Plappally, Anand K

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.

2024, Aryan Sawant, Plappally, Anand K, Winston Soboyejo, Amrita Nighojkar

Effective waste management is crucial for achieving sustainable development goals, which require a comprehensive understanding of environmentally sound practices. This study introduces a pioneering methodology by employing Microsoft's Power BI data visualization tool to analyze and predict trends in sustainable waste management in India. The investigation spans a decade of sustainable handling of diverse waste categories, identifying key research entities and influential journals. Notably, Elsevier and Springer are prominent publishers, with hybrid publishing accounting for 62% of articles. Research focuses predominantly on municipal solid waste management (57%), followed by biomass waste management (15%). Leveraging Power BI facilitates intricate temporal analysis of waste patterns, providing a nuanced view of the evolving landscape in sustainable waste management. The study innovatively integrates data visualization with predictive analytics to forecast trends through 2034, particularly in converting municipal solid and biomass waste into valuable energy resources. These predictive insights are indispensable for long-term strategic planning and informed policy decisions, empowering stakeholders with actionable intelligence for sustainable energy and waste management strategies. By harnessing Power BI's forecasting capabilities and analyzing historical Scopus data, this research underscores the strategic significance of visual analytics in guiding data-driven decision-making for sustainable practices. This comprehensive examination of waste management dynamics establishes a benchmark for future research and policy formulation in the field.

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.

2023, Meraj Ahmad, Amrita Nighojkar, Plappally, Anand K

Moisture is an inherent constituent of air present across the world. The relative humidity varies with the change in temperature and climate specific to a region. In some regions of the world, there may be a relatively inadequate number of grains of moisture in the air in comparison with other regions. These factors widen the scope for the deployment of decentralized technology to capture water. The effectiveness in capturing moisture gains significance in these regions. Among the numerous forms of moisture, fog and dew are studied in depth. Over time, flora and fauna in different ecosystems have adapted to capture moisture as well as repel excesses of it according to their requirements. Therefore, bio-inspired studies and tailored engineering strategies have been incorporated in this review. Since efficient technologies are required at moisture-scarce locations, active moisture harvesting has also been studied. The use of innovative materials along with different energy sources to capture water is elaborated. The effects of climate change and environmental contamination on harvested moisture are therefore assessed. Community participation and economical use of harvested fog or dew influence the sustainability of moisture-capture projects. Therefore, this article also provides an insight into the services of decentralized water-harvesting projects run by diverse organizations and researchers across the globe.

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.

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.