Research Papers

Wildfires in India: Tools and Hazards

Schmerbeck Joachim, Kraus Daniel
| 2014

Provides a thorough and detailed discussion of the complex interdependencies that exist between people and the causes, consequence and implications of living with wildfire hazards.

Urgent need for life-cycle thinking in infrastructure

Venkatesh G, Kurian Mathew, Kansal Arun
| 2014

This paper presents urbanization challenges in India and initiatives taken to address them. Urbanization in India is characterized by skewed urban growth between cities by large population influx creating distinct variation in core and periphery of cities in terms of urban form and services. Key challenges include growth of slums, inadequate management of solid waste, decrease in per capita water availability and unreliable water quality, inadequate sewage coverage and deteriorating ambient air.

Urban Challenges in India and the Mission for a Sustainable Habitat

Ghosh Ruchira, Kansal Arun
| 2014

This paper presents urbanization challenges in India and initiatives taken to address them. Urbanization in India is characterized by skewed urban growth between cities by large population influx creating distinct variation in core and periphery of cities in terms of urban form and services. Key challenges include growth of slums, inadequate management of solid waste, decrease in per capita water availability and unreliable water quality, inadequate sewage coverage and deteriorating ambient air.

Understanding public knowledge and awareness on e-waste in an urban setting in India A case study for Delhi

Kwatra Swati , Pandey Suneel, Sharma Sumit
| 2014

Despite legislation in place, there is still a gap in knowledge and awareness of the communities on the issues of e-waste handling and management. It is important to understand the knowledge and awareness levels of the consumers of electronic products who ultimately become the generators of e-waste in a community. The current study is based on a survey conducted in an urban setting to understand people’s perception about the genesis of issues related to e-waste and its management.

Treatment of nitrate-rich water in a baffled membrane bioreactor (BMBR) employing waste derived materials

Basu Subhankar, Singh Saurabh K, Tewari Prahlad K, Batra Vidya S, Balakrishnan Malini
| 2014

Nitrate removal in submerged membrane bioreactors (MBRs) is limited as intensive aeration (for maintaining adequate dissolved oxygen levels and for membrane scouring) deters the formation of anoxic zones essential for biological denitrification. The present study employs baffled membrane bioreactor (BMBR) to overcome this constraint. Treatment of nitrate rich water (synthetic and real groundwater) was investigated. Sludge separation was achieved using ceramic membrane filters prepared from waste sugarcane bagasse ash.

Topographic controls on spatio-temporal snow cover distribution in Northwest Himalaya

Sharma V, Mishra V D, Joshi P K
| 2014

The present study deals with spatio-temporal snow cover distribution in Northwest Himalaya (NWH) in a discourse on regional topography and prevalent climatology. Snow cover variation during 2001-2012 in NWH and eight major river basins was examined using MODIS data on board the Terra satellite. Slope match topographic correction was applied to eliminate the differential illumination effect on satellite imagery. The impact of cloud cover was removed by generating a 10-day maximum snow cover product.

Thermogravimetric analysis and kinetic modelling studies of selected agro-residues and biodiesel industry wastes for pyrolytic conversion to bio-oil

Mukherjee Agneev, Das Piyali, Minu K.
| 2014

IEA's recognition of international trading prospect of pyrolysis oil as a biomass intermediate to bridge the demand and supply gap of biomass resources across the globe is likely to accelerate large-scale development of pyrolysis technology in coming years. The complex nature of pyrolysis reactions however have led to the development of numerous kinetic models which show a wide variation in activation energy and other kinetic parameters for the same biomass feedstock. This also leads to complexity in reactor designing and process upscaling.

Thermal performance prediction and energy conservation potential of earth air tunnel heat exchanger for thermal comfort in building

Kaushik S C, Garg Tarun, Lal Shiv
| 2014

In this communication, thermal performance of building integrated "Earth Air Tunnel Heat Exchanger" (EATHE) has been studied for a composite climate of Delhi. Mathematical model and building thermal simulation software (Energy Plus) are used for prediction of indoor air temperatures. The predicted results are validated through experimental results. Energy conservation potential both for heating and cooling of EATHE has been evaluated for winter and summer months in a specific year. Quantitative assessment of CO2 mitigation has also been computed.

The legal framework to manage chemical pollution in India and the lesson from the Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs)

Sharma Brij Mohan, Bharat Girija K, Tayal Shresth, Nizzetto Luca , Larssen Thorjørn
| 2014

Indias rapid agro-economic growth has resulted into many environmental issues, especially related to chemical pollution. Environmental management and control of toxic chemicals have gained significant attention from policy makers, researchers, and enterprises in India. The present study reviews the policy and legal and nonregulatory schemes set in place in this country during the last decades to manage chemical risk and compares themwith those in developed nations.

The effect of boundary layer dynamics on aerosol properties at the Indo-Gangetic plains and at the foothills of the Himalayas

Raatikainena T, Hyvarinena A-P, Hatakka J, Panwar T S, Hooda R K, Sharma V P, Lihavainen H
| 2014

Previous studies have noted that aerosols originating from the polluted Indo-Gangetic plains can reach high altitudes at the Indian Himalayas and thereby have an effect on the south Asian monsoon. Here we examine the transport of pollutions by comparing aerosol properties from a Himalayan foothill measurement site and a site at the Indo-Gangetic plains.