Can this project help reuse water on trains?

CHENNAI: “About 1,080 litres of water is wasted each day in each compartment through wash basin usage on trains. But when we implement the new osmosis tank, 75 per cent of the water will be saved,” said Rizwan and Arunchalam of Sathyabama University on Saturday.The Research and Development unit of Indian Railways is already working on the implementation of the bio-toilet system, where the bio-gas exhaust gets stored and used for cooking purposes in the pantries of Indian trains. Rizwan Jamal M I and Arunchalam S, final year Mechanical Engineering, Sathyabama University, came up with a new project to re-engineer  the discharge system in Indian Railways coaches. Rizwan said, “The major portion of water is wasted when people use the washbasins in each compartment. In order to reduce the wastage, particularly during this season of water scarcity, we  developed the osmosis tank. It has three chambers of 25-litre capacity and is fixed above the bio-toilet system, connected by centrifugal pipes. The used water from the washbasins is purified in this osmosis tank and sent to the bio-toilet system for flushing purposes. The flushed water with human waste is then converted into biogas and used for cooking purposes on the trains. The first chamber in the osmosis system separates the hard particles of the water, the next chamber purifies the water and the final chamber checks the quality.”Adds Arunchalam, “With this system 75 percent of the used water is saved in each compartment. And the power required is generated through a centrifugal pipe connected to the wheels of the train. This system can work without power due to the water gravity that exists in the osmosis tank.”The addition of the reverse osmosis tank to the bio-toilet system is beneficial and can make this system more effective than with the present duct line system. Stations will be more eco-friendly and passengers can walk on tracks and platforms with ease as they will be clean. This system is very economical, with only `20,000 to `25,000 required for the implementation, said Arunachalam.This innovative project, conceptualized by the two students of Sathyabama University, has been recognised and accepted by the Integral Coach Factory, Perambur, Chennai.