Rs 50 lakh from garden leaves: How IIT Bombay turned waste into cooking fuel to cut LPG cost by 60%

What if the leaves falling from trees across a campus could help cook food for thousands of students? At the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Bombay, this is no longer just an interesting idea. The institute has found a way to turn garden waste into cooking fuel, reducing its dependence on LPG while addressing a long-standing waste disposal problem. Every day, the institute generates nearly two tonnes of garden waste, including dry leaves, twigs and other organic material. Instead of collecting it and sending it away for disposal, IIT Bombay is converting this waste into biomass pellets that can be used to generate heat for cooking.


The results are significant. The initiative has reportedly reduced LPG consumption by around 60% in the kitchen of Hostel 16, which prepares meals for more than 1,200 students. The project could also help the institute save close to Rs 50 lakh annually, an amount it previously spent on transporting and disposing of garden waste.

How IIT Bombay converts fallen leaves into cooking fuel

The process begins with something that most campuses treat as routine waste: fallen leaves. Garden waste collected from different parts of the IIT Bombay campus is brought to a processing facility, where it is converted into compact biomass pellets. These pellets can then be used as an alternative fuel instead of relying entirely on conventional energy sources. According to the 2024-25 annual report of IIT Bombay's Research Hub for Green Energy and Sustainability (GESH), the institute has a dedicated biomass pelletisation plant. It can process up to two tonnes of material per shift per day. The pellets have a reported calorific value of 16-18 MJ/Nm³, making them suitable for energy generation.

But the interesting part is what happens after the pellets are produced. IIT Bombay does not simply burn them in a conventional stove. It uses a specially developed gasification system to make the cooking process more efficient.

How the biomass pellets are used to prepare food

IIT Bombay has developed an in-house downdraft gasifier that converts the biomass pellets into producer gas. This gas contains combustible elements such as carbon monoxide, hydrogen and methane. It is then directed towards a premix burner, which generates the heat required for cooking. The thermal energy produced through this process is also used to generate steam for kitchen operations. The technology offers an alternative to conventional LPG-based cooking systems while giving garden waste a productive use.

Initially, the pellets were used at the institute's staff canteen. A gasifier installed there became operational on February 26, 2025. A study conducted during the following month recorded a reduction of around 10 kg in LPG consumption every day. The technology has since moved beyond the staff canteen and is being introduced in larger kitchens, including Hostel 16.

The IIT Bombay professors behind the waste-to-fuel project

The project did not come together overnight. It involved years of research, experimentation and improvements to overcome technical challenges associated with biomass combustion. According to GESH IITB, professors Sandeep Kumar and Sanjay Mahajani initiated the project under the name 'Gasifier-based cook-stoves to manage garden waste'.

The Tata Centre for Technology and Design (TCTD) provided funding for the initiative. The idea can be traced back to 2014, when Professor Sanjay Mahajani from IIT Bombay's Department of Chemical Engineering began exploring biomass gasification as a possible solution to the institute's garden waste problem.

However, turning Indian biomass into a reliable cooking fuel was not straightforward. One major challenge was clinker formation. During combustion, ash and other residues can fuse together, creating hard deposits that block equipment and interfere with the gasification process.

Early versions of the technology also faced operational problems, including smoke generation inside kitchens. A major breakthrough came in 2016, when the research team developed a patented gasifier that reduced clinker formation by nearly 100 times.

Professor Sandeep Kumar from the Department of Energy Science and Engineering joined the project in 2017. His work focused on improving the burner system and making the technology suitable for practical kitchen applications. The system also underwent several rounds of environmental performance assessments and fire and operational safety evaluations before deployment.

From a staff canteen to Hostel 16: How IIT Bombay is scaling up the project

What started as a research project to manage garden waste is now being taken to larger institutional kitchens. The technology has been licensed to Infixen Energy Pvt. Ltd., an IIT Bombay-funded startup that is helping expand its application.

Hostel 16 is among the larger-scale applications of the system. Its kitchen prepares meals for more than 1,200 students, and the use of biomass fuel has reportedly reduced LPG consumption by 60%. This is a significant development because large hostel kitchens require substantial amounts of cooking fuel every day.

Replacing even a portion of LPG consumption with fuel produced from campus waste can make a difference to operating expenses. It also reduces the need to transport large quantities of organic waste outside the campus.

How IIT Bombay is turning a waste problem into an energy solution

The financial aspect of the initiative is particularly interesting. IIT Bombay previously spent nearly Rs 50 lakh every year on transporting and disposing of garden waste. The new system offers an opportunity to put at least part of this material to productive use within the campus.

Instead of paying to get rid of fallen leaves and garden waste, the institute can process them into fuel for its kitchens. The initiative also highlights a broader question for universities, residential campuses and other large institutions: Can the waste generated within their premises help meet some of their own energy requirements?

IIT Bombay's experiment offers one possible answer. The project combines waste management, renewable energy research and cost reduction in a single system. Its expansion could also demonstrate how similar institutions with substantial green cover and large kitchens can explore alternatives to conventional cooking fuels.