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IIT (ISM) Dhanbad has been granted an Indian patent for 'An Electrochemical Reactor for Cathodic Recovery of Copper from Wastewater'.
The patent was granted on 30 July 2026 against an application filed on 29 November 2023.
The reactor drives copper ions in an effluent stream to the cathode, where they deposit as metal and can be recovered.
It is aimed at mining and metallurgical industries, which generate metal-bearing effluents, and turns a pollutant into a recovered resource.
An applied voltage drives reduction at the cathode. Positively charged copper ions in the effluent move to that electrode, gain electrons and plate out as solid copper, so the metal leaves the water as a recoverable deposit rather than as sludge.
Simple Analogy: Electroplating run backwards - the waste stream is the bath, and the metal collects on the plate.
The Act under which Indian patents are granted. A patent runs for 20 years from the date of filing the application, which is why the November 2023 filing date, not the 2026 grant date, fixes when protection ends.
Grant follows examination for novelty, inventive step and industrial application; the Patent Office works under the Controller General of Patents, Designs and Trade Marks.
The patentee institute. Opened as the Indian School of Mines on 9 December 1926 by Viceroy Lord Irwin to train manpower for mining, and conferred IIT status on 6 September 2016
Administers the Patent Office and grants Indian patents; it functions under the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade
GS Paper III > Science and Technology - indigenous technology; Environment - pollution and waste management; IPR
General Science > Electrochemistry; General Awareness > Institutions
In the context of which one of the following are the terms 'pyrolysis and plasma gasification' mentioned?
Answer: Waste-to-energy technologies
Consider the following statements: Statement I: Circular economy reduces the emissions of greenhouse gases. Statement II: Circular economy reduces the use of raw materials as inputs. Statement III: Circular economy reduces wastage in the production process. Which one of the following is correct in respect of the above statements?
Answer: Both Statement II and Statement III are correct and both of them explain Statement I
The electrode at which reduction takes place in an electrochemical cell; in this reactor it is where copper ions gain electrons and deposit
A system that keeps materials in use for as long as possible through recovery, reuse and recycling, instead of discharge and disposal
An exclusive right granted for an invention that is new, involves an inventive step and is capable of industrial application; in India it runs 20 years from filing