Category: In-Depth

The Beauty of Graphene nanoplatelets improving Tyre Performance properties

A recent study has investigated the effect of nanofillers on air impermeability properties of Brominated isobutylene-isoprene rubber (BIIR)/ Epoxidized natural rubber (ENR) blend for automotive applications.

A team of researchers led by Prof Kinsuk Naskar from Rubber Technology Centre at IIT Kharagpur along with his student, Ms. Aswathy T R and the collaborator, Mr. Sujith Nair, the vice president of R&D, CEAT Tyre Limited have developed rubber nanocomposites by blending BIIR with ENR 25 and ENR 50 (25% and 50% epoxidation) at the optimized weight proportion, and thereafter different levels of carbon black have been replaced by graphene nanoparticles (GNP). Melt mixing method has been adopted to prepare the composites. The paper has been published by Willey, a publishing company (DOI: 10.1002/pat.4958).

Researchers have studied the morphology and the properties of nanocomposites in details. The rubber composites are hereby developed possess very high air permeability along with other physical properties required for barrier applications such as tyre inner-liners and rubber bottle stoppers. The barrier properties of BIIR-ENR 50 composites without GNP show a 30% improvement in air impermeability compared to BIIR-ENR 25 composites. Further, the BIIR-ENR 50 composites reinforced with GNP shows a further 20% improvement from the reference composite.

“This is due to the synergistic interaction between the graphene and carbon black in the BIIR-ENR 50 composites. The interaction between the graphene and BIIR-ENR 50 blends arises due to the hydrogen bonds formed between graphene and epoxy units, and the interaction between the GNP and Epoxy groups in BIIR-ENR 50 composites was confirmed by Bound Rubber Content (BRC) and Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy. The formation of microstructures in the BIIR-ENR 50 composites has been affirmed by Transmission electron microscopy (TEM)”, mentioned Prof Kinsuk Naskar.

The inner liner of a tubeless tire is recommended to have excellent air impermeability for longer life and reduced rolling resistance.7 To achieve this, the inner liner of the tire should have made up of materials with excellent gas barrier properties. A blend of halogenated butyl rubber with natural rubber is already used for preparing inner-liners of tubeless tires. Rubbers like ENR got comparable air impermeability with halogenated butyl rubber. Blending of halogenated butyl rubber with ENR may enhance the physical properties of the composites without affecting the permeability of butyl rubber. ENR is already used as a compatibilizer for improving the dispersion of nanofillers in non-polar rubbers. Epoxidation of natural rubber also improves damping, adhesion, and oil resistance of natural rubber. Hence, it is a suitable material for making inner liners for the tire. In addition to that, chemical interactions between GNP and ENR, is expected to give a better dispersion of GNP in BIIR-ENR rubber blends.

“The mechanical and thermal properties of BIIR-ENR 25 and BIIR-ENR 50 composites show a positive change on the addition of GNP. Dynamic mechanical properties and ageing resistance of BIIR-ENR 50 composites have been improved by adding a small amount of GNP into it”, said Ms. Aswathy T R. “The modifications from the usual formulation pursued for the barrier applications of rubber composites, will enhance the overall performance properties as well as reduce the cost of the product developed. The long life of the developed composites will further improve the sustainability of the product”.

Nanocomposites opened the way for altering regular filled polymers or blends of polymers, particularly in transportation and structural applications. Nanocomposites with GNP show excellent strength, modulus, and high air barrier properties because of having a high specific surface area. GNPs are capable of producing a tortuous pathway in rubber composites. At present, carbon black (general-purpose furnace black) reinforced halogenated butyl rubber (BIIR or chlorobutyl rubber) is employed for the construction of inner liners. High air impermeability properties make halogenated butyl rubber a favored rubber for building inner liners. Brominated isobutylene-isoprene rubber (BIIR) has been chosen for the present work, considering its excellent weather and age resistance in addition to its air impermeability properties.

