A low-cost indigenous electrostatic spraying technology developed by the researchers from Central Scientific Instruments Organisation (CSIR-CSIO), Chandigarh, might come handy for metro cities like the national capital to cut down dust and smog pollutants.
The electrostatic spray-based multipurpose dust mitigation tech is a modification of the pesticide spraying technology that the researchers had developed after intensive research spanning seven years.
This technology uses electrostatic field to generate charged spray droplets which recombine with naturally occurring oppositely charged dust and smog particles and settle down onto the ground very efficiently and effectively.
Dr Manoj K Patel, scientist and principal investigator of the project, said, “Suppression of dust is very much necessary to live a healthy life and protect us from communicable diseases like Asthma, TB, and other airborne diseases. Moreover, dust also creates hindrance in the operation of machinery and industries, so it becomes inevitable to suppress the dust and foreign particles in the working environment”.
The field and laboratory trials of the dust mitigation device are in progress. Soon, the device will be deployed at field scale for commercialisation, according to an official from the Department of Science and Technology under the Science and Technology Ministry.
The pesticide spraying technology has already been well received among the scientific fraternity of the country. For this societal innovation, Dr Patel and his team has been awarded NRDC National Societal Innovation Award 2017. He has also been awarded Gandhian Young Technological Innovation Award 2016.
The researchers said pesticides spraying technology is different from the conventional spraying technologies as it can control the excessive use of pesticides by reducing the droplet size and ensuring even distribution of spray.
The tech has been transferred to Dashmesh Industries, Alwar, Rajasthan and the product is available in the market for the end user by a brand name eSPRAY, being used in India as well as overseas.
Professor RK Sinha, Director, CSIR-CSIO, Chandigarh said, “The technologies developed in the field of electrostatic spraying have great socioeconomic impacts which are directly linked to our farmers and the common man.”