Deccan Chronicle 17.08.2009
IIT team can desalinate groundwater
Chennai, Aug. 16: The saline groundwater in the city suburbs could be desalinated through a hi-tech but inexpensive technology developed by scientists of the Indian Institute of Technology, Madras. The technology has been developed following reports that the groundwater table in Adyar, Greenways Road, Gandhi Nagar and Kotturpuram has turned saline because of percolation of seawater.
It was the removal of natural sandbars in the Adyar river mouth that turned the groundwater saline in these areas. Though the sandbars were removed to facilitate the movement of sewage into the sea, this led to the intrusion of seawater into the river.
Prof Sundara Ramaprabhu, head, Alternative Energy and Nanotechnology Laboratory, told this newspaper that a new and revolutionary technology was available to remove the salt content from the groundwater. “We have developed a nano material with which the salt content could be brought down to the minimum permissible levels prescribed by the competent authority,” said Prof Ramaprabhu.
“Metallic contents, too, could be removed by this technology. We found that the material developed in our laboratory could bring down the salt content from 4,000 microgram per ml to 200 microgram per ml with a single filtration. A couple of additional steps will ensure the total removal of salt from the groundwater,” he said.
Prof Ramaprabhu refused to divulge the name of the material. “We have filed an application for patenting the product. So, it is not advisable to reveal more than this,” he said.
The technology can be scaled up to a major plant to remove the salt content. “Because of the groundwater turning saline, people have started using Metro water even for chores like gardening and washing clothes. The water filtered by the new technology could be used for all domestic purposes except drinking,” he said.
The professor and his team had recently developed a technology for de-polluting Cooum river. The state government authorities have evinced interest in the material and discussions are under way for setting up the first plant in Chennai.
