Month: May 2023

IIT Kharagpur Researchers Aids to Green Construction to Reduce Global Warming

Climate change and green and sustainable growth have found top most importance in India’s G20 presidency this year. Not only India, but all the leading economies have spoken in one voice on it. To revolutionize green construction, a team from IIT Kharagpur, Department of Electronics and Electrical Communication Engineering, led by Prof. T.K Bhattacharyya, Scientist Dr. Jhimli Manna, Mr. Ayan Chatterjee, and Dr. Debmallya Das have developed and patented a Nano-Engineered Graphene derivative to reduce clinker factor from cement as well as concrete which can save the CO2 emission upto 25% annually. In addition, it will help to reduce the cost of cement production by approximately 2000 crore INR annually for the leading cement manufacturers whose annual production volume is 120 million tons. This is mainly achieved by reducing the cost incurred due to clinker production and energy consumption, with an added advantage of green taxation.

Cement Industry is the second major contributor of CO2 emission [8%] which leads to global warming with more than 4.4 billion tons produced every year, a number that is expected to grow to 5.5 billion by 2050. This is due to the clinker production which is the main component of strength for cement. But we cannot essentially remove the clinker as lower clinker means lower strength. Hence the major challenge in developing green cement for all cement companies across the globe lies in reducing the clinker without compromising the strength of cement.

 

Nano-Engineered Graphene derivative contains a unique product fingerprint which helps in physical removal of clinker, enhancing strength by 25%. It also reduces water to cement ratio leading to water conservation specially beneficial for water starved areas. The product can be easily produced in large scale, hence can be seamlessly integrated into the existing industrial process flow, downsizing energy consumption. The nanoengineered graphene reinforced cement and concrete reduces crack propagation, enhances durability and resilience with lesser curing time without disrupting the current operating process. It can cater to the need of PPC, OPC, and slag based cement industries. The researchers  have successfully reduced clicker in industrial setting by up to 25% without compromising strength.

“The CO2 emission during cement production increased steeply by 1.8% per year during 2015-2020. In this scenario, we must decarbonize its production to reduce the carbon footprint for a greener future and meet the commitment to deliver Net Zero Emission by 2050. Almost all the national and international cement producing giants have focused their efforts in developing green cement using different strategies. A few of them have used clinker reduction strategies but till date none of them have declared a cement composition with physically reduced clinker which is the need of the hour. In this scenario, this technology is a breakthrough in revolutionizing green construction,” remarked Prof. T K Bhattacharyya, who is the professor at Department of Electronics and Electrical Communication Engineering, and head of Advanced Technology Development Centre, IIT Kharagpur.

Microelectronics and MEMS Laboratory
Department of Electronics and Electrical Communication Engineering 
IIT Kharagpur

The production of cement is the most carbon-intensive part which involves using fossil fuels to heat a mixture of limestone and clay to more than 1,400  °C in a kiln. When limestone (calcium carbonate) is heated, roughly 600 kilograms of carbon dioxide is released for every ton of cement produced.

The product has already been validated from two places. Firstly, it is tested in laboratory at the Civil Engineering Department at IIT Kharagpur and then MVP has been validated at the industrial testing laboratories of one of the major cement producing companies. A patent has also been filed and published.

Media Coverage :

                                                             Times of India

    Times of India (Online)                               Dainik Jagran        

                                                                                                             Coalfield Mirror                                                                                                   Hindi Bartaman

Contact Person: Prof. Tarun Kanti Bhattacharyya, IIT Kharagpur
Email: tkb@ece.iitkgp.ac.in

By : Poulami Mondal, Digital & Creative Media Executive (Creative Writer)
Email: poulami.mondal@iitkgp.ac.in, media@iitkgp.ac.in, Ph. No.: +91-3222-282007

Follow us on: Facebook – IIT Kharagpur; Twitter – @IITKgp;  Instagram – @iit.kgp; LinkedIn – Indian Institute of Technology
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Prof. Sudhakar Yedla, Alumnus of IIT Kharagpur is appointed as the Director of NIT Srinagar

Prof. Sudhakar Yedla, an Alumnus of IIT Kharagpur (1996/M.Tech/AG/2000/PhD CE) is appointed as the Director of the National Institute of Technology (NIT) Srinagar. A Professor at IGIDR and a Former Vice-Chancellor of Dravidian University, Kuppam, Andhra Pradesh, India, Prof Yedla is a Civil Engineering graduate from Andhra University who completed his Masters and PhD from Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur in the area of Environmental Engineering, Department of Civil Engineering.

