Report submitted on

GANESH IDOL DISINTEGRATION

By

Authors

Dr. Shubhangi B. Umbarkar*, Tanushree C. Kane, Savita S.

Pophale

Contributors
CSIR-NCL

Dr. Shubhangi B. Umbarkar, Ms. Tanushree Kane, Ms. Savita

Pophale

CUMMINS INDIA

Subramaniam Ravichandran, Amit S. Lele, Niranjan V.

Painarkar, Vidya Kulkarni, Hemant Deshpande, Chetan K.
Shende

MOJJ ENGINEERING SYSTEMS LTD

Dr. M. K .Dongare, Mr. B. B Pol, Mr. Dhiren Oak

1
 PUNE MUNICIPLE CORPORATION

Mr. Suresh Jagtap, Ms. Ketki Ghatge

DESCRIPTION

This report documents the optimization of various

experimental parameters for disintegration of POP idols
of Ganesh, observations and recommendations for its
practical implementation.

TABLE OF CONTENT

1) Introduction 3
2) Objective 10
3) Experimental Setup 11
4) Experimental results 13
5) Pros and cons of the experiment 27
6) Precautions 28
7) Summery 28
8) Recommendations 29

2
3
 GANESH IDOL DISINTEGRATION

1. Introduction
Shree Ganesh festival, one of the most popular festivals in India is
celebrated in the states of Maharashtra, Tamilnadu, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh
and other states. Especially it is Maharashtrian tradition to worship shree Ganesh
during Ganesh chaturthi to Anant chaturdashi for ten days. The duration of the
worship varies from 1.5 day upto ten days in different communities. After festival
the idols are immersed in the sea or in river. Traditionally the idols were sculpted
out of clay (shadu) for worship and after the festival it was returned to the earth
by immersing in water which gets disintegrated automatically and the same clay
can be reused next year. However in recent years due to considerable increase in
the demand for more idols as well as bigger idols, plaster of paris (POP) is being
used for Ganesh idols preparation. The size of household Ganesh idols varies
from 1.5 to 2 feet (~2 - 10 kg) whereas the idols which are worshiped in common
(sarvajanik) may range from 5 to 15 feet. In few cases the size may be as large as
25-30 feet in height.

This cycle was meant to represent the cycle of creation and disintegration
in nature. Due to unavailability and fragility of clay idol now day’s Plaster of
Paris (POP) is being used largely to make idols especially bigger idols due to the
strength and stability of POP. POP is not a naturally occurring material and
contains gypsum, sulphur, phosphorus and magnesium. The POP idols do not
dissolve in water and after immersion remains as such in the water and pollutes
lake, ponds, rives and sea. The chemical paint used to decorate the Ganesh idol
contain mercury, lead, cadmium and carbon and this increases the acidity and
heavy metal content in the water. Careless dumping of Ganesh idols in water
bodies blocks the natural flow of water and also disturbs the aquatic life. This
results in stagnation and breeding of mosquitoes and other harmful pests. The
polluted water causes several diseases including skin diseases. Hence there is a
need of a technique which can completely disintegrate the POP idols and make
the process eco friendly.

Idol immersion results reflect the cumulative effect of POP, clay, chemical
colors and other materials; there is no way to ascertain the exact role of POP in
water pollution as well as its larger impact on the environment. When an idol
4
made of POP is immersed in the water, there is no chemical change in the idol
Adding a large amount of material to the water adds to the hardness of water,
which deteriorate the life carrying capacity and quality of the water thereby
causing irreversible environmental effects on the coastal ecology or the eco-
system of any water body, which in turn causes adverse environmental effects.

Effect of POP idol immersion on environment:

