সিএসআইআর-কেন্দ্রীয় কাঁচ ও সেরামিক গবেষণা সংস্থা

सीएसआईआर-केंद्रीय काँच एवं सिरामिक अनुसंधान संस्थान

CSIR-Central Glass & Ceramic Research Institute

Membrane and Separation Technology

Overview

India is one of the largest expanding economies having high future potential. The high economic and population growth rates are accompanied by an increase in the standard of living and a huge rise of energy and water demand as well as soaring emissions of greenhouse gases such as CO2. Much of this economic and corresponding social development is expected to take place in rural areas. In consequence, provision of clean and sustainable water to the rural population becomes increasingly crucial. At the same time it is crucial that this water is produced by environmentally friendly methods, e.g. using renewable energy resources and energy-efficient technologies. Rural India has more than 800 million people residing in about 1.42 million habitations spread over 15 diverse ecological regions. Groundwater is the major source of water in India with 85% of the population dependent on it. The health burden of poor water quality is enormous. It is estimated that around 37.7 million Indians are affected by water borne diseases annually, 1.5 million children are estimated to die of diarrhoea alone and 73 million working days are lost due to waterborne diseases each year. The resulting economic burden is estimated at $ 600 million a year(Reference : Drinking water quality in rural India: issues and approaches, https://washmatters.wateraid.org). Hence in India access to safe water is regarded as the primary factor responsible for limiting development. The average availability of water is reducing steadily with the growing population and it is estimated that by 2020 India will become a water stressed nation. Therefore the improvement and extension of water treatment remains an important and necessary objective of the Indian government. In addition, volume and the quality of industrial effluents in India is a matter of serious concern. There is a growing need for low footprint and energy efficient technologies for effluent treatment aiming at zero liquid discharge.

Membrane and Separation Technology Division is mandated to contribute significantly in research and development leading to practical application (Lab to land) in the field of water treatment, wastewater treatment, gas separation, green energy, recycling and reuse with special emphasis in development of new generation ceramic membranes and ceramic polymer composite membranes leading to application of such membranes for water treatment, wastewater treatment and reuse.

• Superhydrophobic membrane development (contact angle >1500) on ceramic support for multifaceted applications such as, CO2 capture, oil refinery waste treatment, downstream processing of biofuel and emerging contaminants remediation
• Sustainable recycling strategy for textile fabric waste derived biochar in emerging contaminants remediation and immobilization of the spent adsorbent as efficient electrode material for green energy storage device

Areas of Research

Ceramic monolithic porous support development
Ceramic microfiltration membrane
Ceramic ultrafiltration membrane
Ceramic polymer composite membrane
Hydrophobic membranes
Arsenic remediation from groundwater
Iron remediation from groundwater
Surface water pre-treatment
Adosrbent development
Industrial wastewater Treatment
Membrane bioreactor
Algae based wastewater treatment
Biomass and biofuel
Fruit juice clarification
Water recycle and reuse
Heavy metal remediation
Sludge management
Dust Filtration
Clean Energy Application (Metallic & Zeolytic membranes for mixture gas separation)
CO₂ Sequestration (Enrichment of flue gas & lean gas)
Membrane distillation

Technology Developed

Title	Recipient
Ceramic membrane based high capacity modules for pretreatment of turbid water for polishing of iron & arsenic contaminated water using micro filtration technique	1. Porel Dass Water & Effluent Control Pvt. Ltd., Kolkata on 11.05.2011 2. Sarvo Technologies Limited, Faridabad on 30.8.2017
Ceramic Membrane based Technology for Arsenic & Iron Removal from Groundwater	1. Entech Metals Pvt. Ltd., Kolkata on 23/04/03 2. Entech Metals Pvt. Ltd. on 22/07/13 3. Victor Engineering Co., Assam on 7.10.2015 4. Porel Dass Water & Effluent Control Pvt. Ltd., Kolkata on 24.04.2015 5. Zeolite (India) Pvt. Ltd. on 11.9.2017 6. Rollabss Hi Tech Industries, on 27.03.2018

