Yazhini @ IISc, July 2024

My Takeaways from the IISc Sustainability Summit

A bunch of us from my class (III B.Tech. Energy and Environmental Engineering) decided to participate in the Sustainability Summit 2024 organised by the Centre for Sustainable Technology, IISc Bangalore. There was nearly a month-long break after the practical exams and before the end-sem exam and I couldn't find a reason to not dive in! 

CST

Apart from being predictably and hugely awed by the IISc campus, here's what I learned from the two-day summit (19-20 July):

Prof. NH Ravindranath

• 21st century challenges made ASTRA evolve into CST.
• Initial R&D areas included rural energy consumption patterns, efficient cookstoves, biogas plants etc.
• A study by the department found that 20-30% of forests will undergo change by 2050 and 2080.
• Research using CORDEX CMIP5 (Coordinated Regional Climate Downscaling Experiment by the World Climate Research Program) found that 0.5 degrees Celsius temperature would be crossed in 10-15 years at block and district level.
• 80% of PG research focuses on modelling while only 20% deals with ground-level experiments.
• This is a big challenge but big challenge = big opportunity!
• Book suggested: Small is Beautiful by Schuamacher.

When I googled Sir before the summit, I was stoked to see that The Bulletin of Atomic Scientists (whom I keenly follow for the Doomsday Clock) has his profile too and he's in the top 2% of the world's most cited researchers!

Prof. HS Mukunda

• Science + Technology + Product development = fulfilling rural energy requirements.
• Biomass as an energy source has been largely orphaned as it needs to be collected, is not considered a good-quality fuel and is used by deprived classes.
• Gasification of this biomass is an excellent principle.
• Forced convective combustion is a better way since the air supply controls the combustion.
• Efficiency computation using the water-boiling test (the one we too use during thermochemical conversion practical class) is also dependent on the size of the vessel used.
• Built combustion system: Oorja cookstove.
• LPG-biomass hybrid combustion system can help in cooking a large quantity quickly. In biomass mode, the BM is ignited using a gel fuel.
• BM from urban solid waste should be capitalised as soon as possible as USW will exist as long as societies do.

During the midsemester exam, I borrowed the book Understanding Clean Energy and Fuels from Biomass from the TNAU Library and it helped me so much and I looked up Sir's website, where I found  and read another great book called Understanding Combustion through Images. Sir seemed happy when I told him this on our way to the lunch venue. He has put up all his book pdfs on his website so that students can access them for free!

Us from left: Mahesh, Chris, Jodie, Shruthi, Harini, Yazhini, Swetha, Jyothika, Jagan, Nagavarshini, Jayashree.

Prof. Raghunandan

• Descended from space tech to sustainability :)
• Gave an academic flavour to CST.
• CST's role in the Hubli-Ankola project.

Prof. Chanakya

• Chronic agricultural droughts (not meteorological) -- lakewater reduction and contamination -- summer epidemics -- outmigration --- These dominated the scene in 1970-80, leading to bechirag villages.
• "Addressing the needs of the neediest" became paramount.
• Water purification was carried out through halogen release (Cl and I), solar disinfection/distillation and silver-based ceramic beads. The last approach was later abandoned because of potential Ag resistance, which could endanger the lives of burn victims.
• Drinking water technology included digging borewells and installing biogas-powered pumping systems. As a result, child health improved.
• Later, groundwater dependence and overexploitation, coupled with wastewater without treatment facilities became problems.
• This was tackled with the help of methanogens. Methanogens sticking to biomass are not removed by detergents and thus act as fixed biofilms.
• 98-99% of the carbon (COD & BOD) in the WW could be converted to methane using lagoons, constructed wetlands and AD WW treatment plants.
• This tech was extended to WW from silk-reeling and even desiccated coconut water (which was also turned into wine!).
• Foaming incidents in lakes arose when rain and excess discharge disturbed the sludge settled at the bottom, leading to redispersal of the detergents.
• Nutrients in WW are important for agriculture. Reusing greywater could reduce 120 LPD demand to 60 LPD.
• Bengaluru's sewage is mostly domestic - low heavy metal concentration.