(Inputs from Rituparna Chakraborty, Branding Executive)

Media Contact: Prof Kinsuk Naskar, Professor, Email: knaskar@rtc.iitkgp.ac.in, Ph: +91-3222-281748

Contact: Paramita Dey, Junior Assistant

Email: media@iitkgp.ac.in, Ph. No.: +91-3222-282004

IIT Kharagpur Study Predicts River Basin-wise Agricultural Droughts-North India Shows High Vulnerability

With inputs from Rituparna Chakraborty

Highlights:

  • The study predicts future status climate change-induced agricultural droughts across India.

  • More intense droughts in North, North-East and Central India are expected as compared to South India.

  • About 20 and 50% of the area in India is expected to face extreme and moderate agricultural droughts, respectively, by the end of the 21st century.

Farmers in India’s north, north-east and central regions may have to be more cautious of agricultural droughts in the future – reveals IIT Kharagpur study. The data shows a geographically contrasting change in future drought patterns that indicates more intense agricultural drought in north, north-east, and central India as compared to south India due to changing climate. 

The study conducted by research scholar Mayank Suman from the School of Water Resources and Dr. Rajib Maity, Associate Professor at the Department of Civil Engineering at IIT Kharagpur has been published in the Journal of Water and Climate Change. The researchers have identified vulnerable basins, out of a total of 226 sub-basins across India, considering the future agricultural drought. The area under drought is also expected to increase which might lead to about 20 to 50% of mainland India suffering from extreme to moderate agricultural drought conditions respectively, by the end of this century.

Trend of SSMI series for different future periods. The maps show the basin-wise trend of agricultural droughts in entire ‘future’ period upto 2100 and three epochs: E1 (2006-2035), E2 (2036-2070), and E3 (2071-2100) for the worst climate change scenario.

“Sub-basins in Northern India are expected to have a longer time under drought conditions followed by sub-basins in central India. Sub-basins in the Gangetic plain were also observed to exhibit high vulnerability to extreme drought conditions in future,” said Mayank Suman.

The recent studies on meteorological drought suggest more intense and frequent drought events due to changing climate.

“With climate change, air temperature is expected to increase, resulting in a drying tendency in soil moisture and streamflow along with higher and intense precipitation. The prediction of an increase in the area under drought has been made due to these probable changes. Many studies suggest that drought is expected to become more severe and frequent, and the areas under drought are expected to increase with local variation in the future,” remarked Prof. Rajib Maity.

With India’s steep dependence on agriculture and allied economies [18% of GDP, Source: Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation, Govt. of India, 2021], monitoring, assessment, and prediction of agricultural drought are of immense importance.

“With the extreme drought conditions having a possible adverse effect on food production in identified regions, policymakers would find our findings useful for future planning and preparedness in terms of agricultural productivity,” added Prof. Maity.

The researchers predicted the drought status using the wavelet-based drought temporal consequence modelling of meteorological drought with the best performing bias-corrected Coordinated Regional Downscaling Experiment (CORDEX) simulations, selected by Multi-Criteria Decision- Making frameworks. They used the Standardized Soil Moisture Index as the drought characterizing index alongwith most of the existing studies on meteorological droughts are analyzed using the indices, such as Standardized Precipitation Index, Standardized Precipitation Evapotranspiration Index, and the Palmer Drought Severity Index.  

About IIT Kharagpur: Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur is a higher educational institute known globally for its graduate output and affordable technology innovations. Set up in 1951 in a detention camp as an Institute of National Importance, the Institute is ranked among the top five in India and has been awarded Institute of Eminence by the Govt. of India in 2019. The key areas of research of IIT Kharagpur are Affordable Healthcare Technologies, Advanced Manufacturing, Advanced Transportation, Precision Agriculture and Food Technology, Cyberphysical Systems, Ecology & Environment, Mining, Water Resources and Architecture. The Institute is engaged in several international and national mission projects and ranks significantly in research output including 50-100 IPR filed annually and about 2000 research publications in top journals and conferences. At present, the Institute has about 750 full-time equivalent faculty members, more than 14000 students and over 70000 Alumni. For more information visit: www.iitkgp.ac.in

Media Contact: Dr. Rajib Maity, Associate Professor, Email: rajib@civil.iitkgp.ac.in, Ph: +91-3222-283442

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Research scholar Jyotsana Priyadarshani talks about ‘organ-on-a-chip’ research

For over two decades, researchers at IIT Kharagpur have been working on the development of affordable, portable and remote technology in the healthcare domain. The School of Medical Science and Technology and the Microfluidics Lab at the Dept. of Mechanical Engineering have collaborated on several such projects.