Projects

ONGOING PROJECTS
S. No.	Title of the Project	Project No.	Duration	Funding agency	Project PI & Co-PI
1.	Development of a ceramic membrane integrated fermentative reactor process for production and enrichment of biohydrogen from organic waste	GAP0391	12.03.2024 To 11.03.2027	DST	PI: Dr. Sourja Ghosh Co-PI: Dr. Ganesh Chandra Sahoo
2.	Monitoring and removal of antibiotics from wastewater by membrane separation Drug-Free Wastewater	GAP0389	14.07.2023 To 13.07.2026	DST	PI: Mr. Swachchha Majumdar Co-PI: Dr. Sourja Ghosh
3.	Ceramic membrane base re-refining of waste engine oil.	HCP0054 (WP 20)	28.08.2023 To 31.03.2026	CSIR	PI: Dr. Mahesh Kumar Gagrai Co-PI: Dr. Vignesh M Co-PI: Dr. G.C. Sahoo
4.	Technology demonstration for utilizing textile/jute industrial wastes into value-added product generation for rubber products manufacturing industries and agricultural sectors using a sustainable approach.	HCP0054 (WP 28)	28.08.2023 To 31.03.2026	CSIR	PI: Dr. Sourja Ghosh Co-PI: Mr. Swachchha Majumdar
5.	Biochar based nanocomposite synthesis from industrial waste for dual application: environment friendly remediation of emerging contaminants and pathogens from wastewater and antimicrobial antiviral surface coating development on medical devices	GAP 0388	21.08.2023 to 20.08.2026	DST	PI: Dr. Lata Ramrakhiani Co-PI: Mr. Swachchha Majumdar Mentor: Dr. Sourja Ghosh
6.	Development of catalytic membrane reactor for CO₂capture with production of Hz through water-gas shift reaction	HCP 48	April 28,2023 to March 31 ,2026	CSIR	PI: Dr. Nandini Das Co-PI: Dr. Nijhuma Kayal Co-PI: Dr. Mahesh Gagrai
7.	Feasibility studies of Purification of olefin from C3 olefin-paraffin mixture by Molecular sieve based Hybrid Process	GAP 0384	03.02.2023 to 02.02.2025	Science & Engineering Research Board(SERB)	PI: Dr. Nandini Das Co-PI : Dr. Nijhuma Kayal
8.	Development of ceramic oxide based nanofiltration membranes onto oxide -bonded porous SiC supports and their performance evaluation study for liquid, gas and particulate separation	GAP0380	09.03.2022 to 08.03.2025	Science & Engineering Research Board(SERB)	PI: Dr. Nijhuma Kayal Co-PI: Dr. Mahesh Kumar Gagrai
9.	Natural Biopolymer based Novel Electrospun and Ceramic Composite membranes for treatment of Wastewater. (Collaborative Project with CSIR-NEIST and CSIR-IICT)	MLP 1021 at CSIR-NEIST	February 2022 to February 2025	CSIR	PI: Dr. Ganesh Chandra Sahoo Co-PI: Swachchha Majumdar
10.	Coal Derived Syngas for Green Energy. (Collaborative project with CSIR-CIMFR)	MLP0310	25.05.2022 – 24.05.2024	CSIR	Dr. Dr. Nandini Das, Project Nodal
	WP1: Enrichment of hydrogen from syngas				Dr. Nandini Das, PI, WP1 Dr. Mahesh Kumar Gagrai, Co-PI Dr. Nijhuma Kayal, Co-PI
	WP2: Coal Derived Syngas as a Fuel for Solid Oxide Fuel Cell (SOFC)				Dr. Jayanta Mukhopadhyay, PI, WP2 Dr. Srabanti Ghosh, Co-PI Dr. A. Amarnath Reddy, Co-PI
11.	Nano-selective, bio-mimetic membranes for integrated biotechnological production of biofuels from lignocellulosic biomass	GAP0377	1^st March, 2021 to 29^th February 2024	DST, Govt. Of India	PI: Sri Swachchha Majumdar Co-PI: Dr. Ganesh Chandra Sahoo Co-PI: Dr. Sourja Ghosh
