| Sanction Date: | 14.03.2023 | |||
| W.E.F | 30.03.2023 | |||
| Project Category | SG | |||
| Year | 2022-2023 | |||
| Project Duration | 2 Year | |||
| BTA : | Handling of Waste | |||
| Project Site/ State/ Districts/ Villages Covered: |
Nainital, Uttarakhand |
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| Organization/ Implementation Agency: | Chemical Engineering Dept. Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Gandhinagar Palai, Gandhinaqar, Gujarat 382355 | |||
| Project Partners: | S.No. | Name | ||
| 1. | Indian Institute of Technology Gandhinagar and Kumaun University | |||
| Lead Proponent: | Dr. Biswajit Saha |
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| Project Brief Description: | This work has proposed the development of a novel adsorbent and water filter (powerless) using GO-coated PU composite (GOPU) in a granular structure. The PU sponge will be grounded into fine granules to increase its efficiency and versatility. PU granules are chosen as a base material due to their high surface area, porous structure, and superior mechanical stability. GO is selected as a surface modifier because of its chelating effects, large surface area, long chemical stability and high mechanical strength. Due to the innate surface merits, the GO coating will make the PU granules an efficient adsorber of toxic pollutants coming out with various industrial effluents. The industrial effluent comprising multiple heavy metals, organic pollutants, and/or pathogens is a significant source of contamination. Due to the negative impacts on human health and the ecosystems of receiving water bodies, the presence of heavy metals in aqueous water streams is a growing concern. Among these, some heavy metals are recognised for their toxicity to humans, even at low concentrations. Industrial effluent discharge from industries, car batteries, water pipelines, etc., are a primary source of heavy metal pollution. Some of them accumulate quickly in wastewater and can cause kidney failure, diabetes, high blood pressure, memory loss, fatigue, and delayed baby development. In the same way, large amounts of organic dyes are released into the environment by industries like the textile and leather industries. Due to the presence of an aromatic ring in the dyes' structures, they can be very detrimental to humans and aquatic life and cause potential mutations. The most common dye in the textile industry is methylene blue (MB). Only 5% of the dye is absorbed by fabric during the dyeing process, which leads to the release of thousands of litres of the dye daily, thus posing a considerable threat to the environment and human health. At the same time, pathogenic pollutants have a significant contribution to water contamination and a major impact on human health. Most metropolitan coastal zones are more likely to be contaminated with total coliform bacteria like Escherichia coli (E. coli). Pathogenic E. coli have been identified as the most responsible microorganism for deaths caused due to diarrhoea in low- and middle-income nations. In this work, GOPU granules will be used to remove the dye, heavy metals, and E. coli in a continuous treatment approach. Commercially available PU foam is chosen as a base material because of its high surface area, porous structure and superior mechanical stability, whereas reduced graphene oxide (rGO) is selected as a surface modifier because of its high selectivity and oil absorption capacity. Due to the innate surface merits, the rGO coating makes the PU surface hydrophobic and oleophilic. The proposed rGOPU composite will provide an alternative technology for water pollutants on a large scale. Also, a facile method for regeneration and recycling has been performed to demonstrate the applicability of GOPU granules as a low-cost and large-scale adsorbent. | |||
| Beneficiaries/ Stakeholders: |
• Increased access to clean water: Water filters can be a useful tool for providing clean water to remote and under-served communities, where access to safe drinking water is often limited. This well-designed water filter can effectively remove pollutants and contaminants from water, making it safe to drink and reducing the risk of waterborne illnesses |
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| Activity Chart (For 2 years) | Click Here | |||
| Total Grants (in Rs.) | Rs. 37,35,680 (Rupees: Thirty seven lakh thirty five thousand six hundred eighty only) | |||
| 1st Installment (in Rs.) : | Rs. 22,52,840 (Rupees: Twenty two lakh fifty two thousand eight hundred forty only) | |||
| Project Objectives | Quantifiable Deliverables | Monitoring Indicators |
| • To develop and design adsorbent for water filtration
that can effectively remove a wide range of
contaminants from water, including heavy metals,
organic compounds, and biomolecules • To maximize the adsorbent and impurities removal efficiency through optimization of material compositions • To produce filtering cartridge which is cost-effective, easily regenerated, and can be used in a variety of water filtration systems; (The adsorbent should have a high adsorption capacity, fast kinetics, and high selectivity for targeted contaminants • To design and prototype of water filtering system tested in a pilot-scale water filtration system to evaluate its performance under real-world conditions. • To investigate the feasibility of using the adsorbent in existing water filtration systems and explore potential applications in sewage water filtration • To implement the water filter system in real field at Nainital and demonstrate its performance |
• Low-cost portable
water filter
technology • Novel adsorbents for water pollutants • A pilot scale costeffective filtration system to provide safe drinking water and sewage treatment • 1 Patent and 4 publications |
• Portable water filter
(No.) • No. of publications (Nos.) • No. of patents (No.) and other knowledge products (No.) |
| S.No. | Name (Sanctioned) | Salary (Sanctioned) |
| 1. | 01 JRF | @ Rs.31,000/- + HRA |
| 2. | 01 SPF | @ Rs.23,000/- + HRA |
| S.No. | Name of Equipment (Sanctioned) | Cost (in INR) |
| 1. | Centrifuge-1 @ Rs.7.50 Lakh | 7,50,000/- |