In a similar work research scholar, Jyotsana Priyadarshani is pursuing her PhD in the area of “organ-on-a-chip” under the supervision of Prof. Soumen Das at the School of Medical Science & Technology and Prof. Suman Chakraborty at the Microfluidics Lab.

Her research focuses on utilizing the frugal fabrication technique and microfluidic applications to address the important features and geometrical complexities of microvasculature in vitro. Such bioengineered microfluidic platforms are potentially suitable for probing cellular dynamics as well as offering critical insights into cancer, cardiovascular diseases, offsetting the requirements of in vivo trials on animals and humans to a large extent.

Here is an interview on “Vigyan Patrika”, Jyotsana talks about her recently published paper titled “Transport of vascular endothelial growth factor dictates on-chip angiogenesis in tumor microenvironment” in Physics of Fluids journal.

Read Full interview: https://biopatrika.com/2021/04/16/interview-biomimetic-organ-chip-drug-screening/

Paper Abstract: 
On-chip investigations on tumor angiogenesis, hallmarked by the growth of new blood vessels from preexisting ones, have attracted significant interest in recent times, due to their exclusive capabilities of probing the detailed mechanisms of chemokine transport and visualization of cell-cell interactions that are otherwise challenging to capture and resolve under in vivo conditions. Here, we present a simulation study mimicking tumor angiogenesis microenvironment on-chip, with a vision of establishing the favorable conditions for stable and uniform gradients of vascular endothelial growth factor that plays a pivotal role in tumor progression. The model platform addresses different responses of endothelial cells such as chemotaxis, haptotaxis, and mitosis, under combined convection-diffusion transport in a micro-confined fluidic environment constituting collagen-based extracellular matrix. The model predictions emerge to be consistent with reported in vitro angiogenesis experiments and hold potential significance for the design of organ-on-a-chip assays, disease modeling, and optimizing anti-angiogenic therapies.

Citation: Jyotsana Priyadarshani, Prasoon Awasthi, Pratyaksh Karan, Soumen Das, and Suman Chakraborty, “Transport of vascular endothelial growth factor dictates on-chip angiogenesis in tumor microenvironment” , Physics of Fluids 33,  031910 (2021)  https://doi.org/10.1063/5.0042487

Climate Change Signals from North-Eastern India, the Wettest Place on Earth

In a recent study, researchers from IIT Kharagpur have observed a significant change in the rainfall in the northeast in general and specifically at the wettest place on Earth, Cherrapunji-Mawsynram.

The researchers observed rainfall changes in the past century (1901–2019) over the wettest place on the Earth and unveiled the first evidence for the signals of climate change and anthropogenic influence on rainfall changes in the region.

Image: The figure shows the study region and rainfall received at Cherrapunji and Mawsynram in the past 50 years. The spatial change in rainfall shifted the wettest place on the Earth from Cherrapunji to Mawsynram in the early 1980s.

The analysis of 119 years of rainfall data at 17 stations in Northeast India revealed that most of the stations show negative trends in rainfall, the highest in the summer monsoon and the smallest in the winter. A clear shift in the rainfall pattern is observed in the mid-1970s. This abrupt shift in the rainfall can be attributed to the climate shift that occurred in the Pacific Ocean.

The large variability and rapid warming associated with climate change in the equatorial Indian Ocean and associated atmospheric circulation patterns, and the changes in land use/land cover are the main reasons for the inter-annual variability and negative trends in the rainfall in the northeast region, particularly at Cherrapunji and Shillong.

The seasonal rainfall cycles at these locations are also found to be changed one month ahead as compared to that before 1973. The spatial shift in the rainfall from Cherrapunji to Mawsynram in the early 1980s can also be viewed as a part of the above-mentioned temporal change and the westward movement of rainfall there.