12.	“Utilisation of toxic wastes as potential sources of colouring ingredient in glass Making(Jointly with Speciality Glass Technology Division of CISR-CGCRI)	GAP 0179	30^th December, 2020 to 29^th December, 2023	Science & Engineering Research Board(SERB)	PI: Dr. Asish Kumar Mandal (Of SGT Division) Co-PI: Dr. Sourja Ghosh Project Advisor: Sri Swachchha Majumdar
13.	Development and performance characterization of crosslinked beta-cyclodextrin polymer based thin-film composite nanofiltration ceramic membrane (Jointly with FMD Division of CSIR-CGCRI)	GAP0266	30^th December, 2020 to 29^th December, 2023	Science & Engineering Research Board(SERB)	PI: Dr. Arnab Mukherjee (of FMD Division) Co-PI: Dr. Ganesh Chandra Sahoo Co-PI: Dr. Priyanka Mondal
14.	CSIR Integrated Skill Initiative, Activity: Skill development training on ceramic membrane and water technologies.	NWP 100	December 2020 to November 2025	CSIR	PI: Dr. P.K. Sinha Activity Co-Ordinator: Sri Swachchha Majumdar Activity Leader: Dr. Ganesh Chandra Sahoo
15.	Phenome India-CSIR Health cohort Knowledgebase	HCP 47	03.08.2022 – 02.08. 2027	CSIR	PI: Sri Swachchha Majumdar Co-PI: Dr. Sourja Ghosh
COMPLETED PROJECTS
S. No.	Title of the Project	Project No.	Duration	Funding agency	Project PI & Co-PI
1.	Development of ceramic membranes with internationally competitive specifications and setting up of a pre-pilot plant manufacturing plant facility to promote their application in different separation technologies	GAP 0354	May, 2016 to May 31, 2021	DST, Govt. of India	PI: Sri Swachchha Majumdar CO PI: Dr. Ganesh C Sahoo
2.	Supply and installation of 51 numbers Iron & Arsenic Removal plant at Border outpost in North 24 Parganas	TSP 0302	December, 2016 to August, 2020	PHED, Govt. of West Bengal	PI: Sri Swachchha Majumdar
3.	Supply and installation of 43 Nos. Iron & Arsenic Removal plant at Border Out posts in Nadia District.	TSP 0301	April, 2015 to June, 2021	PHED, Govt. of West Bengal	PI: Sri Swachchha Majumdar
4.	Development of ceramic membrane based process for treatment and recycling of textile effluent towards zero discharge concepts.	GAP 0356	September, 2016 to September, 2020	DST, Govt. of India	PI: Sourja Ghosh CO PI: Sri Swachchha Majumdar
5.	Water quality management and data analysis report generation for water drawn from river Ganga for proposed Godda Thermal Power Station [2X800 MW)	TSP 0303	June, 2018 to December, 2018	Academy of Water Technology and Environ Management, Kolkata	PI : Sri Swachchha Majumdar
6.	Development of Technology for separation of Acetic acid from Effluent generated during the production of HMX	GAP 0363	August, 2017 to April, 2019	TBRL, Chandigarh(DRDO)	PI : Sri Swachchha Majumdar CO PI : Dr. Sourja Ghosh
7.	Development of surface modification adsorbents with higher sorption capacity for specific contaminants removal in water / industrial wastewater(SMA) (FBR)	MLP0304	August, 2018 to March, 2020	CSIR, Govt. of India	PI: Sri Swachchha Majumdar CO PI: Dr. Sourja Ghosh
8.	Technology assessment and integration of CSIR’s lignocellulosic ethanol programs/ facilitating technologies for a feasible 2G ethanol technology	MLP 0305	October 2018 to March, 2020	CSIR, Govt. of India	PI: Sri Swachchha Majumdar CO PI: Dr. Ganesh C Sahoo Co_PI: Dr. Sourja Ghosh
