The National Environmental Engineering Research Institute (NEERI) in

Nagpur Nagpur (; ISO 15919, ISO: ''Nāgapura'') is the second capital and third-largest city of the Indian state of Maharashtra. It is called the heart of India because of its central geographical location. It is the largest and most populated city i ...

was originally established in 1958 as the Central Public Health Engineering Research Institute (CPHERI). It has been described as the "premier and oldest institute in

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

." It is an institution listed on the Integrated Government Online Directory. It operates under the aegis of the

Council of Scientific and Industrial Research The Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR; IAST: ''vaigyanik tathā audyogik anusandhāna pariṣada'') is a research and development (R&D) organisation in India to promote scientific, industrial and economic growth. Headquarter ...

(CSIR), based in

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Indira Gandhi Indira Priyadarshini Gandhi (Given name, ''née'' Nehru; 19 November 1917 – 31 October 1984) was an Indian politician and stateswoman who served as the Prime Minister of India, prime minister of India from 1966 to 1977 and again from 1980 un ...

, the Prime Minister of India at the time, renamed the Institute NEERI in 1974. The Institute primarily focused on human health issues related to

water supply Water supply is the provision of water by public utilities, commercial organisations, community endeavors or by individuals, usually via a system of pumps and pipes. Public water supply systems are crucial to properly functioning societies. Th ...

sewage disposal Sewage treatment is a type of wastewater treatment which aims to remove contaminants from sewage to produce an effluent that is suitable to discharge to the surrounding environment or an intended reuse application, thereby preventing water p ...

, diseases, and industrial pollution. NEERI operates as a laboratory in the field of environmental science and engineering and is one of the constituent laboratories of the

(CSIR). The institute has six zonal laboratories located in

Chennai Chennai, also known as Madras (List of renamed places in India#Tamil Nadu, its official name until 1996), is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Tamil Nadu by population, largest city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost states and ...

Delhi Delhi, officially the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi, is a city and a union territory of India containing New Delhi, the capital of India. Straddling the Yamuna river, but spread chiefly to the west, or beyond its Bank (geography ...

Hyderabad Hyderabad is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Telangana. It occupies on the Deccan Plateau along the banks of the Musi River (India), Musi River, in the northern part of Southern India. With an average altitude of , much ...

Kolkata Kolkata, also known as Calcutta ( its official name until 2001), is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of West Bengal. It lies on the eastern bank of the Hooghly River, west of the border with Bangladesh. It is the primary ...

, Nagpur, and

Mumbai Mumbai ( ; ), also known as Bombay ( ; its official name until 1995), is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra. Mumbai is the financial capital and the most populous city proper of India with an estimated population of 12 ...

. NEERI operates under the Ministry of Science and Technology of the Indian government. NEERI is a partner organization of India's POP National Implementation Plan (NIP).

History

In 1958, the Central Public Health Engineering Research Institute (CPHERI) was established. It was created by the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR). In 1974, after participating in the "United Nations Inter-Governmental Conference on Human Environment" and with its renaming by Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, CPHERI became the National Environmental Engineering Research Institute (NEERI). NEERI has headquarters in Nagpur and five zonal laboratories in Mumbai, Kolkata, Delhi, Chennai, and Hyderabad. The study for the location of a new municipal solid waste

landfill site A landfill is a site for the disposal of waste materials. It is the oldest and most common form of waste disposal, although the systematic burial of waste with daily, intermediate and final covers only began in the 1940s. In the past, waste was ...

in Kolkata used the institute's 2005 guidelines. During the

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. In January 2020, the disease spread worldwide, resulting in the COVID-19 pandemic. The symptoms of COVID‑19 can vary but often include fever ...

crisis, the institute developed a saline gargling sample method to trace the disease.

