Turning Waste Into Air

Nexus alumnus Mihir Dixit’s start-up offers a waste disposal machine that safely burns nonrecyclable waste, like plastic, and converts most of it into air. (jittawit21/Shutterstock.com)

One of the challenges facing today’s increasingly industrialized communities is what to do not only with the growing quantities of garbage but also how to dispose of toxic waste. Nexus alumnus Mihir Dixit believes he has found a solution.

Dixit and Dhruv Chauhan founded Malhari Projects in 2021. The Ahmedabad-based start-up provides an affordable waste disposal machine that works on patented technology to incinerate toxic waste on site. Chemical, pharmaceutical and electronic companies currently either send their nonrecyclable waste to landfills or incinerate the waste in kilns to produce cement. Plastic waste is usually incinerated as it burns well and reaches the high temperatures needed to make cement. While believed to be a safer way to remove plastics from landfills, critics claim that this method produces toxic byproducts that contribute to air pollution.

Malhari’s technology is promoted as a more ecological alternative to both methods. Its waste disposal machines use a technology based on infrared pyrolysis, which safely burns the waste and converts most of it into air, says Dixit, leaving little ash or metals as residue. This residue can be reused or disposed of safely.

Affordable innovation

Dixit and his team spent three years developing the patented technology used in Malhari’s waste disposal machines and launched production in January 2024. The devices are manufactured at the start-up’s workshop in Ahmedabad and cost about Rs. 25 lakh each—about one-third the price of traditional pyrolysis devices, says Dixit. Each machine can dispose of 1,000 kilograms of waste per day.

Mihir Dixit and his team launched production of the waste disposal machines in January 2024. (Photograph courtesy Mihir Dixit)

The hazardous waste, explains Dixit, is put into a box or machine chamber and screwed shut. The waste is then burned at temperatures of 600°C to 700°C in an oxygen-free environment using infrared radiation. “Our innovation is to use lower-than-usual temperatures and to focus the radiation only on the contents of the chamber instead of heating the whole chamber,” explains Dixit. “We dispose of the waste at a lower cost and without segregating what can be burned together.” The waste is also treated on-site, which cuts down on the cost of transporting it to a landfill or off-site incinerator. “Our machine can be installed on a company’s premises and eliminates the whole waste disposal channel,” he adds.

Nexus boot camp

Dixit graduated from Gujarat Technological University in 2017 and enrolled with the Nexus Startup Hub at the American Center New Delhi in 2022. A partnership between the U.S. Embassy New Delhi and the Alliance for Commercialization and Innovation Research (ACIR), Nexus helps Indian start-ups grow and succeed. The three-month, full-time program included formal classes and lectures and connected participants with mentors from industry and academia.

An important area covered in the training was communication. “We got to know the difference between what we are saying and what people understand,” says Dixit. “They showed us the way to eliminate those gaps.”

Dixit says he developed a strong working relationship with a mentor at the Nexus program, who helped him refine the start-up’s marketing approach and continues to guide him on ongoing business issues. The mentor, according to Dixit, brought a fresh perspective. “We had a customer-centric approach,” he says. “The mentor promoted a solution-centric approach. Rather than being a salesman for your project, you are a ‘painkiller’ helping a company deal with [the headache of] its waste disposal problem.”

Malhari Projects has already installed its devices onsite for a municipal waste disposal company and a chemical company, both in Gujarat. The start-up is in discussion with more potential customers. With Malhari’s technological innovations, which make waste management affordable and efficient, Dixit expects the business to grow by leaps and bounds.

Burton Bollag is a freelance journalist living in Washington, D.C.

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