Plappally, Anand K

2024, Meraj Ahmad, Chandra Prakash, Arti Sharma, Dixit, Ambesh, Chhabra, Meenu, Plappally, Anand K

The availability of safe drinking water in non-networked rural areas and disaster-affected zones is dependent on point-of-use water filters. This study describes the design and performance assessment of a personal portable ceramic water filter named “sip-up.” Four sample variants were made using clay, exfoliated graphite (EG), and sawdust as raw materials. Samples were made using a mold to ensure uniformity and sintered at 850 °C. The experimental results showed that the sample containing the maximum amount of sawdust had the highest porosity of 36.07 ± 1.8%, providing an average flow rate of 0.61 ml/min in passive mode. The average pore size radius of all variants varied in the range of 1–10 nm, classifying the material as having a mesoporous structure. Compressive test results indicate that the addition of an organic additive (sawdust) decreases the compressive strength of filters as compared to non-organic additives. It has been observed that the addition of EG to clay does not significantly improve water filtration parameters as compared to samples containing only sawdust and clay. However, due to the smaller pore size, samples containing EG performed better in E. coli removal as compared to sawdust-containing samples. The final prototype can act as a single-use personal water filtration device that can be inserted into any commercial water bottle, making it an affordable and effective solution for hikers, travelers, and natural disasters such as floods and cyclones.

2024, Sunil Duhan, Sachin Jalwal, Himanchal, Plappally, Anand K

G-filter is a common household ceramic water filter manufactured from kaolinite sawdust. Kaolinite and sawdust wet mixtures are press-formed to produce the frustum shape; air-dried and sintered to manufacture the G-filter. The sawdust used is a mixture of dissimilar wood waste readily available at carpentry workshops. In this article, Cassia fistula pods sawdust is used instead of the sawdust mixture. This new filter is named Cassia Fistula Modified (CFM) G-filter. Thermogravimetric and SEM analysis were performed to characterize and compare the CFM and regular G-filter variants. The CFM G-filter has a double modal mass reduction compared to the G-filter manufactured with sawdust as raw material. Comparative flow analysis revealed a ten-fold increase in filtration rate in CFM-based G-filters compared to regular G-filters. Therefore, CFM-modified G-filters can become a potential solution for fluoride removal from drinking water sources. The CFM greenware mixture is modified with ferric chloride and alumina nanoparticles to produce a Novel Clay Ceramic (NVC) water filter. The control experiments for NVC water filters were conducted on a G-filter modified in similar manner with FeCl3 and Al2O3 nanoparticles. Ion-selective elective test for NVC filter achieved ~33% and ~53.33% fluoride removal in the first and the second run, respectively. Similarly, ion chromatography revealed 37.66% and 46.97% fluoride removal in the first run and the second run, respectively. The regular G-filter did not showcase any specific removal whatsoever compared to the NVC. The implication of this work is the use of local plant materials as point-of-use solutions for drinking water problems.

2013-01-01, Wei, Xiaohua, Wang, Xiugui, Dong, Bing, Li, Xinjian, Plappally, Anand K, Mao, Zhi, Brown, Larry C.

The experimental farmland-channel-wetland systems (FCWS) in Guilin, China have been recently designed based on wetland water recycling systems in Midwest USA. The present article develops a methodology for simplifying the prediction of residence time as a function of the flow rate and physical shape of these contaminant removal systems. A series of two-dimensional simulation studies on surface flow through FCWS wetland of different shapes are performed. Parameters influencing hydraulic characteristics such as empirical values of inlet and outlet flow conditions, and wetland shapes are utilized as inputs to the study. Roughness coefficient was assumed to be constant across the different wetland designs discussed in this article. The mean velocity values within the wetland decreases with increase in ratio of variant inlet widths and wetland inflow rates. The results from the simulation are used as inputs for performing a multivariate multiparameter regression algorithm. This framework models the residence time within the wetland independently as a function of shape, mass inflow, and inlet geometry. This simplified model can be used with ease to evaluate existing as well as new wetland system designs for potential improvement in its function of desalting and filtering waters. © 2013 Desalination Publications. All rights reserved.

