Department of Chemical Engineering

&ldquo;IIT Jodhpur is committed to impart quality education to facilitate the creation of qualified, competent and responsible human resources to meet the emerging technological challenges of the world. It is working towards creating an equitable learning platform that is positive, accessible and effective in the face of the modern societal and scientific advancements.

Flexibility in curriculum, in all its academic programs, encompassing elements of teaching, research, creativity, innovation and entrepreneurship is the most unique feature of IIT Jodhpur. The Department of Science and Technology (DST), under the National Mission on Cyber Physical Systems, has identified IIT Jodhpur as a Technology &amp; Innovation Hub in the area of Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality. The institute has also been nominated as the coordinator for the Jodhpur City and Knowledge Cluster by the Office of Principal Scientific Adviser, Government of India.

The sprawling 852-acre IIT Jodhpur campus is a majestic tribute to the deep-rooted diverse cultural heritage of the region. The campus is an architectural masterpiece, which is slated to become an international exemplar of sustainability with net-zero energy, and advanced water and waste management strategies.&rdquo;

IIT Jodhpur

World University root node

AIChE Annual Meeting, Conference Proceedings

Regulation of Smad2 signaling in self-renewing human embryonic stem cells

By 2020, desalination and water purification technologies are expected to contribute significantly to ensure a safe, sustainable, affordable and adequate water supply in India. The cost of producing water from the current-generation desalination technologies has declined over time at a rate of only approximately 4% per year. Hence the need to accelerate our Research and Development (R&D) activities with a near and long-term objectives for evolution of current generation desalination technology along with the creation of revolutionary next-generation advanced desalination and water purification technologies that will offer a promise of 'step reduction' in the cost of producing water. There are five broad technological areas (thermal technologies, membrane technologies, alternative technologies, concentrate management technologies, reuse and recycle technologies) that encompass the spectrum of desalination technology. In this paper, high-priority research areas in all the above technological areas are discussed to help make decisions about the research direction that will address our nation's future water supply challenges. Copyright © 2008 Inderscience Enterprises Ltd.

International Journal of Nuclear Desalination

R&amp;D areas for next-generation desalination and water purification technologies

The problems of water shortages and lack of access to safe drinking water have been and will continue to grow as major global problems. To alleviate these problems, water purification technologies are being updated. Recent years have witnessed impressive breakthroughs towards practical application of nanostructured materials such as Carbon Nanotubes (CNTs) in the field of water purification owing to their unique thermal, electrical and mechanical properties. These nanoscale structures need to be arranged into well-defined configurations in order to build integrated systems with high efficiency (the nanotubes being reusable, whereas the traditional membranes foul easily and require frequent replacements), high flux (owing to the hydrophobic super smooth inner surface of nanotubes), and with improvements in chemical selectivity (through suitable chemical functionalisation of the CNTs), so that the idea of using CNTs in separation technology can be made realistic and the potential benefits of practical application of these unique materials can be exploited. This paper assesses the CNTs as an emerging technology in water purification system, particularly with respect to its potential for the removal of arsenic, fluoride, heavy metals and toxic organic components. Copyright © 2008 Inderscience Enterprises Ltd.

Potential of carbon nanotubes in water purification: An approach towards the development of an integrated membrane system

A 1800 m3/day Seawater Reverse Osmosis (SWRO) plant was commissioned in October 2002 at Kalpakkam, India, as part of the Nuclear Desalination Demonstration Project (NDDP). The conventional pretreatment scheme was adopted consisting of a lamella clarifier, pressurised sand filter, activated carbon filter and cartridge filter. The dosing of pretreatment chemicals, ferrous sulphate and polyelectrolytes was done at optimum levels to keep the Silt Density Index (SDI) value between 3 and 4. Experimental trials indicated that the dosing of chemicals may not be necessary below a particular turbidity level. Similarly, the dosing of proprietary antiscalant chemicals instead of sodium hexametaphosphate to control the sulphate scaling did not affect the process performance. Rather it helped the operation, as the antiscalant is in liquid form and the addition of hydrochloric acid could be eliminated. The overall cost per unit water production was also reduced. Copyright © 2008 Inderscience Enterprises Ltd.

Experiences with the conventional pretreatment system in the seawater reverse osmosis plant at Kalpakkam

The major energy requirement required for a seawater reverse osmosis plant is in the form of electrical energy. The primary energy requirement in the process is the electrical energy fed to high-pressure pumps to pressurise the feed seawater to the membranes. This high-pressure pump, being a high inertia load, requires very high torque at the time of starting. This requirement results in increased acceleration time of the motor, which subsequently increases the strain on the upstream electrical system from motor feeder to transformer. Such starting characteristic necessitates provision of a special starting scheme for the high-pressure pump motors. The seawater reverse osmosis plant of the Nuclear Desalination Demonstration Project (NDDP) was commissioned in October 2002 at Kalpakkam, India. This paper presents the experiences of problems faced owing to the typical starting characteristics of high-pressure pumps and provision of series reactor type motor starter for the same. Copyright © 2008 Inderscience Enterprises Ltd.