The expansion of western subtropical Pacific high is another reason for this rainfall pattern change.

“The analyses uncover signals of regional climate change in India. Since the changes in the rainfall amount would affect drinking water, irrigation, agriculture, energy production and the economy of our country, this study cautions us about the impact of imminent climate change in our country,” says researcher Dr. J Kuttippurath, Assistant Professor, Centre for Oceans, Rivers, Atmosphere and Land Sciences (CORAL). 
Northeast India houses about 64% forest, 30% under the Brahmaputra valley and the rest has steep slopes, hills and mountains. The region has the highest vegetation cover in India and is one of the 18 biodiversity hotspots of the world; indicating the importance of the region in terms of its greenery and climate change sensitivity. Agriculture and allied activities form the backbone of the economy in the region, where more than 60% of the crop area is under rain-fed agriculture.
“The northeast region is well known as the wettest region of the world because it receives nearly 2000 mm of rainfall annually, which is about three times higher than the mean annual rainfall of India. Furthermore, the population of this region mainly depends on agriculture and horticulture, which is fed by the seasonal rainfall and therefore, any change in the rainfall would alter the economy and affect the well-being of the society,” remarked Prof. Madan Kumar Jha, Professor, Dept. of Agricultural and Food Engineering.
Citation J Kuttippurath et al 2021 Environ. Res. Lett. 16 024018, Journal: Environmental Research Letters [Impact Factor: 6.09], DOI: https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/abcf78

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About IIT Kharagpur: Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur is a higher educational institute known globally for its graduate output and affordable technology innovations. Set up in 1951 in a detention camp as an Institute of National Importance, the Institute is ranked among the top five in India and has been awarded Institute of Eminence by the Govt. of India in 2019. The key areas of research of IIT Kharagpur are Affordable Healthcare Technologies, Advanced Manufacturing, Advanced Transportation, Precision Agriculture and Food Technology, Cyberphysical Systems, Ecology & Environment, Mining, Water Resources and Architecture. The Institute is engaged in several international and national mission projects and ranks significantly in research output including 50-100 IPR filed annually and about 2000 research publications in top journals and conferences. At present, the Institute has about 750 full-time equivalent faculty members, more than 14000 students and over 70000 Alumni. For more information visit: www.iitkgp.ac.in

IIT Kharagpur’s Essential Oil Extractor to Economize Betel Leaf Oil Production in India

  • Antimicrobial and antioxidant rich betel leaf essential oil finds wide use in industrial applications including medicines, cosmetics and chewable mouth fresher
  • The essential oil extractor reduces betel leaf wastage making essential oil production economically viable
  • The process increases yield by 16%, reduces process time by 44% and energy input by 30%

 

There have been many tales of Paan – in songs, history and literature, religion and culture for many millennia, across hierarchies of society, in South and South-East Asia. While the use of Paan as a mouth freshener is under the radar of health agencies for carcinogenic effects, however, the main component, i.e. Betel Leaf stays clear of health concerns. Rather it is considered beneficial in terms of digestion, stimulation of senses and fresh breath due to the presence of antimicrobial and antioxidant-rich essential oil.

Extraction of this essential oil from fresh and cured betel leaves is of high interest for industrial applications including medicines, cosmetics chewable mouth fresher which has a very large market in the world. However, the extraction processes suffer from low economic viability and wastage in the value chain of betel leaves.

Prof. Proshanta Guha and his research group from IIT Kharagpur’s Agricultural and Food Engineering Department have addressed this challenge by developing a novel betel leaf oil extraction technology that can improve the overall process efficiency. The extractor is capable of saving 44% of the time and 30% of the energy requirement while increasing the oil yield by more than 16%, as compared to the current process and apparatus popularly used.

Describing the equipment, Prof. Guha said, “It is a distillation unit with special modifications for recycling evaporated water which carries the vapors of essential oil from the distillation flask to the condensation unit. It has also a special device to minimize the formation of emulsion for increasing the recovery of essential oil.”