I got to have an interesting chat with Sir during the tea break. When I told him that I liked the subject of biogas tech and AD of WW, Sir said that I must work on it if I'm interested and said that I should also focus on the microbio cum biochem aspects, which are not extensively covered from an engineering vantage point. Sir said that he also started off as an agriculture student and has visited AEC&RI, TNAU multiple times in the past!

Prof. BV Venkatarama Reddy

• Began the lecture saying that "Biomass as future construction material for net-0 buildings" could sound like a wild idea, but I was pretty convinced by the end of it!
• Worked on compressed earth block (CBR) masonry with different % of cement added.
  
• This reinforced ASTRA's guiding principles: energy efficiency, employment-generating and addressing the needs of the neediest.
• Constructed Bhunga house for rehab after the Bhuj earthquake and flyash block houses for rehab after the tsunami in TN.
• This tech has less embodied energy and 2-3 MT of C savings.
• Built habitats need construction material and energy and the construction sector is responsible for 14 GT CO2 eq/year global emission.
• BREEAM, LEED, IGBC and GRIHA give 50-60% weightage to energy and only 6-13% to construction materials.
• Green ≠ Sustainable
• Example: Glass is used as a functional material in the US and should be a huge no-no for Indian conditions.   
  

An interesting graph that BVVR Sir showed

I am pretty sure Sir's words will come zooming into my brain if I happen to construct a house!

Prof. Vinod Tare

• River > just flow of water. River = flow of resources.
• So it is of no use if hydropower destroys the river itself. River and soil issues must be considered synergistically.
• 90% of surface water is used for agriculture.
• The fact that water is a universal solvent at normal temperature is misused by us humans.
• Ancient literature + Spirituality + Modern science and tech = Solution for water issues. The Samarth Ganga program is a great solution blueprint.
• Every नल creates a नाला.
• Sir built a wastewater treatment plant at his home in the IITK campus during COVID and it is still functional. 
• At what stage should the water loop be closed? - this is an important consideration. 
• Treat sewage upto the level where aquatic life flourishes. Sir's plant literally hosts cute turtles!

Prof. Selvam

• In chemical industry: Feedstock + Energy = Product + Byproducts + Emissions.
• 24% of the GDP is from products requiring catalysis for their production.
• Sustainability implies green chemistry, at the heart of which lies catalysis.
• Catalysis is involved in >95% pollution control strategies.
• An important catalyst is zeolite: crystalline aluminosilicate.
• Sir asserted that one can create anything by understanding stuff at the molecular and atomic level!
• Solid acids are better than mineral acids.

Dr. SN Ullas

• Prof. BVVR's student involved in experiments in building construction.
• Constructed multiple sustainable buildings inside and outside of IISc, 60 toilets, 70+ fuel-efficient stoves and driers and a biogas plant. Trained 620 people.
• Sir's presentation was so full of photographs of buildings and we saw some of them in the next day's nature walk!
• A really cool fence had an underpass at the bottom for small animals like foxes, rabbits and monitor lizards to travel through!

Prof. Sandeep Kumar

• Solid fuel can be gasified to get gaseous fuel.
• Gasification = decentralised waste management + renewable energy.
• The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation levies fine on institutions like IITB if they send in their compostable waste to them. Another challenge is that no one buys compost in a city like Mumbai.
• The garden waste can be added to plastic waste, shredded and co-gasified to get pellets.
• Sanitary napkins (medical waste) are disposed as civic waste. Gasification to the rescue.
• Hydrogen energy from waste using oxy-steam gasification. 100g H2/kg BM can be obtained.
• Campus waste and BM are oxy-steam gasified, producing syngas. The syngas is used in both IC engines and for green electricity generation (1kWh/kg waste). The heat rejected from the IC engine (40%) is again used in the oxy-steam gasification process.
• Gasification-based funeral pyre as the conventional method is polluting and CNG/LPG/electricity is not socially accepted in many parts of India. The concentrations of particulate matter and  carbon monoxide are high only in the initial 15 minutes out of total 120 minutes.
• Sand drying/reclamation using biomass pellets instead of diesel-fired burner results in better quality sand.

