Publications
Solar energy programs for rural electrification: Experiences and lessons from South Asia
Research Paper
| January 11, 2018
South Asia accounts for 37% of the world's population without access to electricity. Such a situation continues to exist despite several initiatives and policies to support rural electrification efforts by the respective country governments including use of renewable energy technologies. While conventional grid extension has been the predominant mode of electrification in the region, the countries have also extensively used solar photovoltaic (PV) technology for energy access.
Sugarcane bagasse fly ash as an attractive agro-industry source for VOC removal on porous
Research Paper
| January 11, 2018
Sugarcane is an important industrial crop in India and the by-product bagasse is used as a fuel in sugar industries generating large quantities of fly ash. Unburned carbon from waste bagasse fly ash was used to prepare porous carbon for use as adsorbent and catalyst support for VOC removal. The carbons were prepared by steam activation and phosphoric acid modification. The textual properties, thermal stability and surface chemistry were characterized in detail using different techniques and the prepared samples from industrial unburned carbon were tested for toluene adsorption.
Sustainable agriculture practices for food and nutritional security
Research Paper
| January 11, 2018
The demand for increased food production and ecological threats for sustainable food production in years to come has resulted in relooking at the current agricultural practices. Globally, scientists are developing solutions for increasing crop productivity and developing nutritionally better crops that are more efficient in resource utilization. The challenge is not just restricted to more mouths to feed but also due to economic growth, the demand for food is increasing and so are the preferences for the kind of food.
Test of Airflow in a Mono-directional Wind-catcher for various Wind Conditions using Computational Fluid Dynamics
Research Paper
| January 11, 2018
Wind-catchers are one of the most extensively used passive technologies in history of arid climatic regions, engaged to supplement airflow and maintain indoor comfort ventilation. It was meant to catch the air flow high above the ground, which is greater in speed compared to the flow at lower levels due to ground conditions. This study aims to analyse wind-catchers with respect to different speeds and its orientation to prevailing winds for effective airflow.
The Evaluation of Two-stage Chemical Fractionation for the Enhanced Enzymatic Saccharification of Cellulose in Rice Straw
Research Paper
| January 11, 2018
Rice straw, an agro-residue, can be utilized as a renewable resource for the production of fuel and chemicals. This study evaluates a two-stage chemical pretreatment (dilute acid hydrolysis followed by alkaline-peroxide delignification) for fractionation and enhancing the enzymatic saccharification of the rice straw cellulose to produce fermentable sugars. The process led to 100% hemicellulose dissolution and resulted in a solid residue with ~95% pure cellulose. Enzymatic saccharification of this cellulose liberates 70% more reducing sugars compared to other single-step pretreatment methods.
The trials and tribulations of the Village Energy Security Programme (VESP) in India
Research Paper
| January 11, 2018
The Indian Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) launched the Village Energy Security Programme (VESP) in 2004 but discontinued it during the 12th Five Year Plan, starting in 2012, after a series of unexpected challenges. Planners structured the program so that a village energy committee (VEC) ran a decentralized village program involving biomass gasifiers, straight vegetable oil (SVO) systems, biogas plants, and improved cookstoves. This suite of technologies was intended to produce electricity and thermal energy to meet the total energy requirements of rural communities.
Transition of Digital library in a web enabled environment: from Semantic to Social Semantic Digital library
Research Paper
| January 11, 2018
Library is a primary source of information throughout the history of mankind and is present in our societies in different forms. Notably, the traditional digital libraries have taken the shape of semantic digital libraries, which gives a more meaningful search and can be accessible anywhere at any point of time. Now it is time to re-examine the role of digital libraries within a new paradigm of library service. This paper will identify how it influences professional’s information needs and use of resources to meet those needs by different forms of Digital libraries in a web environment.
Trend analysis and ARIMA modelling of pre-monsoon rainfall data for western India
Research Paper
| January 11, 2018
Spatial and temporal variability of rainfall over different seasons influence physical, social and economic parameters. Pre-monsoon (March, April and May - MAM) rainfall over the country is highly variable. Since heat lows and convective rainfall in MAM have an impact on the intensity of the ensuing monsoons, hence the pre-monsoon period was chosen for the study. The pre-whitened Mann Kendall test was used to explore presence of rainfall trend during MAM. The results indicate presence of significant (at 10% level) increasing trend in two stations (Ajmer, Bikaner).
Use of renewable energy to enhance sustainability of the mid-day meal program in schools
Research Paper
| January 11, 2018
Children in government schools in Karnataka, India are provided cooked mid-day meals under the 'Akshara Dasoha' scheme. The aim of this initiative is to provide a nutritious meal to school children (who mostly hail from the lower economic strata) to enhance their nutritional status and as an incentive to minimize dropouts. However, cooking these meals have numerous bottlenecks including irregular supply of cooking fuel i.e.
Persistent organic pollutants in Indian environment: a wake-up call for concerted action
Policy brief
| January 11, 2018
India has a comprehensive apparatus of environmental laws. However, the lack of an integrated approach to the regulation of chemicals, poor management of pollution, and the fundamentally retrospective vision have resulted in ineffective implementation of the laws as demonstrated by the example of Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs) in the environment.