The extractor was envisaged to be affordable to the betel leaf growers since the cost of fabrication of the extractor was calculated to be ₹10,000 and ₹20,000 for 10L and 20L sizes, respectively.

“This could be easily maintained by the small farmers and would also be sufficient for the processing of surplus leaves in any average-sized Boroj (~0.02 ha) on a daily or weekly basis. About 10-20 ml of essential oil can be extracted by one person a day using an extractor in three shifts. The price of the oil varies from ₹30,000/- to about ₹1,00,000/- depending upon the quality of the oil, Mitha variety being costlier than the other varieties,” Prof. Guha remarked.

For large rural installations, the researchers have tried to improve the efficiency further by insulating the heat-radiating portions of the apparatus with cheap insulators. Use of fuel requirement can also be reduced substantially if the byproduct i.e. de-oiled exhausted leaves are used as fuel. They have further developed Microwave heating-based equipment to improve the efficiency of the extraction process and to increase the yield of essential oil. In this attempt, the extraction process was completed within about 50 minutes. Thus, there was a saving of time and energy by about 76% and 43% respectively.

India produces betel leaves worth ₹ 9 billion per year grossing as the largest producer of betel leaf in the world. However, achieving profitability remains a crucial challenge as a minimum of 10% of the produce is wasted every year and a large portion remains unsold or sold at throwaway prices during the glut season.

“This extractor equipment is expected to check such wastage and channel the surplus for various industrial products. Further the equipment can extract essential oil from other organic materials as well,” confirmed Prof. Guha.

It has been patented and transferred to more than 20 government and private bodies and more are underway.

Contact:

Faculty: pguha@agfe.iitkgp.ac.in

Media & Communications Cell: media@iitkgp.ac.in

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About IIT Kharagpur: Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur is a higher educational institute known globally for its graduate output and affordable technology innovations. Set up in 1951 in a detention camp as an Institute of National Importance, the Institute is ranked among the top five in India and has been awarded Institute of Eminence by the Govt. of India in 2019. The key areas of research of IIT Kharagpur are Affordable Healthcare Technologies, Advanced Manufacturing, Advanced Transportation, Precision Agriculture and Food Technology, Cyberphysical Systems, Ecology & Environment, Mining, Water Resources and Architecture. The Institute is engaged in several international and national mission projects and ranks significantly in research output including 50-100 IPR filed annually and about 2000 research publications in top journals and conferences. At present, the Institute has about 750 full-time equivalent faculty members, more than 14000 students and over 70000 Alumni. For more information visit: www.iitkgp.ac.in

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Ozone and Ultra-filter based manufacturing tech to extend shelf life of packaged Sugarcane juice

Researchers at IIT Kharagpur have developed new process technology based on ozonization and ultra filtration for manufacturing shelf-stable sugarcane juice

Sugarcane juice is a refreshing drink with an enriched nutritional profile. The juice accommodates health components such as, phytonutrients, antioxidants, and vitamins (like Vitamins C&B) which offer quick relief from heatstroke, dehydration, constipation, jaundice, etc. by supplying instant energy. Owing to the absence of simple sugars and low glycemic index (30-40), its average intake by diabetic persons is also acceptable. However, the colour and flavour unique to the juice get deteriorated immediately after its extraction due to biological processes of browning and microbial fermentation. Its short shelf life limits its long term storage and marketing. Thermal treatments used to enhance the shelf life of sugarcane juice destroy its pleasant taste and aroma. Non-thermal methods hold promise in this regard.

Research scholar Chirasmita Panigrahi from the Dept. of Agricultural & Food Engineering, as part of her PhD research, has been pursuing a novel study on ozone assisted cold sterilization technology towards the shelf stabilization of sugarcane juice without heat or chemical. 

The process technology involves ultra-filtering and ozonization of the freshly extracted microfiltered juice followed by packaging under an aseptic environment. The combined membrane filtration and ozone treatment technology resulted in 7 log reduction in bacteria, 5 log reduction in yeasts & moulds and 85% inactivation of enzyme polyphenol oxidase. 