1) The immediate and most observable impact of POP idol immersion is that it
makes the water cloudy.
2) Non-biodegradable idols can block the natural flow of water bodies, allowing
stagnation.
3) Gypsum being natural material does not discount the fact that adding large
quantities of it to water will raise its hardness and reduce its life-carrying
capacity.
4) The idol immersion in river water show several significant impacts like steep rise
in concentration of heavy metals, dissolved solids, and acid content, and a drop in
dissolved oxygen. It is studied by testing the water quality before and after idol
immersion.
5) In Pune, most of the immersions take place at the confluence of the Mula and
Mutha rivers, and it is common experience that the floating idols later get stuck
in waterworks installations, intake wells and so on.
6) The paints used for decorating the idols are of different types as water paints,
fluorescent colors, water leaker like warnish & polish.
7) In terms of health impacts, paints are a greater source of hazard and most of those
used for decorating idols are chemical-based. They contain heavy metals like
mercury, cadmium and lead, which are neurotoxin (nerve poison) and
nephrotoxin (poison to kidneys).
8) These metals are bio-accumulative, meaning that once they enter marine life
forms like fish; they pass through the food chain and end up in the food that we
eat. Incidentally, the brighter the color, the greater is its toxicity. Red, blue,
orange and green colors are known to have higher content of mercury, zinc
oxide, chromium and lead.
9) The safe levels of these chemicals in natural environment are reported in
literature in the unit of ppb - parts per billion, which is 1000th part of 1 milligram
per liter of water. Sometimes the permissible levels of these toxic metals are
reported as one millionth part of a milligram in one liter of water i.e. ppt.
Therefore, this implies that -one drop in a 20-acre lake can make the fish
poisonous to the birds, animals, and people that eat them.
5
10) The only paints that work on POP are oil paints which are high in poisonous
chemicals and heavy metals. The impact of these colours can be heavy. Studies
on before and after immersion water quality show a disturbing rise in
concentration of hazardous heavy metals like lead, mercury and cadmium post
immersion.
11) The study conducted by Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) revealed that
after immersion, acid content and dissolved solid content in the water rose
significantly. Presence of heavy metals like iron increased 10 times, while the
presence of copper in sediments increased by 200 to 300 times.
12) Study of change in concentration before, during & after idol immersion in Sharyu
River revealed the following facts:
13)

Sr. Parameter Before During After

No immersion immersion immersion
1 DO (mg/ L) 15 10 11
2 BOD (mg/ L) 9 14 11
3 Total hardness (mg/ 35 41 50
L)
4 Turbidity (NTU) 30 60 55
5 Ca (mg / L ) 38.14 51.57 60.93
6 Mg (mg/ L) 8.78 11.58 15.75
7 Cd (mg/ L) 0.003 0.012 0.031
8 Mn (mg/ L) 0.091 0.181 0.299
9 Pb (mg/ L) 0.192 0.219 0.411
10 Fe (mg/L) 0.123 0.311 0.521
11 Hg ( mg/ L) 0.575 0.617 0.811

14) The various immersed along with the idols and its impact on environment
is given below:

Material contributed during

Sr.No Impact on the aquatic body
immersion
Increases dissolved solids, contribute to
1 Plaster of Paris
metals and sludge
Contributes suspended matters, trace metals
Decoration material viz.
(Zinc, lead, iron, chromium, arsenic, mercury
2 clothes, polish, paint,
etc.) metalloids and various organic and
ornaments cosmetic items etc.
inorganic matter, oil & grease etc.
3 Flowers, Garlands, oily Increase floating suspended matter organic
6
 substance contamination, oil & grease and various
organic and inorganic matter.
Big pieces get collected and recycled while
Bamboo sticks, Beauty small pieces remain floating in water or
4
articles settled at the river bottom inhabiting river
flow.
Adds to the hazardous material and chokes
5 Polythene bags/plastic items
the aquatic life
Contributes oil and grease, organics to water
6 Eatables, food items etc.
bodies.

1.1 Plaster of Paris (POP)

The chemical formula for Plaster of Paris is CaSO4·½H2O. POP is

produced by heating the mineral gypsum (CaSO4·2H2O). Large deposits of
gypsum were originally found outside of Paris in France hence it was named as
Plaster of Paris. When gypsum is heated to about 150°C it losses water and
produces POP. The difference in gypsum and POP is only water of crystallization.
When water is added to the POP powder, it rehydrates (absorbs water) and
quickly hardens.

Heat

7
 2CaSO4·2H2O 2CaSO4·½H2O
+ 3H2O

(Gypsum) (POP)
4000

3500

3000
Intensity(a.u)

2500

2000

1500

1000

500

10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90
2θ

XRD Image of POP (CaSO4)

1.2 Uses of Plaster of Paris

It is used in the construction industry either as a building material or

limestone aggregate for road building.
It is also used in hospitals to give support for the bones injured during the
accidents.
Plaster of Paris is used to make slab decorations.
Statues that used for the decoration are made up of POP because of its
strength and its hardness with water.

