Dr Isha Burman has been awarded the Ph.D. degree for conducting scientific research entitled ‘Treatment of Synthetic leachate by combined Anaerobic Hybrid membrane Bioreactor (An-HMBR) and ANAMMOX Process’ under the guidance of Professor Alok Sinha of the Department of Environmental Science and engineering, IIT ISM, Dhanbad.
Leachate is defined as any liquid material that drains or leaches out from landfill sites or stockpiled material that contains significantly elevated concentrations of undesirable organic and inorganic matters derived from the material that it has passed through. Leachate gets mixed in groundwater and surface-water bodies and pollutes it, which causes several kinds of problems. Dr Isha successfully researched a prototype reactor in the lab to find out the solution of this problem. In this process, the anaerobic sludge bacteria technique was deployed for the experiment and treatment of synthetic leachate (prepared synthetically in a laboratory which simulates solid-waste landfill leachate.
The sludge was collected from anaerobic digester of a Sewage Treatment Plant located in Jamshedpur, Jharkhand (JUSCO Bara sewage treatment plant). Isha is the daughter of Kandra resident, Mrityunjay Burman.
The technology developed by this research has the potential not only to prevent water pollution but also to clean and reuse polluted water. It is also called the circular economy model. Thus, this research also focuses on theme 6 (water) of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
Dr Isha has published seven international research papers and two international book chapters from this research. Apart from this, Dr Isha is also a member of many international organizations. Prominent among these are the American Society of Civil Engineers (USA), International Society for Development and Sustainability (Japan), Society of Engineers Australia (Australia), and American Academy of Environmental Engineers and Scientists (USA). The message of Dr Isha's research is to make proficient use of water. “ We should manage the water in such a way that all our current needs are fulfilled without compromising the needs of upcoming generations,” she said.
