LPU Bio-Tech Researcher visited three Universities of Canada to discuss Cost-Effective Green Technology
Jalandhar: Under an invitation from Canada’s McGill University (Montreal) for research collaboration in IC (Indo Canadian)-IMPACTS Project; Associate Dean Dr Neeta Raj Sharma at School of Bio-Engineering and Bio-Sciences of Lovely Professional University (LPU) discussed innovative & cost effective green technology at three Canadian Universities. Dr Sharma discussed elaborately about waste-water treatment by using “bio-char agri-waste (Rice-Husk)” at University of British Columbia (Vancouver), Guelph University (Toronto) along with at McGill University. Along with Canadian Varsities’ team members, LPU team of biotech researchers is all-set to clean the most polluted areas of the Panjab State, including Buddha Nullah at Ludhiana. This is slated under Rs 4.5 Crore IC-IMPACTS (the India-Canada Centre for Innovative Multidisciplinary Partnerships to Accelerate Community Transformation and Sustainability) Project.
For this project, Canadian & Indian Universities’ team members have joined hands to work for cleaning Panjab state’s and later on world over polluted water-bodies through waste rice-husk. LPU researcher also got connected with Canadian people and made them aware about the innovative research works at LPU. Dr Sharma also conducted two LPU alumni meets in Canada-one at Montreal and another at Vancouver. The research work being conducted at LPU in collaboration is ‘an innovative green technology endeavour for treating municipal and industrial waste water entering rivers and streams’. It involves the students of multi-disciplines and is an effort to develop cost effective, easy to use innovative technology.
As per the current observation of Buddha Nullha, it is heavily polluted with organic waste which is one of the causes of liver diseases in the region. LPU research team is studying the potential of agri-waste to treat waste water and its reuse for irrigation purpose. As per the LPU research findings, bio-char is the potential material to tackle the organic and inorganic pollutants. Further, this project will design a system to first employ bio-char/hydro-char to remove heavy metals and some organic compounds from wastewater. After this, flood-plain filtration is to be used to remove other inorganic and organic compounds. This study will also take advantage of the by-products (rice husk) of the rice industry in India.
Congratulating LPU researchers for illustrious doings, Chancellor Mr Ashok Mittal asked all research oriented students and faculty members at LPU to keep on striving hard for more such globally needed human-welfare projects. Illustrative, Department of Bio-Technology (DBT) of India has played pivotal role in attainment of this project for LPU researchers. Dr Sharma has also to visit University of British Columbia, on another invitation, in the month of August 2017 for one more research-collaboration in the area of automation of water quality monitoring in aquatic environments. This project is also a collaborative effort between India and Canada governments.