Hydrogen a future fuel and a greener fuel is a necessity in the upcoming future due to scarcity of fuels existing at present. It requires a special attention to hydrogen transport, its storage and related activities when it is present in the gaseous form since it is highly inflammable. Among various hydrogen storage technologies Liquid organic hydride (LOH) seems to be a very promising method for transporting and storing hydrogen.
Nitrate concentration in surface run-off and ground water has been a concern for researchers for a prolonged period of time. Nitrates are highly stable and mobile which poses risk in aerobic system. It often results in eutrophication in water bodies and other health issues like blue baby syndrome in infants and digestive tract cancer in adults. Denitration of water in order to make it potable involves different physio-chemical processes like ion exchange, microbial de-nitrification, electro dialysis, reverse osmosis etc. Catalytic Hydrogenation involves converting Nitrate into inert Nitrogen which turns out to be advantageous from ecological point of view than membrane or adsorption processes.
There is a growing need for reclamation of wastewater due to increasing scarcity of water. Although conventional treatment processes have their advantages, their drawbacks such as high operation and maintenance costs and requirement of skilled manpower mean that they cannot be decentralized.
Phytorid technology is a nature-inspired option for treatment of domestic wastewater, which utilizes the high uptake capacity of plants commonly found in natural wetlands as well as processes such as filtration and microbial action to achieve excellent pollutant removal efficiencies, while offering advantages such large scalability, enabling their use on a decentralized as well as on a centralized level. Other advantages include as low operation and maintenance costs and eliminating odour problems.
Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cells (PEMFC's) require very high purity Hydrogen (99.999%) and Carbon Monoxide concentration below 10 ppm in order to prevent poisoning of the membrane. Hydorgen produced from Steam Methane Reforming can have up to 10% CO and thus cannot be used directly in PEMFC's. By catalysis, CO can be preferentially oxidized over H2 to CO2, resulting in a very high purity Hydrogen stream.
Biogas obtained from anaerobic digestion of biomass waste can have upto 50% CO2 and 10 % N2, both of which are non-combustible and do not contribute to the calorific value of the fuel. By removing CO2 and N2 from biogas stream, the calorific value of the gas can be greatly increased with the added bonus of capturing CO2 and preventing its release to the atmosphere. At CTC, we work in synthesis and evaluation of materials such as Zeolitic Imidazolate Frameworks which show high CO2 storage capacity and good selectivity for CO2 over CH4.
It is possible that agricultural residue, waste wood, (Biomass structural constituent are hemicelluloses, cellulose and lignin) and other unexploited cellulose sources can be converted in ethanol. Biomass is a renewable source which could be sustainably developed in the future. And no net release of carbon dioxide, very less sulfur content. Biomass can be converted to bio-syngas by non catalytic, catalytic and steam gasification processes. The syngas can be converted to ethanol via Fischer –Tropsch type reaction.
Increasing levels of air pollutants are responsible for higher incidence rate of respiratory diseases, cancer, and heart diseases. Vehicular emissions are the major contributors towards air pollution. Improper drainage systems have resulted in increase in water contamination. Thus, it is essential to develop methodologies to reduce these uncertainties to manage air quality more effectively. Emission Inventory (EI) is a scientific tool for quantification of pollutant emission load from various sources.
Increasing levels of pollution from industrial, domestic and miscelleneous sources have resulted in the deterioration of many surface water bodies. One aspect of this research area is using Floating Bed Wetlands for rejuvenation of lakes. In these wetalnds, the plants grow in a hydroponic manner, taking their nutrition directly from the water column in the absence of soil. Beneath the floating mats, a hanging network of roots, rhizomes and attached biofilms is formed. This hanging root-biofilm network provides a biologically active surface area for biochemical processes as well as physical processes.