Sir's 30-minute lecture gave so many dimensions to what I am learning in thermochemical conversion technology this semester. I think I'll have a wide smile on my face during the TCCT sem exam!

Prof. Anil Kumar Gupta

• Having an eye for oddity is important to spot sustainable innovations that question the conventional.
• Frugality is not just for people but also for Earth.
• Giving voice, visibility and velocity to creative people. The velocity part is slightly challenging.
• From the sustainability analysis framework: sustainability sides with wide decision-making and long timeframe. 
• The portfolio approach indicates higher mean income and lower variance for better returns.
• Asymmetry in access, assurances, ability and attitudes of communities in catchment and command areas of different green energy production regions is a paradox. 
• In-situ set-up for fatigue testing of materials is required, as grassroots innovators usually use second-hand components.
• "Science = Alphabets, Technology = Words, Institutions = Grammar, Culture = Thesaurus"
• Autopoietic model = self-governed + self-designed. This is required.
• Blend natural, social, ethical and intellectual capital.
• Some amazing examples of grassroots innovations: functional use of the heat gradient in north-eastern villages, bamboo windmill to irrigate paddyfields (slower so better moisture and nutrient absorption), birdhouses in Jharkhand to collect bird droppings as manure.
• Co-creation model >> Readymade solution.
• Mentioning people's names in the product, here a bottle of oil, as knowledge providers, is a non-material collective incentive.

  

  Honey Bee Network's icon couldn't be more apt!

  
  

During the Q/A session for this lecture, my friend Jyothika asked: The industrial revolution and the green revolution were quick to arrive and establish themselves, then why is the Sustainability Revolution taking such a long time? Saying that this question absolutely made his day, Sir said that the Sustainability Revolution is banking on young people like us to boom in the near future:D

Nature Walk

• Organised by Yagnaseni Ma'am, Shivangi Ma'am and Shreyata Ma'am. We saw:
• A rock inscription to mark the place where a lion was killed by a man.
• Multiple millipedes, butterflies, snails and birds. Tons of trees, needless to say.
• The CST department and construction materials lab.
• Other IISc departments and places like swimming pool and seismic sensors.
• Caught up with Nagavarshini, our senior from college, who's interning at the SusPaani Lab!

Prof. Ashok Kumar Gupta

• TSS, BOD, COD, NPK and µO used to be the main concern in WWT. Now, emerging contaminants (EC) of toxic nature need to be handled.
• It is mandatory for thermal power plants to use treated WW. This justifies the cost and reduces dependence on freshwater.
• EC are not removed by conventional treatment processes. Type 1 EC do not have regulatory standards while they are evolving for Type 2 EC due to improving detection capabilities.
• EC include pharmaceutically-active compounds, microplastics, personal care products and artificial sweeteners. 
• Scale: Beaker quantity in lab/pilot model ≠ MLD quantity.
• So without proper need-based approach, research work won't move from the laboratory to the ground floor, let alone the ground level ;)
• Technology must be user-friendly.
• Hybrid reactor by IITKGP consisting of moving-bed biofilm reactor with aerated constructed wetland and a toxidation unit generated no sludge.
• AD for toilets can result in foul odour as the decomposition starts taking place in the pipe itself. Thus regular cleaning is required.

  

  AK Gupta Sir explaining a hydraulic head diagram.

  
  

What I have written in these half-a-dozen bullet points was hilariously explained with anecdotes from Sir, we were in splits!

Mr. Ajay Raghavan

• Differentiate the city to understand its working.
• Think about the future of the region but not based on its past.
• A war-room at a single location for 1.4 crore people, i.e., the top-down approach won't work.
• Initiative for Climate Action and Bangalore Creative Circus have been started by Sir to change the approach.
• The government, the private sector and the NGOs must work together and not in silos to achieve outcomes.
• Bottom-up approach >> Top-down approach.
• Thus, the ward level was worked on as it contained the optimum of the city.
• User > Solution. So tailor the solution to suit the user's needs.
• Embrace synergy, complexities and interconnections.
• Adaptation ≠ Mitigation.
• Book suggested: The Ministry for the Future by Kim Stanley Robinson.

