Guwahati (Assam) [India]Jan 27 (ANI): Researchers at the Indian Institute of Technology Guwahati have said that they are in the process of identifying key work areas and research priorities that will contribute to green growth and sustainable development.
He said that the rapid depletion of fossil fuels, anthropogenic emissions and ever-increasing energy consumption have led to a growing interest in future energy systems based on renewable resources worldwide.
In line with the priorities of the G20 summit to be hosted by India this year, IIT Guwahati is working towards developing an affordable, high-performance and environment-friendly energy storage and generation system, according to an official release. Also durable. This will be a major contribution of the institute in building a sustainable future.
Highlighting the need for research on sustainability, Professor Parameshwara K. Iyer, Acting Director, IIT Guwahati, said, “Development of affordable, high performance, sustainable and eco-friendly energy storage and generation systems is of utmost importance in the present scenario where the demand for energy is ever increasing.”
In this context, several efforts are underway at IIT Guwahati towards achieving the sustainable goals of green hydrogen production and carbon dioxide sequestration.
Development of perovskite oxide based catalysts for green hydrogen production
Professor Mohammad Qureshi, Department of Chemistry, IIT Guwahati, and his research team are working on developing perovskite oxide-based catalysts to generate green hydrogen by exploring the correlation of various structured materials with electrochemical performance by designing a library of morphological electrocatalysts. have been Hydrogen is produced by the splitting of water, the release said.
Elaborating on the impact of this research, Qureshi said, “We have made great progress in the electrolytic splitting of water into hydrogen (H2) and oxygen (O2). In particular, hydrogen is an energy carrier that can be used in fuel cells. And can be used in stationary and portable power generators for a variety of applications without any greenhouse gas emissions.
Akshay Kumar Alape Sitaram, Head, Center for Nanotechnology and Associate Professor, Department of Chemistry, IIT Guwahati, and his research team have designed an efficient ‘pincer’ catalytic system that converts industrial/biomass waste into hydrogen and specialty chemicals.
Small amounts of these ‘pincer’ catalysts repeatedly convert large amounts of biomass-derived products into specific chemicals and hydrogen. Alcohols and related biomass derivatives can, for example, be converted into specialty chemicals, fuels and hydrogen, which find wide use in the food, pharmaceutical, cosmetic, polymer industries and the energy sector.
Elaborating on this research, Sitaram said, “While renewable energy sources based on wind, solar, geothermal and biomass have attracted considerable attention as alternatives to fossil fuels, most of them are naturally are intermittent and fluctuating. In this direction, our group has accomplished the development of efficient liquid organic hydrogen carrier (LOHC) systems based on abundantly available biomass for efficient hydrogen storage and transport applications.
Development of photocatalyst to convert solar energy into green hydrogen
Nageswara Rao Pila, Associate Professor, IIT Guwahati, along with his research team has developed photocatalysts that can convert solar energy into hydrogen using an artificial photosynthetic system (mimicking nature).
The research team has successfully developed a corrugated optofluidic device for photocatalytic water-splitting to generate hydrogen and oxygen from solar energy on a large scale.
Professor Parmeshwar K. Iyer, Acting Director, and Faculty, Department of Chemistry, IIT Guwahati, and his research team have developed photo- and electro-catalysts for Carbon Dioxide Reduction Reaction (CRR) and Hydrogen Evolution Reaction (HER).
Their easily tunable synthetic pathways make them easily accessible compared to other semiconductor platforms. By adopting some transformation approaches such as molecular or elemental doping, researchers have dramatically strengthened the photocatalytic activity towards efficient proton or carbon dioxide reduction to boost both photochemical efficiency and selectivity.
Along with this, IIT Guwahati has also established a Chemist Center of Excellence for Industrial Nanotech Innovation (CD-CoE), which aims to develop and commercialize new generation technologies and products related to ethanol manufacturing from agro-based feedstock. Efficient protocol for conversion of ammonia to green hydrogen.
National Green Hydrogen Mission
The Union Cabinet this month approved the National Green Hydrogen Mission, which aims to make India a global hub for production, use and export of such technologies. The initial financial outlay for the mission has been pegged at Rs 19,744 crore, which includes research and development activities.
Under this mission, the government aims to increase the annual green hydrogen production to 5 million tonnes.
The Green Hydrogen Mission will gradually lead to decarbonisation of the industrial, transport and energy sectors; Inter alia, reduction in dependence on imported fossil fuels.
India receives a large portion of its energy needs through imports, and the green hydrogen mission is seen as an opportunity to reduce dependence on imported fuel.
India’s commitment to climate goals
At the COP26 summit in Glasgow in late 2021, Prime Minister Narendra Modi committed to an ambitious five-part ‘Panchamrit’ pledge, including reaching 500 GW of non-fossil power capacity, meeting half of all energy requirements from renewable energy To produce, 1 billion tonnes by 2030 to reduce emissions.
India aims to reduce the emission intensity of GDP by 45 percent. Lastly, India is committed to net-zero emissions by 2070.
Speaking of, India has gone ahead and banned the use of several single-use plastics from July 2022.
The adverse effects of littered single-use plastic items on both terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems, including the marine environment, are recognized globally.
Addressing the pollution caused by single-use plastic items has become an important environmental challenge facing all countries. (ANI)
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