here every day. But after the husk was thrown in an open place, it was a lot of damage to the environment after the wind.
I could not understand anything. Then, I did some research. I came to know that rice husk can be used as a thermal insulator in the steel industry. It contains 85% silica. Therefore, it is quite good for use in steel refractor. In this way, when burnt husk is used in the boiler, it does not cause too much pollution due to high temperatures.
He had done research but the real problem was its implementation. Then I somehow raised money and also visited an Egyptian steel company. With a sample, he proposed to that company. He showed his interest and asked if it could be made available as powder. I said it would be difficult, because it can fly in the air. Then, after much deliberation, it was decided that the husk would be exported to a bullet.
I had come to talk to the company but a new challenge came to light. I did not know how the bullet is made from it. So I called experts from many states like Maharashtra, Gujarat, West Bengal. However, no results came out. Also contacted a poultry farm to understand the process of making the palette. However, this effort also went in vain.
For the next few months, I just put all my resources on research. I thought my concept is not practical and I almost gave up. But, at the same time, one of my staff sought some time to resolve it. After this, he went to his village and came with four people. Then, with his help we did some experiments and we succeeded. Initially it took a few weeks to make the palette in the right size. Our pellets were in shapes of 1 mm to 10 mm. Now I wrote emails to companies from France, Germany, Italy, South Korea, Australia, Taiwan and United Kingdom to consume this consignment. Eventually our first batch went to Saudi Arabia in 2019.
Companies liked this product quite well, because the pellet was burnt quite well. Also, they were quite cheap and their quality was good. In the year 2019, I earned 20 lakh rupees by selling 100 tonnes of pellets. In this way, we turned the husk into black gold.
January 21, 2021, 14:51 IST