Prof. Biswajit Bhattacharjee

• We obtain material from the Earth and energy from the Sun.
• Biocapacity (BC) is the capacity of ecosystems to produce useful biomaterials and absorb waste.
• Ecological footprint (EF) = (Resource consumed)/(Yield/ha) = (Estimated waste generated)/(Absorbed yield/ha).
• Number of Earths required = BC/EF.
• Indian consumption: Concrete composite = 2000 kg/capita/year & Steel = 87 kg/capita/year.
• Recycled building materials save land from mining and also reduce embodied energy of buildings.
• A disadvantage is lower tensile strength compared to the compressive strength.

Mr. Swapnil Joshi 

• Built environment represents the largest impact opportunity for transformation.
• People-Planet-Prosperity approach through Decarbonisation-Democratisation-Digitalisation.
• Infosys is currently C-neutral and heading towards net-zero.

How could we not climb trees!

Dr. Anjan Ray

• Appropriate technology is an intervention that is based on science and brings about a socio-economic change.
• Evidence-based science leads to Outcome-based technology.
• Information ≠ Knowledge. Insights are based on anecdotes, examples and body language.
• To make inventions/discoveries marketable, the industry requires profit, cashflow and shareholder value.
• A humble daily-care product has roughly the same number of components as an EV.
• Material resource efficiency, energy efficiency, bio-derived fuel & lubricants and energy & C storage are the pillars of sustainable energy.
• Material balance: Can I account for every atom that came in and say that every atom that went out was used usefully?
• 1 kW from coal-powered grid = 1 kg CO2.
• A cool method to obtain used vegetable oil: exchange 5L used oil for 500 mL fresh oil.
• Room-temperature biodiesel process.
• Sustainability ≠ Decarbonisation.

Prof. Subhasis Ray

• Marketing sustainable technology is important to take it to the masses.
• Consider the user: despite everything about the biogas cookstove, the housewife asks if she can have the cookstove in the colour of her choice. Providing that means empowering her.
• Fashion and food are difficult areas for sustainability as they reflect our subconscious desires.
• Examples of tech giants' sustainability steps: hp makes keyboards from 85% ocean plastic and Apple takes back old phones to extract critical minerals.

During the Nature Walk.

Panel Discussion

Prof. Venkataraghavan 

• Moderated the discussion and introduced the panel members. This session was rather short but nevertheless inspiring.

Prof. Monto Mani

• Although efficiency has increased, per capita consumption has also increased.
• Sustainability can get difficult to operationalise.
• But when we had a small chat with Sir after the session and he said that he sees hope in our enthusiasm :)

Prof. Yagnaseni Roy

• The pharma industry produces 25-100 kg waste/kg product. This is mostly composed of organic solvents.
• These organic solvents can be recovered through separation technology.

Prof. Souradeep Gupta

• Making binders from construction and demolition waste and also waste slag from industries.
• "CO2 is more than just a GHG, it is a resource that can be stored and utilised."

Prof. Sreenivasan Ramaswami

• WW is a resource as it is 95% water and 5% waste.
• Constituents > Contaminants.
• Reuse + Recovery > Removal.

Prof. LN Rao

• Artificial fertiliser using plasma instead of hydrogen (Haber's process).
• MSW is not waste, it is a resource at the wrong place.
• "There isn't an innovation that has solved all our problems. It solves some but may create others."

Prof. Dasappa

• Although Sir wasn't present during the panel discussion, he chaired the previous lectures and I was awed by the number of speakers who mentioned him and his work.

Prof. Madhavi and Prof. Ananthasuresh

• Ma'am concluded the summit. And she showed us a magpie robin in close range during the nature walk! 

Other things I loved at the summit:

• The kit had only what was required, a notepad, a pencil (NOT a pen:) and lunch coupons.
• Speaking of lunch coupons, the lunch and the refreshments were a treat!

[✓] Pocketbook