IIT Ropar has created an innovative green technology known as an air nano bubble that can cut the amount of water used in the textile industry by up to 90 percent.
Rajeev Ahuja, Director, IIT Ropar, “Textile is one of the most water-intensive industries and there is an escalating need to address the problem of managing water usage in the 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.”
The curator and inventor of this system, Neelkanth Nirmalkar, stated that roughly 200–250 litres of water are needed to prepare just one kilogram of cotton fabric.
According to experimental findings, the air nano bubble dispersed in water can cut water use and chemical dosage by 90-95 percent, saving 90 percent of energy usage in the process.
According to the statement, water is used in the textile industry at many steps that are necessary for fabric preparation, such as dyeing, finishing chemicals in textile substrates, desizing (the process of removing sizing material from yarn), scouring, bleaching, and mercerizing (chemically treating fabric to increase affinity toward dye).
The textile industry also generates the most waste water overall at the same time. According to the report, pre-treatment, dyeing, printing, and finishing of textile products are the main causes of water contamination.
The method is based on ozone and nanosized air bubbles. According to Nirmalkar, the bubbles' hydrophobic nature makes them interact with the cloth better than water does and distribute chemicals and dyes in the fabric considerably more effectively.
These bubbles are one-tenth the width of a human hair in size.
According to Nirmalkar, an assistant professor at the chemical engineering department of IIT Ropar, ozone nano bubbles effectively remove excess colour during cloth washing and destroy the colour in the water.
Water that has been processed by a nano bubble machine can be reused in addition to reducing water use.
According to him, nano bubble acts as a carrier for the processing chemical and lowers the amount of additional chemical needed.
"The treatment of garments through this patented technology helps in maintaining its real colour for outdoor usage. It helps in obtaining 2-D effects, easy care, water repelling, and softening of fabric," Nirmalkar said.
The eco-friendly technology has been developed by NanoKriti Pvt Limited, a start-up founded by IIT Ropar, which is also striving to clean up the environment and is expanding in developing new applications ranging from water treatment to healthcare.