“This could minimize the juice fermentation and brown to a greater extent during storage. The combined technology treated juice could be successfully stored up to 12 weeks under refrigeration without any appreciable change in its bioactive and essential nutrients. The treated juice well retained its sensory characteristics especially the colour and flavour during storage,” confirmed Chirasmita.  

Her PhD work which is being supervised by Professor H N Mishra of the Agricultural & Food Engineering Department and co-supervised Professor Sirshendu De of the Chemical Engineering Department has been selected for the NRDC National Meritorious Invention Awards 2020 by the National Research Development Corporation, Government of India, New Delhi recently. 

For more information please contact Prof. H N Mishra at hnm@agfe.iitkgp.ac.in 

 

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Making Sanskrit Accessible through AI-based Text Processing

Researchers at IIT Kharagpur are making Sanskrit accessible with their Artificial Intelligence-based system for processing Sanskrit texts

There has been a renewed interest in Sanskrit since the announcement of NEP 2020. Various academic institutions both at school education as well as higher education are adopting various approaches for improving the reach of the language through training programs, research and outreach initiatives. While various digital resources have improved the accessibility and use of world languages and even regional languages, Sanskrit presents unique challenges in automated computational processing. In addition to the sheer volume and diversity, both stylistic and chronological, found in these texts, the linguistic peculiarities expressed by the language, pose several challenges in making these works accessible to the world.  

Research group led by Dr. Pawan Goyal have developed a digital infrastructure for the efficient processing of Sanskrit texts, by effectively combining state-of-the-art machine learning techniques and traditional linguistic knowledge from Sanskrit. The proposed framework is based on Energy-based models and it enables the encoding of relevant linguistic information as constraints.

“Processing of Sanskrit texts poses several challenges owing to the high lexical productivity of the words, free word order in poetry, euphonic assimilation of sounds at the word boundaries and phonemic orthography followed in writing. Keeping these in mind, we proposed a generic graph-based framework that takes advantage of the free word order nature of the language. Further, we make use of linguistic insights from the traditional Sanskrit grammar for learning the feature function and applying the relevant constraints.” explained Dr. Goyal.

 

He further adds,  “Our proposed framework substantially reduces the training data requirements to as low as 10%, as compared to that of the neural state-of-the-art models. In all the Sanskrit-related tasks discussed in the work, we either achieve state-of-the-art results or ours is the only data-driven solution for those tasks.”

This work is accepted for publication in the Computational Linguistics journal published by the MIT Press. This work has been carried by research scholar Dr. Amrith Krishna [Tweet @krishnamrith12], currently, a postdoc at the University of Cambridge, supervised by Dr. Pawan Goyal. The paper currently addresses the tasks of word segmentation (संधि विच्छेद), morphological parsing (पद विश्लेषण), dependency parsing (कारक विश्लेषण) and poetry to prose conversion of Sanskrit text (अन्वय). The team is now actively collaborating with several external research groups to extend the application of the proposed system for automatic speech recognition and question-answering in Sanskrit.

The classical language has a rich literary tradition spanning more than 2 millennia that encapsulates the cultural ethos of this civilizational nation. Works in Sanskrit, numbering more than 30 million extant manuscripts, include extensive epics, subtle and intricate philosophical, mathematical, and scientific treatises, and rich literary, poetic, and dramatic texts. The proposed AI-based system, used in conjunction with interactive tools such as the Sanskrit Heritage reader, can aid the users in the easier analysis of these manuscripts with word-by-word analysis and translation, the relation between words, poetry to prose conversion, search and question answering, etc.

Graphic by Suman Sutradhar

For more information contact Prof. Pawan Goyal at pawang@cse.iitkgp.ac.in or Dr. Amrith Krishna [Face: amrith.krishna, Tweet @krishnamrith12]

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Studying Plastic Pollution in the Ganga with National Geographic

Ganga, the life source of Northern and Eastern India is a prominent area of study by researchers from diverse disciplines, a key among them is the environment. In 2019, the National Geographic Society organized the expedition “Sea to Source: Ganges” to scientifically document plastic waste in the Ganges watershed and support holistic and inclusive solutions. A proud partner in this women scientists-led expedition was IIT Kharagpur along with the Isabela Foundation, University of Dhaka, the Wildlife Institute of India, and Wild Team Bangladesh.

