Innovation4All Award
About 2023 award winner: Gayatri Sundar Rajan & INDECO
Bio
She employs both computational and experimental methods in her research. Gayatri is co-advised by Prof. Nick Hankins and Dr. Binjian Nie.
Prior to joining the University of Oxford, Gayatri completed her B.S. in Mechanical Engineering at Boston University. During her degree, she built and tested a desiccant-based water harvesting device for her senior design project, conducted research in heating electrification through Boston University’s Campus Climate Lab, and interned at Commonwealth Fusion systems as an R&D Mechatronics Intern.
Building on a range of research and industrial internships in the energy and water landscape, Gayatri aims to bring an interdisciplinary perspective to sustainable development opportunities at the water-energy-food nexus.
Gayatri Sundar Rajan - 2023 Innovation4All Grant Winner
I’m extremely grateful and honoured to have received the inaugural Innovation4All grant through the Worshipful Company of Engineers and Tech4 All.
In addition to the generous financial support, the network of engineers and development practitioners is invaluable to further develop and stress test ideas for INDECO, an integrated water and cooling cogeneration system.
INDECO aims to reduce water scarcity, hunger and generate income for smallholding farmers in low to middle income countries.
By improving access to clean water, saving food from wastage with post-harvest refrigeration and enabling greater profits from each harvest.
In my case, the Tech4All support will enable further development and experimental validation of a lab-scale version of the INDECO system. Fingers crossed.
Without the Innovation4All grant and team, I may not have had the support to take this concept from simulations to experiments.
So for their support, I’m extremely grateful.
If you yourself have an idea that can innovatively use technology to tackle one aspect of poverty as well as sustainable change, the Innovation for All grant could be the perfect opportunity to boost your project development.
Please don’t hesitate to reach out to Tech4All or the Worshipful Company of Engineers for further details.
Without the support of the Innovation4All grant and team, I may not have had the support to take the concept from simulations to experiments.
Gayatri
Technical description of work
INDECO is a potable water and cold storage cogeneration system
To produce both potable water and cooling capacity from low-grade (60 – 80 C) solar heat sources, INDECO utilizes an adsorption desalination and cooling system (ADS). An ADS system uses solid adsorbents to adsorb and desorb water vapor from a contaminated solution. The adsorption process enables water vapor to be separated from a contaminated feed solution, whereas the desorption process leads to the condensation of potable water. A cooling fluid output is produced when the ADS system evaporates the contaminated solution.
To transform this cooling fluid output into cold air for a cold storage space, the ADS system’s cooling fluid is used to cool an incoming airflow. The energy requirements of the hybrid system can be further reduced by utilizing heat recovered from the ADS process for the humidification of the airstream, utilizing evaporative cooling upstream of the ADS’s cooling coil, or by heating and humidifying the upstream air.
The technical research on the INDECO system focuses on:
01
Computationally and experimentally validating hybrid ADS system concepts.
02
Improving the performance of existing ADS systems to enhance the water and cooling production with lower energy footprint.
03
Evaluating the technoeconomic feasibility of INDECO systems in low-to-middle income country contexts.
Impact on Low-Income Countries
According to the UN Sustainable Development Goals:
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By reducing the amount of food wasted after harvest, INDECO increases the profits of farmers in low-to-middle income countries while increasing the food available in local markets.
In addition, INDECO drives local economic opportunities with its need for maintenance and tailoring to a local environment. Lastly, INDECO empowers families by enabling them to access both water and food, two key ingredients for a higher quality of life.
Overall, INDECO has the potential to reduce water scarcity, hunger, and poverty in low-to-middle income countries with its low-cost, solar-powered, and sustainable water and cold storage cogeneration hub.
How receiving the award has made a difference
By reducing the amount of food wasted after harvest, INDECO increases the profits of farmers in low-to-middle income countries while increasing the food available in local markets.
In addition, INDECO drives local economic opportunities with its need for maintenance and tailoring to a local environment. Lastly, INDECO empowers families by enabling them to access both water and food, two key ingredients for a higher quality of life.
Overall, INDECO has the potential to reduce water scarcity, hunger, and poverty in low-to-middle income countries with its low-cost, solar-powered, and sustainable water and cold storage cogeneration hub.
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