Bengaluru:
A group of young scientists and engineers in the city have
come up with an innovative product -concrete bricks made from lake sludge which
are totally environment-friendly unlike cement-based ones.
The cost of
each brick can be reduced to almost half of their conventional counterparts and
they are one and a half times stronger as well, claims Mohsin Ali Khan, a civil
engineer who just graduated from CMRIT and has been instrumental in the
innovation along with four of his friends. The team adds that the sludge can
also be used as a good fertliliser.
Research under the guidance of Prof. Phani Kumar Pullela helped
the team file three patents - for sewage sludge bricks, ornamental bricks and
cementless structural-element pave bricks. Using geopolymer technology, the
team has been working and experimenting since 2016 as part of their final
project at college. They have also registered a startup named CO3
Structural Systems which has been recognised by the Department of Industrial
Policy and Promotion (DIPP), Government of India.
Speaking to
DC, Prof Pullela, head of innovation and entrepreneurship cell at CMRIT said
that the team was inspired by design thinking workshops held at the institute
which enabled them to come up with innovative solutions. "The team
identified the problem at Bellandur and collected silt from the lake which was
treated and used for their experiments. As research progressed, their hard work
and dedication helped them find patentable ideas. They have developed something
dangerous for nature into something that is environment-friendly and that needs
to be appreciated," he remarked.
The company
is now working on another project related to utilising mine dust for innovative
solutions and is hopeful of setting up a brick factory soon near to the city.
The team of friends have also decided to pursue higher education in due
course, in turns. For instance, when Gowtham Reddy B, one among them, returns
on completion of his course at Coventry University, Mohsin has already made
plans to fly to a varsity to further his education. The other members of the
team include Sharath Kumara Devraju, Vinay Kumar Mansali and Mulla Parvez
Ahamed and mentors Prof. Karthik N M (Civil Engineering Department) and Prof.
Srinivas Reddy (Mechanical Engineering Department). "The company has
signed an MoU with CMRIT and CMR University to help us further our research
using the laboratory facilities and mentoring from the subject experts,"
sums up Mohsin.
https://www.deccanchronicle.com/nation/current-affairs/200218/bengaluru-silt-from-lakes-to-make-environment-friendly-bricks.html
