March 2019

VOLUME 108 | ISSUE 114 | MARCH 2019 Page 4 Awards for BFI Established by H.H. Dr. Syedna Environment Wellness & Lifestyle Monthly Newsletter Mohammed Burhanuddin (RA) in 1992 For supporting The River March Movement The River March Movement presented an appreciation award to BFI for supporting Reforestation and Environmental Study Drive the rejuvenation and revival efforts of 4 rivers in Mumbai. The award was pre- sented by Col. Amit Bhagi and received by BFI Trustee Mr. Nuruddin Sevwallah. Celebrating the 75th birthday of His Holiness Dr. Syedna Mufaddal Saifuddin TUS, Burhani Foundation (India) aims to bring students closer to nature, foster a deeper appreciation of nature and train them to act towards maintaining the integrity and balance of the ecosystems and biodiversity. Through The Reforestation and Environmental Study Drive school going children learn this in nature’s own lab at Rajmachi, near Khandala. For being the Best Partner in Academia Junior Red Cross presented 'The Best Partner in Academia Award' to BFI for Located in the Western Ghats, the Rajmachi is a popular destination for nature coordination and support in organizing Poster Competitions in various schools lovers, trekkers and outdoor campers. The area is a Biodiversity hotspot and has across Mumbai and Western Suburbs in the year 2018-19. abundance of Flora and Fauna to explore. Mr Sushil, one of the Botanist helping us in this project, said “What we are trying to do through our Reforestation drive is- BURHANI FOUNDATION (INDIA) we are re-introducing the plants which were there long time back, the Primary Amatullah Manzil, 65 Bazargate Street, Fort, Mumbai-1. Forest, we are trying to get them back. Once they come the birds and animals will Recycled Paper Used come in large numbers and the local flora and fauna will flourish.” Recycled Paper Used Phone: 22678480 / 22634326 Youtube: Burhani Foundation India Channel A total of 1000 indigenous medicinal plants have been planted covering a total of 3.5 acres of land near Rajmachi village. Plantation was started in August 2018 and Website: burhanifoundationindia.org Facebook: Burhani-Foundation-India completed in January 2019. Now this site is being developed to start ‘Eco Tourism’ and ‘Environmental Study’ tours. BFI is also hiring the expertise of Botanists, Email: [email protected] Twitter: BFI_environment Wildlife experts, and Wildlife Survival instructors. [email protected] Instagram: burhani.foundation

Page 2 Page 3 Reforestation and Environmental Study Drive What is Anaerobic Digestion? In his speech inaugurating the Foundation, His Holiness Dr. Syedna Mohammed Continuing with our series of articles on Biogas technology, in this issue lets discuss Burhanuddin RA emphasized the need to address India’s environmental concerns as anaerobic digestion. Anaerobic digestion is a biochemical process during which well as those of the world at large. The bounties of Nature are a gift to Humankind complex organic matter is decomposed in absence of oxygen, by various types of and he is duty bound to preserve and protect them. Through its various activities anaerobic microorganisms. The process of anaerobic digestion is common to many BFI highlights this message of its Founder and works towards Research and Aware- natural environments such as the marine water sediments, the stomach of ruminants ness of the Environment. or the peat bogs. In a biogas installation, the result of the anaerobic digestion ‘Environmental Study Drive’ is yet another step towards realizing the vision of His process 1. Biogas 2. Digestate (organic manure) Holiness. It aims to spark interest of the young minds towards nature conservation and inspire them to wholeheartedly take up the cause with vigor and dedication. If the substrate for anaerobic digestion is a homogenous mixture of two or more feedstock types (eg.animal slurries and organic wastes from food industries), the For reforestation, 40 Students from Raudat al Quran al Karim visited the site to process is called ‘co-digestion’ and is common to most biogas applications today. plant 125 saplings in August 2018. Refer to our January issue for more information on feedstock types. The anaerobic For environment study, students from Al Madrasa tus Saifiya tul Burhaniyah, Pune, digestion process, has following four main processes: visited the site in February 2019. More such trips with various schools will be organized in future. Hydrolysis: The first stage of All the participants were presented with decomposition in methane paper pens made from used newspapers producing fermentation is the and containing seeds of plants. These liquefaction phase, which splits pens can be planted in soil once their ink long chain organic compounds is exhausted. They were also given Jute (eg. fats, carbohydrates) into bags with the message of: simpler organic compounds (eg. amino acids, fatty acids, sugars) ‘Say No To Plastics’. through bacterial action. Recycled Paper Used Recycled Paper Used Acidogenesis: The products of hydrolysis are subsequently metabolized in this phase by acidogenic bacteria and broken down into short-chain fatty acids (eg. acetic, propionic and butyric acid). Acetate, hydrogen and carbon dioxide are also created and act as initial products for methane formation. Acetogenesis: Here the organic acids are broken down into acetic acid, hydrogen and carbon dioxide which act as a substrate for methanogenic micro-organisms. Methanogenesis: Here the products from the previous phases are converted into methane by methanogenic microorganisms (archaea). During hydrolysis, relatively small amounts of biogas are produced. Biogas production reaches its peak during methanogenesis.