Air nano-bubble – breakthrough technology by IIT, Ropar to reduce 90 per cent water use in textile sector
To address the use of large quantity of water in textile sector, the Indian Institute of Technology, Ropar has developed an innovative green technology – air nano-bubble that can reduce the water quantity. The prestigious institute has claimed that the technology can reduce the use of water up to 90 per cent.
As per the rough estimate 200-250 L of water required to process 1 kg of Cotton fabric. The laboratory reports suggest the air nano-bubble dispersed in water can reduce the water consumption, chemical dosage by 90-95% which ultimately saves 90% of the energy consumption as well, claimed by Dr. Nirmalkar who has developed this technology. Prof. Rajeev Ahuja, Director, IIT Ropar said, “Textile is one of the most water-intensive industries and there is an escalating need to address the problem of managing water usage in textile industry associated with contamination of water. At IIT Ropar we are inventing and incorporating new-age processing methods to conserve water for our future generations.
In textile industry, the water is used at many steps required for fabric preparation including for dyeing, finishing chemicals in the textile substrates, desizing (process of removal of sizing material from yarn), scouring, bleaching, and mercerizing (chemical treatment of fabric to enhance affinity towards dye). At the same time the textile industry also produces the highest volume of wastewater. The major source of water pollution are pre-treatment, dyeing, printing, and finishing of textile materials.
Dr. Neelkanth Nirmalkar informed that it is based on nano-bubbles of air and ozone. The bubbles are hydrophobic in nature therefore interacts better than water with the fabric and distributes chemical and dyes in the fabric much efficiently than just water. These bubbles are of a size equivalent to th times of human hair. Ozone nanobubbles efficiently remove the extra dye during fabric wash and degrade the dye in the water.
Besides saving water consumption, the water after processing with a nano-bubble machine can be re-used. Nanobubble serves as a carrier for the processing chemical & reduces the extra chemical required. “Treatment of garment through this patented technology helps in maintain its real color for outdoor usage. It helps in obtaining 2-D effects, easy care, water repelling, and softening of fabric”, claimed Dr Nirmalkar.
IIT, Ropar has developed this eco-friendly technology under start-up named NanoKriti Pvt. Limited which is also working towards cleaning the environment and is expanding in developing new applications ranging from water treatment to health care. <><> RC:RB <><>