Researchers and students from an environment-focused group at the Dept. of Civil Engineering, IIT Kharagpur participated in this transboundary expedition. The group was involved in estimating the mismanaged plastic quantities from municipal solid waste all along the river in India and come up with potential solutions and improvements in waste management systems to avoid the leakages of plastic waste from land to the river.

Talking about their role in the study-based expedition, Prof. Brajesh Dubey who heads this group at IIT Kharagpur said, “We carried out the waste characterization from the city/town dumpsite waste samples, as well as the samples collected along the river from Rishikesh to Howrah. It helped in estimating the extent of mismanaged plastics in the waste, the type of plastics present in the waste and the estimation of the fraction of mismanaged waste plastics getting into the river Ganga. A model is also being developed using the field data to have a realistic estimation of the plastic pollution transport from land to river and eventually to the ocean.”

The IIT research group also performed a photographic survey of waste management practices and issues for each city/town. Further, they held and discussions with city officials on waste management plans, identification of infrastructure gaps for the city/town and suggestions for improvement in the implementation of the solutions for better plastic waste management.  The solutions proposed include the proper waste collection in segregation mode, capacity building in terms of infrastructure development as well as skill improvement of manpower involved in waste management practices at ULB levels.  The research group is in touch with several ULBs for the improvement of their waste management infrastructure. 

While the expedition was carried out from May to December 2019, the study was carried out till February 2021. The report has been recently made public by the National Geographic Society on their blog. Read More

Photo by Sara Hylton.

Times of India

Turning Steel Slug Dump to Greenery Hub, IIT Kharagpur’s Transformative Work at Odisha

IIT Kharagpur Researchers Transform Steel Plant Slag Dumps in Odisha into Greenbelt Using Traditional Indian Organic Components and Japanese Afforestation Techniques

A drive through Angul, near the Dhenkanal region of Odisha will give you vast stretches of green canopy and vegetation on what was once industrial dumpsites. The transformation to a green belt is not a natural reclamation but the Midas touch of the Post Mining Mine Site Restoration group of the Department of Mining Engineering of IIT Kharagpur through a project supported by Tata Steel BSL. The researchers afforested over 32000 square feet in the region following a rapid forest regeneration technique by a unique mix of the traditional resource of Panchagavya with the Miyawaki plantation technique of ecologist Prof. Akira Miyawaki from Japan.

The dumping of blast furnace slag by steel plants has been a perennial challenge in India and even in some of the developed countries in the world. These steel slag dumps contribute to the generation of airborne particles causing air pollution and also to groundwater and surface-water contamination through different pathways. The slag-covered land is unsuitable for vegetation growth and associated problems lead to the ruination of vegetation and health hazards for both humans and animals. Researchers at IIT Kharagpur have devised a bioremediation method to reduce the concentration of these polluting slags to an innocuous state.

A research team led by Prof. Khanindra Pathak from the Dept. of Mining Engineering at IIT Kharagpur, has turned this slag suitable for plant growth by mixing it with topsoil, cow dung and other organic enhancers. Plants carefully chosen for the Miyawaki technique and 22 native species were grown on the mix with a 30cm layer of topsoil over it administering them with Panchagavya.

“Periodic administration of Panchagavya checked the problem of nutrient scarcity while mulching helped retention of water and nutrients. In a span of one year, we witnessed the growth of a self-sustaining mini-forest, dominated by plants belonging to the family Fabaceae and Sesbania grandiflora. The plants with long root systems could utilize the steel slag with their roots penetrating up to a depth of 2 m from the ground surface, thus reducing the effects of groundwater contamination and surface runoff of water in the monsoons,” remarked Prof. Pathak.

“Vetiver grass was used as a boundary for the plantation to check migration of nutrients. This grass if grown over the slopes of the slag dumps will further check the fugitive emissions and thereby reducing air pollution and erosion of slag onto adjacent habitations,” he added.

The process led an unsupportive steel slag dump to a self-sustaining primary succession over it.   

