Indian Institute of Technology (IIT)-Madras has a cost effective and simple solution to the Cauvery River water dispute — an imbroglio that has Tamil Nadu and Karnataka fighting a legal “war” for decades. What started as an investigation by the IIT-Madras team to find out a suitable technology for treating the effluent water discharged by the dyeing and tannery units in Tamil Nadu hit a jackpot when it found that the solution could be used for desalinating the seawater of the Bay of Bengal.
Prof Sundara Ramaprabhu, head, alternative energy and nanotechnology laboratory, department of Physics, IIT-Madras, told The Pioneer that a nanomaterial developed by his team could remove all kinds of dissolved materials from seawater and make it fit for agricultural purposes.
“It is a variant of graphite and could be produced at unbelievably low cost if we resort to industrial-scale production,” said Prof Ramaprabhu. He demonstrated the treatment as well as desalination of both effluent water as well as seawater. The innovation developed by the IIT-Madras got a shot in the arm with the National Metallurgical laboratory’s Chennai centre certifying that the water treated and desalinated by the innovation brought down the dissolved materials from 3,940 microgram/ml to 188 microgram/ml.
“We filled a vessel with the nanomaterial and filtered the seawater with it. The result was encouraging and inspiring. This technology could be up-scaled and we can go for the industrial-scale desalination,” said Prof Ramaprabhu. The technology has been patented and is up for grabs for those desirous of setting up big-time desalination plants. “This technology could be used to desalinate the seawater of the Bay of Bengal and we can use the same to meet the requirements of farmers in the Cauvery Delta,” said Prof Ramaprabhu.’
The Cauvery River has become the lifeline of the five Delta districts of Tamil Nadu. Whenever there is monsoon failure and there is insufficient water in the river, tempers run high in both the States. Saturday saw life in Karnataka coming to a standstill following a bandh call given by farmers in the State against Tamil Nadu’s opposition to the construction of dams at Mekedattu in Cauvery.
Prof Ramaprabhu said IIT-Madras and other research institutes in the country are academic institutions engaged in research and teaching only. “There is no academia-industry tie-up and we cannot go for up-scaling the innovations. It is for big time industries to do so,” he said.
Interestingly, BJP leader Subramanian Swamy had asked Tamil Nadu last week to focus on developing deslination plants along the coastline to meet the needs of farmers in the Cauvery Delta. He also said there are technologies and innovations with which economical desalination plants could be set up along the East Coast of Tamil Nadu.