Electrostatic Foam Suppression Module

Urban water bodies, such as Bengaluru’s Bellandur Lake, face escalating challenges due to recurring toxic foam formation, largely driven by untreated industrial and domestic effluent discharge. Traditional mitigation methods such as chemical defoamers and mechanical interventions offer limited, short-term relief and frequently introduce secondary pollutants. This paper presents the development and deployment of a low-cost, floating Electrostatic Foam Suppression Module (EFSM) designed for integrated air and water remediation. The water treatment system operates by generating a high-voltage electrostatic field between a suspended mesh and grounded base, destabilizing foam by disrupting the surfactant-stabilized film structures, leading to rapid collapse. The setup achieves up to 92% foam reduction within one minute, without chemical input. Complementing this, an onboard electrostatic precipitator (ESP) targets airborne particulate matter near the foam site. Built primarily from recycled materials and mounted on a buoyant thermocol platform, the EFSM also includes an ESP32 microcontroller for IoT-based air quality monitoring and real-time operational control. Its modular, energy-efficient design enables easy scaling for decentralized deployment in polluted urban water bodies. The dual-functionality and sustainable build demonstrate strong patent potential, offering a novel, eco-friendly solution for tackling environmental degradation in urban ecosystems