Basab Chakraborty

Surface acidity of MCM-41 by in situ IR studies of pyridine adsorption

Abstract The nature and concentration of the acid sites of MCM-41 material as a function of Si/Al ratio have been monitored by in situ IR using pyridine as a probe molecule. The thermal stability of aluminium in the framework of these materials is studied using 27 Al MAS NMR spectroscopy. The tetrahedral to octahedral aluminium ratio is found to increase with higher aluminium incorporation. The sample with the lowest Si/Al ratio is found to exhibit higher acidity compared to the other samples. However, the acidity of these mesoporous aluminosilicates is less compared to the conventional H–Y zeolite.

Utilization of low-grade waste heat-to-energy technologies and policy in Indian industrial sector: a review

This article emphasizes on waste heat recovery for the implementation of organic Rankine cycle technology in the Indian industrial sector. A large proportion of energy is consumed by various industries, which leads to environmental pollution in multiple ways. Since the past few years, research is going on for re-using this low-grade waste energy utilizing organic Rankine cycle technology. In this report, a thorough review has been carried out to find the significant scope for recovering low-grade waste energy, primarily in cement, iron and steel and glass industries. Case studies based on the data collected from the associated plants have also been reported. A summary of different waste heat recovery cycles mechanism and working fluid selection procedure is also included. In the succeeding stage, various technological and legal aspects of using the recovered energy through power grid lines have been discussed. The review sketches a potential scope of using the low-grade waste energy in fulfilling the high energy demand of Indian commercial sector as well as domestic energy industry.

Automatic stability control of three-wheeler vehicles – recent developments and concerns towards a sustainable technology:

Traffic congestion, pollution due to vehicular emissions and fuel energy crises are the major problems that have inspired research for the design of efficient and smaller vehicles as a regular mode of transport with a significantly lower carbon footprint. With an increased dependency on certain countries for fuel energy, electric mobility has been encouraged by policy makers so that national interests are not compromised. At the same time, enhanced standards of living have resulted in a demand for safer and comfortable transport. All of these factors have led to a need for a mode of transport that is efficient, compact, safe and comfortable. Electric three-wheelers are seen as one of the promising options that fits all of these requirements. Due to their high propensity to rollover during cornering, however, the use of three-wheeled vehicles (3Ws) is limited to low-speed applications for cheap transport. Recent developments in the field of rollover mitigation through active tilt control mechanisms indicate that the future mode of transport will be more exciting than the existing one. This paper is a review mainly focused on the recent technological developments in active-tilt-controlled three-wheeled vehicles. This paper gives a detailed review of the methodologies chosen, control strategies adopted, types of vehicle chosen for test/simulation, mathematical models applied, key findings and future work proposed to address the dynamics-related issues of tilting 3Ws.

Qualitative and Semi-quantitative Estimation of Major Elements in Desktop Computer Motherboards

The technical advancement and changing lifestyle have given rise to a new waste stream—‘electronic waste’ or ‘e-waste’ which is different from conventional municipal waste. The growing volume and complex composition of these items along with the absence of proper disposal mechanisms is a major area of concern today. Personal computer (PC) is one of the most widely used electronic products with limited life cycle. The present paper deals with qualitative and semi-quantitative estimation of major elements (mainly toxic and hazardous elements) in one of the key components of desktop computer viz. the motherboard. Wavelength dispersive X-ray fluorescence (WDXRF) spectroscopy and laser ablation inductively couples plasma mass spectroscopy (LA-ICP-MS) techniques have been used to find out the elemental composition of obsolete motherboards. By performing composition analysis, a noticeable change has been found in concentrations of some major elements as a function of technology. With the advancement of technology, concentrations of Al and Cu have increased whereas Pb concentration is found to decrease. The distribution of various elements in the motherboard based on different technologies will enable us to monitor the changing trends of hazardous elements and may also provide better insights into waste segregation and disposal methods.

Smart net metering models for smart grid in India

The advent of smart grid had revolutionized the power systems network. Demand side management and renewable energy integration requires new models and policies for implementing them. This paper explores seven different novel net metering models for renewable energy sources. The models have been discussed with a view of their suitability for different categories of customers in Indian market and suggestions for improvement in state-of-the-art technology and present policy & standards have been proposed.