Joined IGIDR in 1999, Prof. Yedla is a Civil Engineer with Masters and PhD in Environmental Engineering from IIT Kharagpur. He is also trained in Environmental Economics and Development Policy from World Bank Institute, USA and International Environmental Law from UN Institute in Switzerland and has served international institutions & universities such as Institute for Global Environmental Strategies (IGES), Japan as a Policy Researcher; New Jersey Institute of Technology (NJIT), Newark, USA as a Visiting Scholar; University of Ulsan, South Korea as Professor; Asian Institute of Technology (AIT), Thailand as Visiting Associate Professor and Professor. He has been serving as international consultant (SDG, GEF and Sustainable Cities) to a number of international and development agencies such as UNDP, Egypt, UNESCAP, UNEP, UNEP-RRC, ADB, World Bank, Sida etc.

Prof. Sudhakar Yedla
Director
National Institute of Technology, Srinagar

For the past 20 years, he has been associated with a number of academic institutions as board member and some important academic bodies such as Academic Senate of NIT Warangal, Executive Council of IGIDR, Academic Council of IGIDR and NIT Warangal. He published extensively in international journals and books and is invited by the peers in India and abroad on more than 125 occasions and participated in another 120 national and international conferences.

Guided 20 graduate students and served in Editorial Boards of a number of International Journals, Prof. Yedla has served as Court Member as the MHRD Nominee for the Central University of Jharkhand, Ranchi. As a Vice-Chancellor of a State University of Government of Andhra Pradesh, he is popularly known for his strict, dynamic and reformative administration with a great vision for the University. He works in the areas of Environmental Economics, Valuation of Environment and Pollution, Urban Environmental Policy, Climate Change Mitigation, Sustainable Mobility, Urban Waste Management, Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), Sustainable Cities and Development of Eco-Industrial Parks.

In his first address, Prof. Yedla acknowledged the remarkable legacy of NIT Srinagar, “Throughout its history, this institution has been a beacon of knowledge, a haven for intellectual curiosity, and a catalyst for positive change. Today, as I step into this role, I am fully aware of this responsibility and the immense potential that lies within our NIT Srinagar’s walls. My vision for NIT Srinagar is to make it one of the leading Institutes in the entire country,” he said.

He was chosen twice to evaluate Country Programme Action Plan (CPAP) of UNDP India for 2012-17 programme cycle. Prof. Yedla has been advising Department of Urban Development and Environment and Forest on SDGs, and Sustainable Cities and was appointed as Advisor (Head), Central Public Health and Environmental Engineering Organization, Government of India.

Prof. Yedla said nothing can be achieved without the support of administrative staff, faculty, colleagues, and students. It is a collective effort and we all have to make NIT Srinagar one of the best institutes of this country. My focus will be on fostering an environment that supports the growth and well-being of the NIT Srinagar and not boosts the interests of individuals. When the organization thrives, individuals also get benefits under its shadow.

He has more than 24 years of teaching and research experience with research focus that includes Climate Studies, Urban Environmental Management, Sustainable Cities, Sustainable Mobility, Waste Management, Provision of Urban Services, Valuation of Environmental Services and Assessment of Environmental and Socio-economic Impacts of Development Initiatives.

Prof. Yedla has done his post-doctoral studies (PDF) at Asian Institute of Technology (AIT), Thailand and has a diploma in International Environmental Law (DIEL) from UNITAR, Switzerland with a certification from the World Bank Institute in Environmental Economics and Development Policy (CEEDP).

He has worked at several national and international institutions such as the Institute for Global Environmental Strategies (IGES), in Japan, the New Jersey Institute of Technology (NJIT), Newark, USA and Korean Institute of International Economic Policy (KIEP), South Korea. Before coming to NIT Srinagar, Prof. Yedla served NCERT as the Chairperson for the National Focus Group on Environmental Education for the National Curriculum Framework.

Prof. Yedla was nominated twice by MHRD to the Asian Institute of Technology as the Government of India’s seconded faculty member. He served as Project Director for a major regional research program in climate change (ARRPEEC) funded by SIDA and another multinational research initiative by UN-FAO in the area of ‘Roles of Agriculture’.

He has been widely consulted by international development agencies and think tanks and has worked with UNDP-India, UNDP-Egypt, UNESCAP, UNEP-RRC, UNEP-Regional Office, World Bank, Global Environment Facility (GEF), United Nations University, DFID, Research Council of UK and IGES, Japan on various consulting assignments.