9.	Membrane Contactors for As(III) to As(V) conversion	CSIR –CNR bilateral	January 2009 to December, 2011	CSIR, Govt. of India	PI: Swachchha Majumdar
10.	Upscaling of pilot plant demonstration of ceramic membrane based iron removal plants in West Bengal	GAP 0316	August 2004 to March 2009	DST, Govt. of India	PI: Dr. Sibdas Bandyopadhyay Co-PI: Sri T.K. Ghoshal
11.	Ceramics Materials for Emerging Technologies involving Liquid and Gas Separation Task 2: Development of industrial waste water purification technology based on ultra filtration membrane developed as above	SIP-23	April 2007 to March 2013	CSIR Supra Institutional Project	Task Leader: Sri Swachchha Majumdar
12	Development of layered SiC ceramic filter for off-gas cleaning	GAP0261	23^rd March, 2018 to 22^nd August, 2021	DST-SERB	PI: Dr. Nijhuma Kayal
13	Oil & Water separation unit for Great Eastern Energy Corporation Ltd.	TSP 0304	31^st December, 2020 to 31^st October, 2021	Prism Johnson Limited	PI: Sri Swachchha Majumdar
14	Process development for tannery wastewater treatment involving membrane bioreactor (MBR) process integrated with micro-algal bioremediation.	GAP 0362	June, 2017 to 30^th September, 2021	DBT, Govt. of India	PI: Dr. Sourja Ghosh CO PI: Sri Swachchha Majumdar
15	Development of Nanoadsorbents with higher sorption capacity for removal of Fluoride and Arsenic from Groundwater for potential application is water treatment plants.	SSP 0315	24.08.2020 to 23.02.2022	Zeolite (India) Pvt. Ltd	PI: Sri Swachchha Majumdar Co-PI: Dr. Ganesh C. Sahoo
16	An integrated technology development involving biosorption for treatment of toxic metal containing wastewater generated from small scale industries and sludge management towards safe disposal.	GAP 0367	August, 2018 to February, 2022	DST-WOS-B Scheme	PI : Dr. Lata Ramrakhiani Mentor: Dr. Sourja Ghosh
17	Feasibility studies of enrichment of Ozone in permeate stream and recycling of retentate to the Ozone generator using ceramic membranes	TSP305	22.12.21 to 21.7.22	ORAIPL	PI: Sri Swachchha Majumdar Co-PI: Sri Somjyoti Basak
18	Membrane based prototype development for higher yield of microalgal biomass and biofuel using industrial waste resources(International collaborative Project with USA),	GAP0372	August 2019 to August 2022	DBT Govt. of India	PI: Dr. Sourja Ghosh Co-PI: Sri Swachchha Majumdar
19	Next generation high performance in situ generated nano particles embedded sustainable antifouling ceramic-polymer composite NF membranes: preparations, modifications and application aimed at water/drinking water treatment.	GAP0369	March, 2019 to March, 2022	Science & Engineering Research Board(SERB)	PI: Dr. Priyanka Mondal Co-PI: Sri Swachchha Majumdar Co-PI: Dr. Mahesh K. Gagrai
20	Synthesis of ceramic-polymer composite membrane: a novel next generation technique for water/ wastewater treatment and pervaparation application	GAP 0358	January, 2017 to November, 2022	DST	PI: Dr. Priyanka Mandal
21	Demonstration of ceramic membrane based process for removal of hydrocarbon from contaminated tube well in Hingalganj, Sundarban, West Bengal.	GAP 0370	May, 2019 to May , 2022	WSSO, PHED, Govt. of West Bengal	PI: Sri Swachchha Majumdar Co-PI: Dr. Sourja Ghosh Co-PI: Dr. Ganesh C. Sahoo

