(The Gist of Science Reporter) Technologies for Smart Cities


(GIST OF SCIENCE REPORTER) Technologies for Smart Cities

[August-2021]


Technologies for Smart Cities

  • One of the objectives of the smart cities mission is to provide clean and sustainable environment through the application of ‘smart solutions’. Department of Atomic Energy (DAE) has developed a bouquet of technologies which can be deployed to meet this objective.

Sludge Hygenisation: 

  • This is a dual-purpose technology for the hygenisation of sewage sludge as well as for its conversion to organic fertiliser.
  •  Dried sewage sludge is irradiated with gamma rays to eliminate pathogens and dormant seeds. 
  • The irradiated sludge is then enriched with micronutrients by inoculation with BioNPK and used as fertiliser. 
  • A plant has been commissioned by the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation.

Hybrid Granular Sequencing Batch Reactor (HgSBR) for Sewage Treatment:

  • DAE has developed a treatment technology for the conversion of floccular mass to granular mass (contaminants aggregated into larger particles) which settle at the bottom of the tank. Pure water is decanted and can be reused for industrial consumption.
  • These plants incur considerably lower operational and maintenance costs as compared to a conventional sewage treatment plant.
  • A 150 KLD plant has been recently commissioned at Kalpakkam, Tamil Nadu. A large 1500 KLD plant at Kalpakkam and a 40 KLD plant at RVNL, New Delhi, are under construction.

Nisargruna: 

  • Nisargruna (repaying our debt to nature) is an organic waste management technology for the treatment of biodegradable waste such as food waste, municipal waste, abattoir waste, dung, etc. Pathogen and weed free carbon-rich manure and biogas are useful by-products.
  • The technology has a modular design and is, therefore, scalable from 10-100 kg/day, making it amenable for installations in small as well as large establishments generating such waste. 
  • Biogas equivalent to 2 LPG cylinders can be generated from each metric tonne of waste.

Plasma Pyrolysis: 

  • Graphite-based plasma pyrolysis system has been developed for the thermal disintegration of organic mass into hydrogen, CO2 and lower hydrocarbons. 
  • Almost 99% of organic mass gets converted into combustible and toxic molecules are completely eliminated. 
  • Plasma pyrolysis is approved under the Gazette of India for safe disposal of Bio-Medical Waste.

Water Purification: 

  • DAE has developed low-cost water purification systems using membrane filters for ultrafiltration of impurities. 
  • These systems require no electricity and call for minimum maintenance, thereby making them rugged and versatile.
  • Technology has been transferred to several entrepreneurs and the systems are commercially available and in wide use.

Water Desalination: 

  • A technology for the desalination of seawater has been developed using nuclear waste heat. 
  • Two such plants have been set up at Kalpakkam and are supplying potable water to the nearby township. The freshwater resources of the country are rapidly depleting due to overuse and seawater desalination technologies will be required to be increasingly deployed in the future. 
  • This technology provides a cost-effective and viable solution and can be considered as a technology for the future.

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Courtesy: Science Reporter