Prof. Yedla has won eleven prestigious national and international fellowships and also won awards such as Fast Track Young Scientist Research Grant of DST, Government of India; Fellowship for Best Paper from GEF of the World Bank, Alexandria, and Egypt.

By : Poulami Mondal, Digital & Creative Media Executive (Creative Writer)
Email: poulami.mondal@iitkgp.ac.in, media@iitkgp.ac.in, Ph. No.: +91-3222-282007

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IIT Kharagpur developed ‘Matri Seva’ Software for Ramakrishna Mission Home of Services 

IIT Kharagpur has developed ‘Matri Seva’ – a database software, free of cost that works on patient’s particulars and database for Vivek Sanjivani, an initiative for Healthcare and Education of Ramakrishna Mission Home of Service, Luxa, Varanasi. The software has been hosted in the Microsoft Cloud-based server to provide easy access to all the centres. It is used for primary healthcare, mental healthcare, follow-up visits, management of chronic-disease conditions, medications management, health education and other clinical services.

Vivek Sanjivani Telemedicine Service is a real-time telemedicine solution which offers a virtual alternative to the in-person doctor’s visit. It expands access to quality patient care, especially to regions with underserved populations. It provides a way to cut down on healthcare spending and keep connected patients throughout the year. iMediX, the telemedicine system that was launched by the Computer and Science Department of IIT Kharagpur on 02 October, 2020 provided emergency healthcare services for the IIT KGP students, campus residents and employees which was further expanded to MSMEs for commercialization. Its open-source version is named iMediXcare. The telemedicine system iMedix offers special telemedicine services through Vivek Sanjivani includes psychiatrist, ENT, Medicine, Oncologist and Community Medicine at the door step of the rural people.

Speaking on Matri Seva, Prof. Jayanta Mukhopadhyay, the Lead Researcher of the open source telemedicine software iMediXcare, IIT Kharagpur remarked, “Matri Seva is an extension of services of the existing Telemedicine system iMedixcare dedicated to the service of the community that Vivek Sanjivani initiated for the underprivileged. We are still living in the pandemic which showed us where we stand as a nation when it comes to a proper Healthcare System. iMedix has served the IIT Kharagpur community providing emergency consultancy services through remote consultation by physicians. I am hopeful that this technology will be further incorporated and adopted in other community health services as well.”

Vivek Sanjivani, an initiative for Healthcare and Education of Ramakrishna Mission Home of Service, Luxa, Varanasi offers Telemedicine services through Twelve Centres in which six Stationary Telemedicine Units (STUs) are fixed at a place and six Mobile Telemedicine Units (MTUs) are roaming. It provides Mother-Child, Primary Healthcare, Adolescence Healthcare, Community Mental Healthcare, Eye Check-up, General Movement Assessment in neonates and infants and distribution of Nutritional Food Supplements in three districts including one aspirational district of Eastern Uttar Pradesh and one aspirational district of Uttarakhand. During 2022-23, Vivek Sanjivani served 27,875 patients through Stationary Telemedicine Units and Mobile Telemedicine Units and conducted Non-Communicable Disease Screening for 18,878 patients. The telemedicine programs of Vivek Sanjivani are backed with a 195 bedded referral hospital of the Ashrama in Varanasi.

According to Swami Divyasukhananda, Coordinator, Vivek Sanjivani, this Telemedicine Service directly provides improved access, cost efficiency and quality healthcare services to patients from marginalised group within the reach of their homes in three Districts of Eastern Uttar Pradesh including one Aspirational District and One Aspirational district of Uttarakhand. Mobile Telemedicine Units of Vivek Sanjivani offer flexible and viable options to offer healthcare facilities to the vulnerable groups in the rural areas of Uttar Pradesh.

Media Coverage :

Times of India

 UNI Deccan Herald Indian Express 
India Blooms  Amader Bharat  Colfield Mirror

 

                   Times of India                                                                                           Colfield Mirror

 

 

 

 

By : Poulami Mondal, Digital & Creative Media Executive (Creative Writer)
Email: poulami.mondal@iitkgp.ac.in, media@iitkgp.ac.in, Ph. No.: +91-3222-282007

Follow us on: Facebook – IIT Kharagpur; Twitter – @IITKgp;  Instagram – @iit.kgp; LinkedIn – Indian Institute of Technology
For news visit: https://kgpchronicle.iitkgp.ac.in/