It was developed internally by a research group at the Center for Immission Control and Environmental Technology
Pondicherry University has successfully commercialized wastewater treatment technology developed in-house by a research group at its Center for Pollution Control and Engineering, School of Engineering and Technology.
Gurmeet Singh, Vice Chancellor of Pondicherry University, said that the inexpensive and environmentally friendly wastewater treatment technology developed by the research group consisting of SAAbbasi, S. Gajalalakshmi and Tasneem Abbasi has been licensed to a Mumbai company.
Vision Earthcare (P) Limited, a Mumbai-based company, has been granted a non-exclusive license to use the university’s patented technology.
According to the inventors, the unique feature of the technology licensed from the University of Pondicherry is that it is more than six times cheaper than the next cheapest conventional technology, while being as effective and efficient as the best.
It is also “self-propagating”, which requires very little energy, material and maintenance.
BM Jaffar Ali, Coordinator, Intellectual Property Rights Cell, Pondicherry University said Pondicherry University was granted a patent in 2018 after the technology was carried out in several pilot facilities on the Pondicherry University campus, as well as in some extensive field tests in the villages of Puducherry.
This technology is advertised under the trade name “SHEFEROL” (acronym for “Sheet Flow Root Level” reactor), which comprises channels in which small terrestrial, amphibious or aquatic weeds are packed to the extreme. The unique design and functioning of SHEFROL allow it to remove numerous pollutants in a single step or “pot”, unlike traditional technologies that require several different units in series.
Low ecological footprint
This brings with it a very significant cost advantage and a reduction in the ecological footprint. The technology developed is particularly suitable for wastewater treatment.
“Over 75% of this is currently discharged untreated and devastating our rivers, lakes and ponds. It is also believed to be the largest source of most water-borne diseases, leading to billions of rupees a year in preventable healthcare spending and man-days lost, “the university said.
The research group is active in the field of pollution reduction and environmental remediation and has published over 17 research articles in indexed international journals on the various scientific and technological aspects of wastewater treatment technology.
It is hoped that the commercialization of SHEFROL will lead to the emergence of many more such technologies from the University of Pondicherry in the near future.
The University of Pondicherry has also patented related downstream technologies developed by this research group to convert the sludge and spent plants from SHEFROL reactors and similar sources into organic fertilizers.
However, this is the first patented technology from the Pondicherry University research laboratory to be commercialized.
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