2015-04-30, Adil, Ammar, Badarla, Venkataramana, Plappally, Anand K, Bhandari, Ravi, Sankhla, Poonam Chand

Today, Information and Communication Technology (ICT) is ubiquitous. It has touched almost all spheres concerning human survival, growth and development. Agriculture is no exception to it. This paper presents the research initiatives towards improving irrigation efficiency through affordable ICT solutions. It presents experimental results of studies related to improving irrigation efficiency in Semi arid zones in India, using commercially available ICT solutions. It compares between simple microirrigation and microirrigation with ICT (irrigation on demand) and establishes that by using ICT in agriculture, we can increase the irrigation efficiencies by a considerable amount. The paper also presents the development of indigenous wireless sensor node and gateway made from open source hardware and software components. The efforts in this regard show, while maintaining comparable performance, a significant reduction in the cost of wireless sensor devices, when compared to commercially available wireless sensor devices, is achieved.

2024, Meraj Ahmad, Usha K. Aravind, Plappally, Anand K

In India, Ceramic Water Filters (CWF) named G-filters are becoming a point-of-use household water treatment solution. The filter's reliability may be primarily characterized by the filtrate turbidity and microbial removal efficiency. The temperature and moisture gradients of the location affect its performance. This paper describes a 19-week laboratory investigation of G-filters simulating field conditions. The basic objective during the study was to ascertain the effective useable life of the filter. The discharge rate and turbidity reduction ability of the filters are studied in depth. The G-filters were prepared using locally available salty clay and sawdust taken in equal volume fractions. A total of 30 filters with a 9-liter capacity each were used for the experiments. The results showed that CWFs can reduce turbidity effectively. The influent water used for the study had a mean turbidity of 7.65 NTU, which reduced in the range of 0.03 NTU to 1.03 NTU. Over the course of four months, the average flow rate decreased from 1.94 Lh-1 to 0.93 Lh-1. Although a soft brushing of filters improved the filtration rate but that too failed in the long run. Brunauer–Emmett–Teller (BET) nitrogen adsorption–desorption measurements were used to determine the variation in pore size of filters with time. An average pore radius of 2.91 nm was found in the original filter that has not been used for filtration experiments. Moreover, an average pore radius of 1.77 nm, 1.21 nm, and 1.22 nm were reported in G-filters through which 427.5 L, 807.5 L, and 1035.5 L, respectively, of water were passed. This reduction in pore size is attributed to the clogging of pores over a period of time. This study aims to collect performance data to establish a scientific model using statistical analysis for implementing CWF technology in developing nations.

2024, Meraj Ahmad, Pankaj Jakhar, S. Sunitha, Plappally, Anand K

G-Filters can contribute to the circular economy by promoting sustainable water management practices. G-Filters provide gravity based filtration and an affordable clay ceramic solution for household water treatment in India. These filters are made from clayey soils with organic pore forming material. As a result, ceramic water filters (CWF) reduce the need for expensive water treatment facilities and the associated energy and resource consumption. G-Filters can be easily cleaned and reused, reducing the amount of waste generated by single-use water filters. They can also be reused a porous irrigation vessels (PIV) for desalting soils. This contributes to the circular economy by promoting resource efficiency and minimizing waste. Furthermore, G-Filters can also help promote local economic development by using locally-sourced materials and manufacturing processes, and creating job opportunities for local communities. By incorporating G-Filters into water management practices, we can move towards a more sustainable and circular water economy.

2013-07-01, Yakub, Ismaiel, Plappally, Anand K, Leftwich, Megan, Malatesta, Karen, Friedman, Katie C., Obwoya, Sam, Nyongesa, Francis, Maiga, Amadou H., Soboyejo, Alfred B.O., Logothetis, Stefanos, Soboyejo, Wole

