Agartala: Tripura University was granted its first patent rights for a solar energy-run mobile water purifier that can be installed in emergencies to avail clean drinking water. The project was designed and developed by Professor Harjeet Nath of the Chemical and Polymer Engineering Department of the Tripura University Business Incubation Center.
Speaking to EastMojo over the issue, Professor Nath said: “This is the first official patent registered in the University’s name. Some patents have been granted earlier, but they were registered under the name of individuals who used the University as a location. The Tripura University, the Ministry of MSME and AICTE jointly funded the project.”
Nath used his technology to provide clean drinking water to the displaced people affected by the floods during last year’s devastating Silchar floods.
The patent was officially granted on July 11, 2023.
“We are in talks with Eureka Forbes and other market players for technology transfer. I hope things will take a positive spin very soon and if that happens it will be a big breakthrough for our university and the incubation centre set up here,” said Nath.
When asked who the product would benefit, Nath said, “Indian defence forces as well as the disaster management response forces of the state and national level spend a lot of money in providing clean drinking water. As packaged drinking water is the easiest way of providing drinking water to distressed people, it ends up creating a huge plastic waste. Apart from that, providing clean water to soldiers becomes tough when the troops have to move to remote places or challenging terrains. This product can change the scenario and make locally-available water safe for consumption.”
He said the device produces drinking water of BIS/WHO standards and it is very portable in the form of a backpack or suitcases. The device is capable of sensing the water quality on the spot itself.
According to the professor, all this is possible at a negligible cost of 37 paise per litre.
“As we know, each kind of water needs specific treatment technology to make it suitable and healthy for drinking. This device has a smart sensor and an inbuilt design to decide the appropriate inbuilt treatment. The device also has a smart self-backwash technique which cleans up the internal filters regularly, thereby not compromising with the efficiency as well as tackles membrane filter fouling effectively. “
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Talking about the water filter’s hardware, Nath said the internal battery can light an LED bulb overnight and charge the mobile. “It has folding Solar panels housed inside the portable setup itself. It can work both on domestic power and solar,” Nath informed EastMojo.
A statistic prepared by the Tripura University professor said per capita freshwater accessibility in India is just 1,184 cubic metres, predicted to fall with an increasing population. This makes water purifiers a necessity, especially in rural areas and during natural calamities like floods etc. where there’s a higher risk of disease and lack of facilities to deal with it.
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