Publications
Benchmarking Industrial Water Use Efficiency in India: Opportunities for Water-Intensive Industries
Policy brief
| February 8, 2024
The rapid expansion of population and industrial activities in India has led to acknowledging the critical importance of water conservation. Addressing the escalating water usage within water-intensive industries is essential, given their significant contribution to the economy alongside their substantial impact on water resources. Amongst the water-intensive industries, thermal power plants are the highest consumer of water, followed by pulp & paper, textiles, and iron & steel industries.
Accelerating the Growth of Green Bonds in India
Policy brief
| February 8, 2024
India's enormous financial requirements to address climate change and ensure just transitioning for its economy cannot be met by the lone public sector and would require catalyzing private finance and institutional investment into climate initiatives. Green bonds offer an emerging financial instrument that holds the potential to attract private investors into climate action. However, unlike the exponential growth of green bonds in the global market, they still occupy only a scanty share of the Indian bonds market.
India’s Electricity Transition Pathways to 2050: Scenarios and Insights
Policy brief
| February 8, 2024
Energy transition is at the core of restricting global climate change and achieving sustainable development. The difference between a gradual and rapid transition will eventually determine the climate future of India. During the last decade, there has been a steep decline in the costs of renewables (solar and wind) and energy storage technologies (BESS), which helped India in reaching a significant milestone of 125 GW renewable capacity in 2021.
Concentrating Solar Power Plants with Storage: Deployment Essential Now
Policy brief
| February 8, 2024
India’s continued commitment to achieving the clean energy transition is well recognized worldwide. At COP26, India announced the highly ambitious goal of decarbonizing energy to 50% and achieving 500 GW of fossil fuel-free generating capacity by 2030.
Biodegradable Cellulose and Cellulose Nanofibres‑Based Coating Materials as a Postharvest Preservative for Horticultural Products
Research Paper
| December 28, 2023
Currently, the packaging material is composed of fossil fuel-based plastics, which are non-biodegradable. Therefore, the biodegradable coating material developed from cellulose can be explored for applications like packaging, cutlery, bowls, straws, etc. The aim of the present study was to develop an agro-waste-based sustainable coating material using a waste-towealth approach. The study focused on transforming cellulose and cellulose nanofibre (CNF) derived from rice straw into biodegradable polymeric coatings.
Filling in the gaps in second‑generation biorefineries: evaluating rice straw and its bioethanol residue for the production of biogenic silica nanoparticles
Research Paper
| December 28, 2023
In the present scenario of accelerated research on production of ecofriendly bioethanol, second-generation bioethanol generation has particularly gained wide attention. These utilize agricultural feedstock and industrial residues, therefore assisting in their management without presenting any competition for food supplies. Rice straw is one such abundantly generated agricultural residue with a great potential for sustainable production of bioethanol.
Monitoring of Spatio-Temporal Carbon Stock Variation in Dudhwa Tiger Reserve, Uttar Pradesh, India using Remote Sensing and Machine Learning Based Approach
Research Paper
| December 27, 2023
Temporal variation in forest cover, the largest terrestrial ecosystem on Earth, influences the climate at both local, regional, and global scales through physical, chemical, and biological processes. At the same time, forests sequester and store more carbon dioxide than any other terrestrial ecosystem and act as a "natural brake" in climate variation. Here, we have made an attempt to assess the spaio-temporal variation in forest biomass combining field-based and remote sensing and machine learning approaches.
Rice straw‑derived cellulose: a comparative study of various pre‑treatment technologies and its conversion to nanofibres
Research Paper
| December 21, 2023
Rice straw is a waste product generated after the harvesting of rice crops and is commonly disposed of by burning it off in open fields. This study explored the potential for the extraction and conversion of cellulose to cellulose nanofibres (CNFs) to be used as smart delivery systems for fertilizers applications. In this study, alkali, steam explosion, and organosolv treatments were investigated for cellulose extraction efficiency. The morphological characterization of cellulose showed smooth fibrillar structures.
Biodegradation of N‑fertilizer loaded on cellulose nanofibres to assess their potential use as a controlled‑release fertilizer
Research Paper
| December 21, 2023
Cellulose nanofibres (CNF) have emerged as advanced systems for controlled, smart delivery of N-fertilizer owing to their surface modification properties. However, to realize the true potential of this nanomaterial, its biodegradation analysis would be crucial to understanding its impact and fate when exposed to the environment. In this study, the main focus was to investigate the effect of N-fertilizer loaded CNF (electrostatic interaction between the negatively charged COO– group on CNF and the positively charged ammonium ion) on the microflora of the soil.
Waste to wonder: zinc mining waste can be source for magic plant-nutrients
Article
| December 20, 2023
Urbanization and industrialization have placed a heavy load on the environment by generating billion tons of harmful garbage every year. A study by TERI found India, in a year, produces over 62 million tons (MT) of waste, making it a leading cause of environmental and public health concerns in the country.