Post by Indian Institute of Technology, Madras

For decades, gas hydrates—ice-like crystals that naturally trap water molecules—have been recognised as a promising solution for wastewater treatment. However, the challenge of separating these crystals from contaminated water made the technology too energy-intensive for practical industrial use. As reported in businessline, Researchers at Indian Institute of Technology, Madras have now overcome this long-standing bottleneck by developing and patenting a gas hydrate-based process that forms hydrate crystals directly in the gaseous phase, eliminating the need for filtration or centrifugation. When tested on real petrochemical effluent supplied by GAIL (India) Ltd., the technology recovered over 65% of the water, removed 84–93% of contaminants, and recycled more than 99% of the hydrate-forming gases. The treated water met Central Pollution Control Board standards for industrial reuse. Developed by Dr Subhash Kumar Sharma under the supervision of Prof. Rajnish Kumar from the Department of Chemical Engineering, the process offers an energy-efficient alternative to conventional membrane- and heat-based technologies. It consumes 3.88 kWh per cubic metre of water recovered, delivers an estimated water cost of 14 paise per litre, and can reduce the carbon footprint by 35–70%. Currently at Technology Readiness Level (TRL) 6, the team is preparing for pilot-scale demonstrations across the pharmaceutical, textile, and fertiliser industries—bringing India closer to more sustainable industrial water management. Read Here: https://lnkd.in/gVPVK6ZK.