Mannat Kaur, a class XII student of DPS RK Puram, Delhi, whose innovation on conservation and treatment of household greywater (waste water from washbasins, bathrooms and kitchen) made her a jal dhoot water ambassador and national winner of World Water Prize this year, is all set to let here innovation go to the real world after her IPO is granted.
She is proving that applied research is indeed kids play. Her project work which spans almost four years has also ingrained die-hard sustainability values in her future choices. The DIY science gift (Arduino kit) from her father along with access to the Atal Innovation Lab at her junior school turned her fascination towards hands-on activities early on and this passion continued to the extent that she is better known as a ‘soldering girl’ to her classmates and friends. “That journey early on with soldering and hands on has helped me connect to tech at a very fundamental level, and now I have added python and ML to my skills portfolio to enjoy STEM more,” she says talking about her passion that got developed step by step towards computer science, she is currently studying in her school.
While she shifted to her school in class 9, her physics teacher had a great influence on her. And then, she got to know about the potential of water conservation innovative ideas under ministry of Jal Shakti taken by CBSE to schools. Around the same time, she qualified for the Lodha Genius Program. This multi-year educational programme supported by Lodha Group in association with Ashoka Univdersity is fully funded and nurtures India’s brightest young minds from Grade 9 to their early career. Then her school and principal in particular really stood behind her in this project work.
Her ideation for the project was on the development of a decentralized greywater treatment unit which collects, treats, and reuses grey water generated in a household at the source. So, she went on to design it. Based on two units—Scupper Valve and Bilge Vessel, she designed a collection cum filtration system that works on the principle of gravity and can be implemented without any major modifications in the current home plumbing system and takes up very little space in the bathroom. Being a DIY enthusiast and mentor support from Lodha genius program experts, she developed the first prototype and test it at her home. After the results were encouraging and convincing at various levels as she showcased and talked about it, the next big thing happened as the Stockholm Junior Water Prize India (SJWP India) happened. For India, it would be its first ever participation and with IIT Madras involved in it, Mannat also got technical assistance from professors there. IIT Madras served as the national organizer for World Water Prize. Mannat competed against 350 applicants from 23 states at the national level and emerged as the winner, earning the opportunity to represent her country. “The top 12 shortlisted teams were invited to present their projects in person at the IIT Madras campus, where my project was selected,” she adds. And, this way DST and other support ecosystem as encouraged her to develop a modified prototype which also had ML integrated to it. Though she didn’t win at world stage, but it was enough to make her believe in potential of her prototype (currently being used in a school block) that she has filed patent for it and is hopeful of it one day becoming a household product.
“More than 80% of our housing societies and clusters are old and not designed to handle water treatment. This in turn puts a lot of pressure on STPs. Treating water at mega plants also about using more energy and resources, so with my innovation, we can reduce carbon footprint a great deal. See, a single-family can save around 5,000-6,000 litres of precious potable water per month and can reduce 50% of their water demand. This decentralized approach reduces carbon emissions by 80- 85% compared to the traditional centralized sewage treatment setups (water pumping and operational energy), offsetting 18,000 tonnes of CO2 emissions annually. Additionally, due to lower sewage output, it contributes towards embodied carbon savings linked to the plumbing network infrastructure and construction of sewage treatment plants. This solution, therefore, addresses two main challenges viz-a-viz water scarcity and operational carbon emissions associated with freshwater supply, wastewater treatment and conveyance of treated water. I have also filed the provisional patent application with the Indian Patent Office,” she says.
Getting into STEM so passionately has taken her to several competitions and discover a whole world of supporting ecosystem. Her research paper on AI and surrogate modeling design, her talks on water and knowledge of environmental and social impacts of green technology, have made an role model for young girls who otherwise keep a safe distance from STEM and robotics. “I have this observation, girls don’t get into STEM or robotics, they think it is a complicated journey. But I want to say, this is fascinating with ample opportunities to live your dream if your idea has the potential. There are many competitions where you can take your idea, there are mentors and help, funding and even seed funding to develop prototypes. First, it is you who have to know that your idea has the potential and have the drive to go beyond school curriculum to research and search your topic and help,” she adds.
Mannat, who has already applied is hoping to take up a major where her learning and passion will continue to grow in an interdisciplinary world of higher education and her sustainability values will continue to guide her future journey.
