Design and sustainability assessment of a nanotechnology-enabled advanced water treatment plant at NIT Srinagar, Kashmir, India

ABSTRACT Deteriorating water quality, population growth, and climate change intensify demand for advanced, sustainable treatment technologies. This study presents the complete design of a nanotechnology-based water treatment facility for the National Institute of Technology (NIT) Srinagar, using Dal Lake as the raw water source. Hydraulic and process designs were developed for intakes, Jack wells, aeration, nano-coagulation, clariflocculation, nano-filtration, disinfection, and storage units. The intake system consists of a 3.5 m deep intake well and a 4.5 m deep Jack well equipped with dual penstocks and 3 kW duty standby pumps. Aeration is achieved using eight 9-inch disk diffusers with a power requirement of 400 W. Nano-coagulation is implemented through a rapid mixer with a detention time of 60 s and an impeller power of 2 kW. Clariflocculation provides a flocculation time of 30 min and an overall clarification time of approximately 2 h. Advanced nano-filtration employs 84 membrane modules (NE8040-90) arranged in three arrays, operating at ≥84% recovery with a 12 kW booster pump. Disinfection is ensured through gas chlorination, followed by storage in a two-compartment underground reservoir. The proposed system demonstrates enhanced treatment efficiency, reduced spatial footprint, and improved reliability compared to conventional treatment systems.