CHENNAI: The Indian Institute of Technology - Madras (IIT-M), has signed a memorandum of understanding with Teerthaa, a sustainable technology company, to develop a device that can generate potable water from atmospheric air, said a statement issued by the institute on Friday. Called ‘NERO,’ the device will produce four to five litres of potable water per day and will immensely benefit residents of the region that face water crisis.
According to the statement, the developed product will be cost-efficient as it is intended to reach the market at affordable price. Besides, it will have negligible operting costs as its power source will be solar thermal energy and will have minimal maintenance cost.Teerthaa is a sustainable technology company that is in the business of manufacture of atmospheric water generators and is focussed on research, development and commercialization of equipment that extracts atmospheric moisture for consumption.
The MoU was signed by Professor Ravindra Gettu, Dean (Industrial Consultancy and Sponsored Research), IIT Madras, and Durga Das, Chief Executive Officer of Teerthaa in the presence of M P Maiya, refrigeration and air-conditioning laboratory, Department of Mechanical Engineering, IIT Madras, who will be coordinating the project.
Highlighting the importance of this development, Professor Ravindra Gettu said, “The collaboration is expected to have a major impact on remote areas and people isolated from conventional water sources.”
Sharing more information about this collaboration, Professor M P Maiya said, “Atmospheric air is not only a major source of fresh water but also universally available. However, it is in the form of vapour, and the challenge is to collect it as liquid. The proposed solar still based on desiccant technology traps water molecules from the atmospheric air during the night and yields water during the day by utilizing solar energy. It would be a boon to places where even the brackish water is not available.”
Speaking about the collaboration, Durga Das said, “We are interested in exploring different technologies of Atmospheric Moisture Extraction (AME) as a part of our major national mission of availability of potable water for the masses. At present, we are producing AMEs based on vapour compression refrigeration technology in several output configurations. With NERO, we will enhance the lives in millions of homes in the villages where water is scarce.”