- Project addressing very important issues of clean water access to under-served population in Himalayan region with targeting mineral deficiency as per the specific region.
- The project will develop low cost accelerated Water Purification System by using Solar Thermal Energy (STE) and integrating other renewable energy sources and learning traditional knowledge of Himalayan region.
- We will also focus on adding minerals to utmost purified water to address malnutrition and mineral deficiency in this region.
- The developed prototype would be such that it could also be assembled by layman in rural/semi-urban areas of country by locally available material, in addition to low cost of the system at the same time No environment impact during construction and operation.
IIT Mandi conducted NMHS workshop on "Water Filtration Techniques Based on Solar Energy"
during February 11-13, 2019
It's part of the National Mission on Himalayan Studies (NMHS) to build efficient Water Purification Systems with added minerals from locally sourced materials for Off-Grid Applications. Indian Institute of Technology Mandi organized a NMHS workshop on Water Filtration Techniques Based on Solar Energy from 11th to 13th February 2019. It addressed the high-level issues relating to Drinking Water status, waste water treatment systems water borne diseases, water purification systems and their market for the Indian Scenario. It also addressed the investigation of practical strategies and integration of renewable energy practitioners, project developers and industries.
The 3-day workshop was attended by the students of IIT Mandi and other institutes. The aim of the workshop was to discuss the possible solutions and strategies to achieve the goal of developing a simple, cost-effective, easy to operate and maintain and socially acceptable Water Purification System by using Solar Thermal Energy (STE) and traditional knowledge of the Himalayan region. The workshop also introduced and demonstrated the ‘Conventional Solar Stills’ and ’Hydropanel’, a device which converts air (moisture) into the water.’
Speaking about the impact of the workshop, Dr. Bharat S. Rajpurohit, coordinator of the workshop and Associate Professor, School of Computing and Electrical Engineering, IIT Mandi, said, "The three days’ workshop has significant impact on the participants. Since the topic of the workshop was related to the benefits of the society participants from the different streams have shown their interest towards the workshop. There were more than 65 candidates from the IIT Mandi and other neighboring state institutes who has attended the workshop and shared their significant contribution as their views towards the intensive topic as drinking water".
The workshop also provided a platform for an in-depth discussion on the various challenges like lack of awareness, low output per day, high cost and limited benefits which result in lack of public interest of a Solar Thermal Energy System (STE) and their possible remedies which will benefit participants from academic/ R&D institutions, engineers and policymakers. In addition, the potential issues looking beyond the existing research frontiers and independent of disciplinary boundaries were also discussed in the workshop.
Highlighting the unique aspects of this workshop, Dr Jaspreet Kaur Randhawa, Assistant Professor, School of Engineering, IIT Mandi, and Workshop Coordinator said, “This is an interdisciplinary project where electric engineers will develop the accelerated evaporation/water purification system whereas material scientist will solve the issues of remineralisation. We will combine traditional knowledge with modern technologies to provide affordable water purification systems”.
About National Mission on Himalayan Studies (NMHS) project
NMHS (National Mission on Himalayan Studies) is a venture of Ministry of Environment, Forest & Climate Change (MoEF&CC). NMHS supports innovative studies and related knowledge interventions (that do not tread on the beaten path) towards the sustenance and enhancement of the ecological, natural, cultural, and socio-economic assets and values of the Indian Himalayan Region.
‘Development of Low Cost Accelerated Water Purification Systems with Added Mineralisation for Himalayan Region’ is a part of NMHS study to develop a simple, low cost accelerated high-quality water purification system with added minerals from locally available materials for off-grid applications. Solar disinfection technologies have been proven as one of the most appropriate point-of-use water treatment (WT) methods, especially in remote regions where access to electrical power and/or chemical supplies are either restricted or unavailable. The project will develop a low cost accelerated Water Purification System by using solar thermal energy (STE). The study aims towards the application of scientific knowledge from various disciplines to have an efficient water purification system in this region.
The 3-day workshop was attended by the students of IIT Mandi and other institutes. The aim of the workshop was to discuss the possible solutions and strategies to achieve the goal of developing a simple, cost-effective, easy to operate and maintain and socially acceptable Water Purification System by using Solar Thermal Energy (STE) and traditional knowledge of the Himalayan region. The workshop also introduced and demonstrated the ‘Conventional Solar Stills’ and ’Hydropanel’, a device which converts air (moisture) into the water.’
Speaking about the impact of the workshop, Dr. Bharat S. Rajpurohit, coordinator of the workshop and Associate Professor, School of Computing and Electrical Engineering, IIT Mandi, said, "The three days’ workshop has significant impact on the participants. Since the topic of the workshop was related to the benefits of the society participants from the different streams have shown their interest towards the workshop. There were more than 65 candidates from the IIT Mandi and other neighboring state institutes who has attended the workshop and shared their significant contribution as their views towards the intensive topic as drinking water".
The workshop also provided a platform for an in-depth discussion on the various challenges like lack of awareness, low output per day, high cost and limited benefits which result in lack of public interest of a Solar Thermal Energy System (STE) and their possible remedies which will benefit participants from academic/ R&D institutions, engineers and policymakers. In addition, the potential issues looking beyond the existing research frontiers and independent of disciplinary boundaries were also discussed in the workshop.
Highlighting the unique aspects of this workshop, Dr Jaspreet Kaur Randhawa, Assistant Professor, School of Engineering, IIT Mandi, and Workshop Coordinator said, “This is an interdisciplinary project where electric engineers will develop the accelerated evaporation/water purification system whereas material scientist will solve the issues of remineralisation. We will combine traditional knowledge with modern technologies to provide affordable water purification systems”.
About National Mission on Himalayan Studies (NMHS) project
NMHS (National Mission on Himalayan Studies) is a venture of Ministry of Environment, Forest & Climate Change (MoEF&CC). NMHS supports innovative studies and related knowledge interventions (that do not tread on the beaten path) towards the sustenance and enhancement of the ecological, natural, cultural, and socio-economic assets and values of the Indian Himalayan Region.
‘Development of Low Cost Accelerated Water Purification Systems with Added Mineralisation for Himalayan Region’ is a part of NMHS study to develop a simple, low cost accelerated high-quality water purification system with added minerals from locally available materials for off-grid applications. Solar disinfection technologies have been proven as one of the most appropriate point-of-use water treatment (WT) methods, especially in remote regions where access to electrical power and/or chemical supplies are either restricted or unavailable. The project will develop a low cost accelerated Water Purification System by using solar thermal energy (STE). The study aims towards the application of scientific knowledge from various disciplines to have an efficient water purification system in this region.