Self cleaning glass developed

Question: Which Indian institute recently developed a self-cleaning glass which can remove microbes and pollutants?
(a) IIT Kanpur
(b) IIT Bombay
(c) IISc Bengaluru
(d) IIT Mandi
Answer: (d)
Related facts:

  • Scientists at IIT Mandi have developed a self-cleaning glass that can remove microbes and organic pollutants — like dyes, detergent and drugs — from waste water, using only sunlight.
  • Waste water from pharmaceutical and textile industries are a major source of river pollution in India and abroad.
  • While existing purification techniques can remove solid pollutants as well as dissolved inorganic compounds, removing dissolved organic compounds remain a challenge.
  • Industries do not clean their waste water but simply dump it in the river.
  • It is only after the river is contaminated completely that we think about taking action to clean the river.
  • The team have developed a transparent calcium borate glasses and TiO2 crystallised glass nanocomposites which can kill microbes and break down organic chemicals in the presence of solar light
  • There is no extra cost or machinery involves. If the water is kept in this glass container it will treat the organic compounds in a few hours only needing sunlight.
  • Removal of such toxic chemicals from water is successfully demonstrated by many researchers at a laboratory scale. However, cost and efficiency associated with existing technologies are major hurdles in their commercial usage.

Links:
http://ddnews.gov.in/sci-tech/iit-mandis-self-cleaning-glass-can-purify-water-using-sunlight