Fields

Environmental monitoring

Since 1978, the institute has operated a nationwide air quality monitoring network. Sponsored by the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) since 1990. Receptor modelling techniques are used. CSIR-NEERI is involved in the design and development of air pollution control systems. The institute has also developed a water purification system called 'NEERI ZAR'. In the 1960s and 1970s, the institute developed guidelines for Defluorination techniques. They have sometimes formed a departure point for the development of other techniques. The Institute tests samples for research on Defluorination and the measurement of

particulate matter Particulate matter (PM) or particulates are microscopic particles of solid or liquid matter suspended in the air. An ''aerosol'' is a mixture of particulates and air, as opposed to the particulate matter alone, though it is sometimes defin ...

in air. The institute has been entrusted by the courts to provide an inspection of the current environmental and legal framework.

Skill development

The institute has set up a Centre for Skill Development, offering certificate courses in the areas of environmental impact and water quality assessment. Prof. V. Rajagopalan (1993 Vice President of the

World Bank The World Bank is an international financial institution that provides loans and Grant (money), grants to the governments of Least developed countries, low- and Developing country, middle-income countries for the purposes of economic development ...

) had in his time (1955–65) with the Institute created a national program for water industry professionals. Graduate programmers were established in Public Health Engineering at the

Guindy Engineering College The College of Engineering, Guindy (CEG) is a public engineering college situated in Chennai, India. It is Asia's oldest technical institution, founded in 1794. It is also the oldest technical institution to be established outside Europe. Histo ...

Madras Chennai, also known as Madras ( its official name until 1996), is the capital and largest city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost state of India. It is located on the Coromandel Coast of the Bay of Bengal. According to the 2011 Indian ce ...

, Roorkee Engineering University, and

VJTI Veermata Jijabai Technological Institute (VJTI) is a state funded college located in Mumbai, Maharashtra, India. Founded in 1887 and formerly known as the Victoria Jubilee Technical Institute, it adopted its present name on 26 January 1997. VJTI ...

in Mumbai.

Assessment of research

In 1989–2013, 1,236 publications of the National Environmental Engineering Research Institute were assessed. The institute technique for enrichment of

ilmenite Ilmenite is a titanium-iron oxide mineral with the idealized formula . It is a weakly magnetic black or steel-gray solid. Ilmenite is the most important ore of titanium and the main source of titanium dioxide, which is used in paints, printi ...

with

titanium dioxide Titanium dioxide, also known as titanium(IV) oxide or titania , is the inorganic compound derived from titanium with the chemical formula . When used as a pigment, it is called titanium white, Pigment White 6 (PW6), or Colour Index Internationa ...

has been evaluated externally.

Patent development

The institute has national and international patents for a method to manufacture zeolite-A using flash instead of sodium silicate and aluminate.

Selected publications

* Kumar, A., et al. "Sustainability in Environmental Engineering and Science." (2021): 253–262. * Sharma, Abhinav. "Effect of ozone pretreatment on biodegradability enhancement and

biogas Biogas is a gaseous renewable energy source produced from raw materials such as agricultural waste, manure, municipal waste, plant material, sewage, green waste, Wastewater treatment, wastewater, and food waste. Biogas is produced by anaerobic ...

production of biomethane distillery effluent." * Sharma, Asheesh, et al. "NutriL-GIS: A Tool for Assessment of Agricultural Runoff and Nutrient Pollution in a Watershed." ''National Environmental Engineering Research Institute (NEERI). India'' (2010). * Sinnarkar, S. N., and Rajesh Kumar Lohiya. "External user in an environmental research library." ''Annals of library and information studies'' 55.4 (2008): 275–280. * Schools, Greywater Reuse In Rural. "Guidance Manual." ''National Environmental Engineering Research Institute'' (2007). * Thawale, P. R., Asha A. Juwarkar, and S. K. Singh. "Resource conservation through land treatment of municipal wastewater." ''Current Science'' (2006): 704–711. * Rao, Padma S., et al. "Performance evaluation of a green belt in a petroleum refinery: a case study". ''Ecological engineering'' 23.2 (2004): 77–84. * Murty , K. S. "Groundwater in India." ''Studies in Environmental Science''. Vol. 17. Elsevier, 1981. 733–736.

References

{{Department of Science and Technology (India) Research institutes in Nagpur Council of Scientific and Industrial Research Environmental engineering Science and technology in Maharashtra Ministry of Science and Technology (India) Research institutes established in 1958 1958 establishments in Bombay State