Call to make use of BARC technologies for producing low cost water purifiers

(Representative image)
The Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC) has developed technologies for water treatment and purification at low cost and is willing to offer the same to entrepreneurs willing to take up ventures in producing water treatment systems. This was the crux of the presentations made by scientists from BARC at a meet on ‘Business opportunities in water industry using BARC technology,’ organised jointly by the Entrepreneurship Development and Innovation Institute, BARC and the Tiruchi District Tiny and Small Scale Industries Association here on Thursday. Inaugurating the meet, K.Rajamani, Collector, underlined the efforts being made to improve infrastructure of the city. He said that the district administration would display the low cost water purification technology developed by BARC at the Collector’s Office campus so as to raise awareness.

Providing an overview of water purification technologies developed by BARC, J.Daniel Chellappa, Senior Scientist, BARC, Chennai, said the unique membrane based technologies have the potential for effective decontamination of water in rural and urban sectors to provide safe drinking water.

“The membrane is the most important component in water purification systems and they are mostly imported and hence costly. We have developed membranes for various purposes. Using these, water purifiers can be made at low cost,” he said.

BARC has developed different types of water purifiers which can be connected to water pipelines, used as table top units and can be operated without electricity. They are effective in removing impurities, hardness, alkalinity and salinity. It also has developed reverse osmosis membrane for brackish water desalination. The water purification models, he said, require very little maintenance. Entrepreneurs could produce water purifying units using the technologies at affordable costs, he said. A team of scientists from BARC briefed prospective entrepreneurs on the technologies available. N.Kanagasabapathy, president, TIDITSSIA, Thomas Rex Vaz of EDII, Chennai, and S.Gopalakrishnan, Joint Secretary, TIDITSSIA, spoke.