The success of the present project has helped the industry to not only comply with the mandate of the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, Govt. of India, but will protect the neighboring villages from airborne dust to a certain degree in addition to the usefulness of the vegetation developed to the villagers. Prof. Pathak earlier demonstrated stabilization of dump slope and prevention of erosion at the  Joda Mines in the Barbil region, which witnessed regeneration of thick vegetation cover. In another demonstration, a horticulture field was developed at Sonepur Bazari waste dump under a CSR project.

The approach established if implemented across such sites in the country would benefit millions of people leaving around the mining region. The damage caused to nature by anthropogenic activities can be repaired permanently following nature’s own way to heal. Restoration of the post-mining mine site is now mandatory, the approaches demonstrated contributions to the rural economy as well as to the regeneration of natural resources for the benefit of a large number of people of present and future generations.

The demonstrated methodology also has the possibility to eliminate the need for expensive geotextiles developed in the country using imported technology, opined Prof. Pathak. He further added about the replication of the process for municipality waste dumps. 

“Development of a vetiver grass field could be beneficial for urban wastewater management as well as municipality solid waste dump sites. We had also demonstrated hydroponic vetiver for the containment of oil in refinery wastewater through an IIT Kharagpur and IOCL collaborative project at the Bongaigaon refinery,” he remarked.

Contact: 

Project: Prof. Khanindra Pathak, E: khanindra@mining.iitkgp.ac.in; Sourav Mandal, E: souravm.iitkgp@gmail.com

Media: Shreyoshi Ghosh, E: shreyoshi@adm.iitkgp.ac.in

Connect on social media: Facebook: @IITKgp Twitter: @IITKgp Instagram: @iit.kgp; Or write to media@iitkgp.ac.in

More information: Dept. of Mining Engineering: http://www.iitkgp.ac.in/department/MI

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IIT Kharagpur Innovates DGPS-Enabled Soil Mapping Tech for Effective Fertilization

Geospatial mapping is a buzzword today with the Govt. of India liberalizing the sector. There is another side of mapping that could transform the food security program of India; soil maps which could be accessed using differential GPS, developed by researchers at IIT Kharagpur for a variable rate of fertilization application in farmlands. The novel technology is aimed towards efficient use of Nitrogen, Phosphorous and Potash for automated soil nutrition management by bypassing both manual labour based operations or sensor-based fertilization technologies which are still under development.

Spatial variations in soil type and mineral content in large agricultural tracts are a common phenomenon that leads to a dynamic need for resources such as fertilizers, pesticides, herbicides and even water. Farmers have been collecting information on these variations through soil tests by local bodies or installing sensors to collect the data in real-time. However, the proximity of the applicator vehicle to the sensor hinders real-time sensor-based data processing and fertilizer application. 

Prof. V K Tewari, Director, IIT Kharagpur along with his former research scholar Dr. Sneha Jha from the Dept. of Agricultural and Food Engineering explored an alternate method of creating a soil nutrition map that can be accessed in real-time through differential global positioning system for variable rate application of NPK. 

Explaining the process Prof. Tewari said, “We divided one hectare of land into 36 grids with the nutritional requirement of each grid fed in the soil map. The fertilizer applicator vehicle, fitted with a DGPS module and GUI enabled Microprocessor cum Microcontroller, can access this map and compute in real-time the variable rates in the fertilizer application function.”

The soil map can be replicated for agricultural plots based on soil tests which can be performed at district administration levels or by private labs. This data when fed into the DGPS module will be accessible to farms using the GUI installed-applicator. 

“The system can detect the field grids in real-time with a length-wise accuracy of 16 cm towards the east and breadth-wise accuracy of 20 cm towards the north. It can manage the automated application from 5 to 400 Kg per hectare. Application of such desired amount of NPK precisely at a specific location will enhance crop production and avoid environmental degradation,” said Prof. Tewari. 

 

“This technology would be able to reduce 30% of fertilizers used in manual methods thus ensuring substantial savings in resource applications,” he further added remarking on how this technology can bring the cost of fertilizer application by improving the efficiency of the job and reducing manual labour.

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