Divisional Facilities

List of the testing facilities at Water Technology Division:

Sl No.	Nature of the Sample	Testing parameters
1	Water and Wastewater	Turbidity
		pH
		Total Dissolved Solid(TDS)
		Conductivity
		Salinity
		Total Suspended Solid (TSS)
		Total Iron
		Total Arsenic
		Total Organic Carbon (TOC)
		Total Kjeldahl Nitrogen (TKN)
		Anions : Fluoride, Chloride, Bromide, Nitrate, Phosphate, Sulfate
		Cations: Lithium, Sodium, Potassium, Calcium, Magnesium, Nickel, Zinc, Cobalt, Cadmium
		Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD)
		Biological Oxygen Demand (BOD)
		MPN (Total coliform)
		Oil & Grease
2	Ceramic Membrane	Pore size Distribution

Analytical Facilities at Water Technology Division:

Ultra-Fast Liquid Chromatography (UFLC)

Name of the Instrument	Ultra Fast Liquid Chromatography (UFLC)
Specification	Determination of Pesticides, pharmaceutical components and personal care product of liquid sample
Model & Make	Shimadza Corporation, Japan

Zeta Sizer Analyzer (Nano series)

Name of the Instrument	Zeta Sizer Analyzer ( Nano series)
Specification	Analysis of particles size 1µm-1nm in aqueous & non aqueous medium
Model & Make	ZEN1600, Malvern, UK

Pore Size Analyzer

Name of the Instrument	Pore Size Analyzer
Specification	Analysis of MF range of pore size for single and multi channel membranes upto 1 meter length
Model & Make	Porometer 3G , Quantachrom, USA

Zeta Potential Analyzer

Name of the Instrument	Zeta Potential Analyzer (Z series)
Specification	Zeta potential of stable suspension of nano particles in aqueous medium
Model & Make	ZEN2600, Malvern, UK

Optical Microscope

Name of the Instrument	Optical Microscope
Specification	Magnification upto 100X
Model & Make	STM6, Olympus, Japan

Polarimeter

Name of the Instrument	Polarimeter
Specification	± 89.9 degree Arc optical rotation, Std. wavelength 589nm & 880nm
Model & Make	Rudolph Research Analytical, USA

Refractometer

Name of the Instrument	Refractometer
Specification	Measure the refractive index and concentration of liquids
Model & Make	Anton Paar GmbH, Austria

Gas Chromatography

Name of the Instrument	Gas Chromatography (GC)
Specification	Analysis of Ethanol, Bio-diesel, Pesticide, Nitrogen and Phosphorus
Model & Make	Dani, Italy

Ion Chromatography

Name of the Instrument	Ion Chromatography (IC)
Specification	Elemental analysis of Anions (F, Cl, Br, NO3, PO4, SO4 Cation (Li, Na, K, Ca, Mg) T-metals (Ni, Zn, Co, Cd) & Pesticide(Atrazine) of liquid sample.
Model & Make	Metrohm, Switzerland

Total Organic Carbon Analyzer

Name of the Instruments	Total Organic carbon Analyzer
Specification	Analysis of total organic carbon of liquid sample.
Model & Make	Shimadza Corporation, Japan

Spectrophotometer

Name of the Instrument	Spectrophotometer
Specification	Measure the concentration of solutes in solution by measuring the amount of the light that is absorbed by the solution in a cuvette placed in the spectrophotometer.
Model & Make	Carry60, Agilent Technologies, India

Total Kjeldahl Nitrogen (TKN)

Name of the Instrument	Total Kjeldahl Nitrogen (TKN)
Specification	Quantitative determination of nitrogen contained in organic substances plus the nitrogen contained in the inorganic compounds ammonia and ammonium of liquid sample.
Model & Make	Pelican Equipment, India

Scientists

Mr. Swachchha Majumdar, Chief Scientist and Head

Dr. Nijhuma Kayal, Senior Principal Scientist

Dr. Sourja Ghosh, Senior Principal Scientist

Dr. Ganesh C. Sahoo, Principal Scientist

Dr. Mahesh Kumar Gagrai, Senior Scientist

Dr. Vignesh M, Scientist

Others

Dr. Lata Ramrakhiani, DST-Women Scientist (DST-WOS A)

