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Scientists astatine the Hyderabad-based CSIR–Indian Institute of Chemical Technology (CSIR-IICT) person achieved a important breakthrough successful sustainable h2o purification with the improvement of an precocious electrospun nanofiber membrane for textile wastewater treatment.
Their latest probe focuses connected removing crystal violet dye—a hazardous pollutant wide discharged by the textile industry. The team, led by Chief Scientist S. Sridhar, has spent the past fewer years processing a next-generation mixed-matrix nanofiber membrane based connected a blend of polyvinylidene fluoride and polyethersulfone, engineered for improved performance.
The membrane is fabricated utilizing electrospinning and enhanced with precocious nanomaterials specified arsenic metal-organic frameworks (MOFs), graphene oxide, and graphene nanoplatelets. According to Dr. Sridhar, the optimized membrane demonstrates exceptional filtration performance, achieving astir 99.1% dye rejection efficiency—significantly outperforming accepted membrane systems.
Nanofiber exertion has gained prominence owed to its precocious aboveground area, interconnected porous structure, superior permeability, and beardown adsorption properties. These features alteration businesslike removal of dyes and toxic contaminants portion reducing vigor depletion during filtration. The summation of nanomaterials further enhances hydrophilicity, antifouling characteristics, mechanical stability, and wide separation efficiency, helium said.
The squad is present moving towards scaling up the membrane for concern applications. As seat of the Chemical Engineering and Process Development Department astatine CSIR-IICT, Dr. Sridhar has led aggregate initiatives addressing effluent attraction challenges crossed industries processing caller membrane-based solutions integrated into processes aimed astatine achieving zero liquid discharge.
Over the years, respective large-scale projects person demonstrated the applicable interaction of this work. These see a 6,000-litre-per-batch nanofiltration works successful West Bengal (2006) for acrylic fibre processing, and an integrated electrodialysis-distillation strategy successful Medak (2010) that treated pharmaceutical effluent and enabled the recycling of 30 metric tonnes per time of dimethyl sulfoxide.
Further innovations see membrane distillation for the chlor-alkali manufacture (2014), nanofiltration for coke oven wastewater betterment successful West Bengal (2017), and sewage h2o reclamation nether a DST-sponsored task (2021). A high-pressure reverse osmosis strategy installed successful Maharashtra (2021–22) enabled 80% h2o betterment successful an aromatic chemicals unit.
Institute Director D. Srinivas Reddy highlighted the wide imaginable of electrospun nanofiber membranes successful biology applications, including desalination, aerial purification, state separation, and biomedical filtration. While the exertion promises cleaner and energy-efficient concern processes, scaling up accumulation remains the cardinal situation ahead, added Dr. Sridhar.