This paper presents the results of an experimental study of the effects of porosity on the flow rate and Escherichia coli (E. coli) filtration characteristics of porous ceramic water filters (CWFs) prepared without a coating of silver. Clay-based CWFs were fabricated by sintering composites of redart clay and fine woodchips (sawdust) in three different proportions by volume, viz: 50:50, 65:35, and 75:25. Sintering the greenware below 1,000 C produced reddish colored pot of three different degrees of porosity and micro-and nanoscale pores, which are the key to efficient filtration. The porosities and pore size distribution frequencies of the sintered clay ceramics were characterized using mercury intrusion porosimetry (MIP). The porosity of the CWFs ranged from ∼36% to ∼47% and increased with increasing sawdust content in a linear fashion, and the pore size varied from ∼10 nm to ∼100 μm. The volume flow rates of water through the CWFs were investigated by measuring the cumulative amount of water flow as a function of time. The flow rate was found to increase with increasing porosity of the CWFs. The effective intrinsic permeabilities of the CWFs were then obtained from Darcy fits to the flow rate data. These were compared with values obtained using the Katz-Thompson method. Both approaches gave comparable results of permeability between ∼1 millidarcy to ∼50 millidarcy. The tortuosity of the CWFs was found from Hager's equation to range from ∼10 to ∼60. In general, while the permeability of the CWFs decreased with increasing clay content, tortuosity increased with increasing clay content. The CWFs removed E. coli from aqueous suspension very efficiently with average log reduction values between 5.7-6.4. The implications and limitations of the results are discussed for the effective filtration of water in the developing world. © 2013 American Society of Civil Engineers.

2024, Himanchal Bhardwaj, Anugya Shukla, Aswathy Puthukkulam, Venkata Ravibabu Mandla, Plappally, Anand K

Unplanned urbanization and industrialization have become threats to the sustainability of services in the cities of India. This article explores the relationship between land use spatial pattern, vegetation cover, water, and varying configurations of industrial land use in Kota City, Rajasthan, India, from the year 1990 to 2020. The study utilizes remote sensed Landsat data for analyzing the spatial-temporal dynamics of the landscape. A supervised classification approach is adopted to classify three decadal data. Spatial metrics are utilized to quantify the spatial configuration of the landscape. It was observed that a significant urban expansion has occurred in the city mainly in the northwestern direction on fertile lands, with a severe loss of traditional water bodies within the city. Lately, the rocky southern landscape of Kota city has been used for performing agriculture.

2019-07-01, Nighojkar, Amrita Kaurwar, Vijay, Ankisha, Kumavat, Ajay, Gupta, Sandeep, Satankar, Raj Kumar, Plappally, Anand K

This paper elaborates manufacture and performance analysis of new clay ceramic (CC) water filtration materials. The CC is manufactured from clay and sawdust mix. Waste marble powder and machined iron fines are used as additives to the mix for manufacturing the new modified materials. An equal volume of clay and sawdust were used to manufacture the control CC. Another ceramic, marble clay ceramic (MCC), was manufactured with distinct volume fractions of clay, sawdust, and marble (40:40:10). Third ceramic, ferrous clay ceramic (FCC), was manufactured from an equal volume of clay and sawdust and five percent by volume of iron fines. FCC showcased better arsenic (As (V)) contaminant removal from water at acidic pH while MCC showcased best As (V) removal at around pH of 8. Average flexural strength of MCC was comparatively better than FCC and CC. The modified materials showcased similar percolation rates at par with control CC. MCC showcased comparatively better E. coli removal capabilities than FCC and CC. Only limited volumetric addition of marble powder and iron fines were found to positively affect compressive strength. The results demonstrate new low-cost ways of modifying strength and specific water treatment characteristics of CC using waste materials from local marble-processing and iron-machining industries.

2017-01-01, Kaurwar, Amrita, Satankar, Raj, Gupta, Sandeep, Aravind, Usha K., Kothari, Kuldeep, Soboyejo, Alfred, Plappally, Anand K

Off-white water pots have had sustained traditional acceptance for a long period of time in Jodhpur compared to red colored water pots imported from the neighboring Gujarat state. Both types of pots hold 20 liters of potable water. The fluorescence spectroscopy reveals dominance of silica, alumina and iron oxide in red pots from Gujarat whereas off-white pots from Rajasthan also have a slight excess of CaO and MgO. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy reveals a firing temperature of 800 °C for off-white pots, which is comparatively less than that for red pots. A lower amount of Fe2O3 and higher MgO in off-white compared to red water pots is responsible for the color differentiation. Off-white pots show a better degree of cooling compared to red pots. Better resistance to load was observed in off-white pots compared to red pots. This study may imply influence of hidden techno-functional aspects towards sustainability of off-white pots in Jodhpur, Rajasthan.