TPD (TPD)

Tonnes Per Day (TPD) is the standard unit expressing the daily processing or production capacity of an industrial plant, equal to 1,000 kilograms of throughput in a 24-hour operating cycle. TPD appears in Indian project documentation across every recycling and waste-processing sector — CBG feedstock intake, e-waste shredding capacity, plastic recycling line output, tyre pyrolysis reactor charge, lithium-ion battery dismantling throughput — and is the primary capacity descriptor used by CPCB, SPCBs, BIS, and equipment vendors.

Capacity in TPD determines several practical and regulatory consequences:

• Equipment sizing — a 5 TPD plastic shredder, a 10 TPD pyrolysis reactor, and a 25 TPD CBG digester each map to specific motor power, vessel volume, and floor footprint ranges
• Consent category — SPCBs classify projects as Red, Orange, or Green category partly on TPD throughput, which determines fee tier, validity period, and renewal frequency
• EPR and licensing — e-waste recyclers above 1 TPD must register with CPCB; the threshold for full HOWM authorisation varies by waste type
• Subsidy eligibility — Government schemes (SATAT for CBG, PLI for batteries) specify minimum TPD thresholds for benefit access

TPD figures in project reports always require clarification of whether they reflect:

• Nameplate capacity — the design maximum, typically 24-hour continuous operation
• Operating capacity — actual achievable output factoring in maintenance, downtime, and feedstock variability, usually 70–85% of nameplate
• Effective annual capacity — TPD × operating days, where Indian plants typically achieve 280–320 days per year depending on sector

For financial modelling, TPD ties directly to revenue: a 10 TPD plastic recycling line at 300 operating days produces 3,000 tonnes per year of pellets, valued at ₹50,000–70,000 per tonne, giving topline revenue around ₹15–21 crore. Conversely, undersized TPD relative to feedstock availability strands working capital; oversized TPD relative to market demand leaves expensive equipment idle.