Student Name: ABHIJITH K M
Guide Name: Dr. Anish K. John, Assistant Professor, GEC Barton Hill
Project Area: WEED HARVESTER
Year: 2019 , Duration: 1
These days aquatic sources like lakes, rivers and ponds have become the major locations of
pollution. These water sources are dumped by plastics and biodegradable waste. The water bodies
are rapidly infested by aquatic weeds like water hyacinth because of the degenerating quality of
water. These swiftly growing weeds have impeded the aquatic life and restrained the aquatic
recreational activities. A methodology to separate biodegradable and non-biodegradable (mainly
plastic) waste has become mandatory.
The project aims at a method of separating the trash and to design and develop a novel aquatic
weed harvester capable of collecting floating plastic and water hyacinth, segregate them and store
them. A prototype is fabricated wherein the entangled plastic and weed is taken inside the shredder
where it is shredded such that it undergoes a size reduction. Later the shredded plastic – water
hyacinth mixture is moved to the next chamber where it is further processed and the biodegradable
portion, ie, water hyacinth gets mixed with water and is removed through a sieve and collected.
The plastic remains in the chamber as it does not get mixed with water. The water hyacinth is later
squeezed before final collection for effective weight reduction. The remaining plastic can be taken
for further recycling and can be transformed into handy products.
Keywords: Water hyacinth, Plastic waste, Segregator, weed harvester, water pollution, shredder.