Improvement in motor performance during high-pressure pump starting at NDDP, Kalpakkam

Small scale brackish water desalination units are used in remote areas and their sustenance depend on the twin factors of consistency of product water quality and availability of raw water resources. A mathematical model has been developed based on the input parameters of feed salinity, basic membrane characteristics, feed temperature, desired product quality and quantity to predict the operating recycle ratio at constant operating parameters. This ensures the consistent quality of product water at the same time minimizing the raw water consumption. The algorithm used include calculation of recovery, determination of membrane configuration and operating pressure within the guidelines of manufacturer's specified hydrodynamic parameters. The model has a range with respect to reference value of design. The model can estimate the feed quality variation +10% to -70% and feed temperature variation ±5EC based on the design reference value. © 2008.

Desalination

Optimized design of a reverse osmosis system with a recycle

Desalination plants based on Mechanical Vapour Compression (MVC) technology are inherently the most thermodynamically efficient. The thermodynamic efficiency of the MVC process is derived from the application of the heat pump principle. A single unit of a two-effect MVC desalination pilot plant of 50 m3/day capacity has recently been commissioned at Trombay, Mumbai. The desalination unit is very compact and unique in the seawater desalination technologies and is being operated by using electricity only. Horizontal tube thin-film spray desalination evaporators are used for efficient heat transfer. It is suitable for a site where feed water is highly saline and condenser cooling water is absent, and where a thermal heat source is not available. The unit produces high-quality water, nearly demineralised (DM) quality directly from seawater. There is no need for a polishing unit and product water can be used directly as make-up of boiler feed and for other high-quality process water requirements in industry. This paper includes the design and highlights the technical features of this unit. Copyright © 2007 Inderscience Enterprises Ltd.

Mechanical vapour compression desalination plant at Trombay

Desalination systems are mostly based on membrane (RO) and thermal (MSF and MED) processes. High-pressure operation and high level of corrosion are the major aspects of concern in a Seawater Reverse Osmosis (SWRO) Plant. Selection of the appropriate material for construction and the following of the proper design, fabrication and testing codes, and safe operational procedures ensure the safety of the plant. Proper selection of feed seawater source, provision of standby equipment, proper instrumentation and controls, and periodical maintenance improve the reliability. When the desalination plant is integrated into a nuclear power plant, safety measures have to be more stringent, in order to achieve smooth operation and public acceptance. In this paper, the safety and reliability aspects of SWRO desalination plants are discussed in detail, including the case study of an SWRO plant integrated with a nuclear desalination system. Copyright © 2007 Inderscience Enterprises Ltd.

Safety and reliability aspects of seawater reverse osmosis desalination plant of nuclear desalination demonstration project

Utilisation of waste heat is one of the ecofriendly ways to produce low-cost desalted water. Keeping this in mind, Low-Temperature Evaporation (LTE) desalination technology utilising low-quality waste heat in the form of hot water (as low as 50°C) or low-pressure steam (0.13 bar) has been developed to produce high-purity water (conductivity <2 μS/cm) directly from seawater. LTE technology has found major applications in nuclear reactors to produce high-quality desalted water for make-up water requirements. Continuous and successful operation of a 30 Te/day LTE desalination plant utilising waste heat from the CIRUS nuclear research reactor has demonstrated the safety, reliability, exceptional plant availability and economics of nuclear desalination by LTE technology. Utilisation of waste heat from the Main Heat Transport (MHT) purification circuit of an Advanced Heavy Water Reactor (AHWR) to produce about 250 Te/day of high-quality desalinated water is also proposed. Recently, we have commissioned a 50 Te/day two-effect low-temperature desalination plant with cooling tower where the specific energy and cooling water requirements are significantly reduced. This paper discusses the salient features of the LTE desalination plant, its applications and advantages. Copyright © 2007 Inderscience Enterprises Ltd.

Seawater desalination utilising waste heat by low-temperature evaporation

The use of thorium for nuclear power generation is an important element of the Indian atomic energy programme. The design and development of the Advanced Heavy Water Reactor (AHWR) is a step in this direction. Intensive design activity is underway to set up a 300-MWe AHWR. The design of the AHWR incorporates several features to simplify the design and to eliminate certain systems and components, making it economically competitive with other available options for power generation. Utilisation of low-grade or waste heat is an additional feature incorporated in the overall design of the reactor system. A proposal to utilise waste heat from the Main Heat Transport (MHT) purification circuit to produce high-quality desalinated water by the low-temperature evaporation process has been envisaged. This paper presents the proposed nuclear desalination system utilising MHT purification circuit waste heat of AHWR along with its coupling arrangement and technical details. Copyright © 2007 Inderscience Enterprises Ltd.