Technical/Support Staff

Name	Designation	Expertise
Subhendu Sarkar	Senior Technical Officer (2)	Standardization & performance evaluation of Ceramic Membrane based Iron & Arsenic Removal Plants, Standardization and performance monitoring (O&M) of high capacity Ceramic Membrane module for pretreatment of Reverse Osmosis (RO) process feed water, Water analysis, Operation and maintenance of Ion Chomatograph, TOC analysis.
Somjyoti Basak	Senior Technical Officer (1)	Membrane synthesis and membrane material preparation, zeolite membranes, pervaporation, Gas Chromatography , Bubble point porosimetry, operation of 1600 degree Celsius hanging firing furnace, operation and maintenance of twin screen extruder.
Sanjukta Roy	Senior Technical Officer (1)	Ceramic polymer composite membranes synthesis, membrane material preparation, operation of ultrafiltration set up.
Mrinmoy Adhikary	Technical Officer
Ashis Kumar Mohanty	Technical Assistant
Avurla Madhu	Technical Assistant
Smarajit Ghosh	Technician (2)	Operation and maintenance of water distillation units, analytical balances, muffle furnace, air oven, operation and maintenance of twin screen extruder, operation and maintenance of Gas Chromatogrpah, Kjeldal Nitrogen analysis, microbiological analysis of water.
Gouranga Chalak	Technician (2)	Fitting of module & permeability determination, Dimension measurement of ceramic tubes. Operating the Extruder & Mixture machine.
Nitai Chand Singh	Technician (1)	Operation & Maintenance Ultra filtration & nano filtration testing unit for treatment of aqueous & non-aqueous solution (Rice bran oil), Operation & Maintenance of Tintometer, Furnaces, Attrition mill, Porometer. Nomenclature of ceramic tubes & Fitting of modules. Industrial & Field operation of ceramic membrane pilot units in Sugar Industry & Veg. oil Industry.
Santanu Koley	Technician (1)

Scholars/Students

Name	Status	Project	Supervisor
Hillol Acharjee	AcSIR PhD scholar & Project Associate-II	MLP 0310	Dr. Nandini Das Senior Principal Scientist
Nilanjan Santra	DST-INSPIRE Junior Research Fellow & AcSIR PhD scholar	GAP 1537	Dr. Nijhuma Kayal, Senior Principal Scientist
Krishanu Bhowmik	Project Associate-I & AcSIR PhD scholar	CSIR FBR	Dr. Ganesh Chandra Sahoo Principal Scientist
Anirban Ray	UGC NET Fellow		Dr. Sourja Ghosh, Senior Principal Scientist
Faisal Ali	Junior Research Fellow (Project)	HCP-0054 (WP-20)	Dr. Mahesh Kumar Gagrai Senior Scientist
Sarbasree Dutta	AcSIR PhD Scholar and Research Associate – I (Project)	GAP0384	Dr. Nandini Das Senior Principal Scientist
Shanti Singh	Project Assistant	HCP-0047	Mr. Swachchha Majumdar Chief Scientist
Avijit Das	Project Associate -II	HCP-0048	Dr. Nandini Das Senior Principal Scientist
Tamal Ghosh	Project Associate-I	GAP 0380	Dr. Nijhuma Kayal, Senior Principal Scientist
Dr. Laboni Das	Research Associate – II	GAP 0389	Mr. Swachchha Majumdar Chief Scientist
Subhrajyoti Ghosh	Senior Project Associate	HCP-0054 (WP-28)	Dr. Sourja Ghosh
Dr. Monalisha Samanta	Research Associate – I	GAP 0391	Dr. Sourja Ghosh
Koushik Ghosh	Project Associate – II	HCP-0054(WP-28)	Dr. Sourja Ghosh
Debanjan Deb	Project Associate – I	HCP 54 (WP-20)	Dr. Mahesh Kumar Gagrai
Ajay Kumar Rajak	DST-INSPIRE Junior Research Fellow & AcSIR PhD scholar		Dr. Sourja Ghosh