8
 There are many environmental issues related to POP idol immersion in
river water as discussed in effects.

The origins of Ganesh Chaturthi started with the agrarian community

bringing home a mould of soil from the river bank, worshipping it and then
immersing it back to the river after the ritual. This ritual was to pay respect to
earth and also to signify the cycle of creation and dissolution, acknowledging
the fact that all things come from nature and go seamlessly back to it. Instead of
looking at immersion from a ritualistic point of view, we need to understand the
thought behind it. Today knowing the harmful chemicals in the idols as well as
colors, we need to make practical adjustments in the immersion practices. It is
today’s need to use either ecofriendly Ganesh idols or the ecofriendly way of
immersion.

The green immersion is of two types as 1) Artificial immersion and 2)

Symbolic immersion.

9
 1) Artificial Immersion:
Idols immersed in the limited amount
of water in the tank so that all the water
in river will not get polluted. The idols
then accumulate at the base of the
artificial pond.

2) Symbolic immersion :
Instead of the actual Ganesh idol we
could immerse a betel nut and pack
away the idol for use the next year.
Another way of immersion could be
sprinkling a few drops of water on the
idol and then wiping it off and keeping
the idol for another year to use. In case
of metal idols we can immerse the idol
in a tub or a bucket at home & can be
withdrawn after

In artificial immersion method we are trying to do some development for

disintegration of POP idols as much as possible. By using different salts we are
trying to disintegrate the Ganesh idols. The chemicals tried are as Bicarbonate &
carbonate salts.

Solutions:
1) It is the worlds need to celebrate “ Green” gansh festival i. e it should be
ecofriendly
2) Either Ganesh idol can be ecofriendly made up of Clay (Shadu in Marathi)
or made up of paper mache.
3) If both of above is not possible then atleast the way of immersion should
be ecofrienly so that the POP idol will disintegrate.

1.3 Recycling of POP

10
 On the large scale POP is simply crushed in the crusher machine to the
fine powder and reused for any application.

1.4 Challenges in Ganesh idol recycling

The recycling of the Ganesh idol made up of POP by conventional

crushing is not possible due to the sentimental attachment of people with the
Lord. Hence to avoid the water and soil pollution related to POP idol immersion,
the project was taken up for development of the new technique for disintegration
of POP idols which will be more environmental friendly and acceptable by
general public. The Ganesh idol is made up of POP and is confirmed by X-ray
diffraction analysis as shown below:
4000

3500

3000
Intensity(a.u)

2500

2000
XRD analysis of
Ganesh idol
1500

1000

500

10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90
2θ

11
Preamble

Cummins India as part of the Corporate Social Responsibility (SCR)

activity was working with Pune Municipal Corporation on eco-friendly ways of
disintegrating POP Idols especially Ganesh idols. Cummins Research and
Technology India Ltd. (CRTI) team had attempted to dissolve POP idol in
aqueous solution of baking soda. Initial experiments carried out by CRTI team
with POP idols demonstrated the feasibility of this method for its utility for
dissolving Ganesh idols. The process took long time and left behind residue
which had to be characterised. However CRTI team could not optimise the
amount of baking soda, water and time required for disintegration of POP as well
as analysis of the solid residue, which was needed for its further use, hence CRTI
team approached CSIR-NCL (Drs. Dongare and Umbarkar) for help in this work.
NCL agreed to carry out optimisation of the various parameters like amount of
baking soda needed for disintegration of POP idol and chemical analysis of the
residue formed.

Initially NCL reproduced the experiment with baking soda (sodium

bicarbonate) and found that disintegration takes longer time due to low solubility
of baking soda in water. Hence it was decided to screen different carbonate salts
like sodium carbonate, potassium carbonate with higher solubility in water and
study the disintegration of the idols.To minimise the time required for
disintegration, the following objectives were set for the project:

2. Objectives
1) To identify a suitable chemical agent for disintegration of the Ganesh POP
idols.

2) To study the effect of different parameters on extent of disintegration and

time required for disintegration of POP idols.

3) Study the kinetics of disintegration of POP idols under optimized

conditions.

4) Detailed chemical analysis of the residue formed to evaluate its utility in

various applications.
12
5) Detailed chemical analysis of the aqueous phase and to evaluate the
recovery of solids from aqueous phase or its utility as aqueous solution.

6) Check the purity of the residue and suggest possible utilization of the
same.

2.1 Optimization

Cummins Research and Technology India Ltd. (CRTI) team had attempted
to dissolve POP idol in aqueous solution of baking soda. Initial experiments
carried out by CRTI team with POP idols demonstrated the feasibility of this
method for its utility for dissolving Ganesh idols. However the process took long
time so this method was ruled out.

In NCL the various experiments were carried out for the disintegration of
POP idols on the lab scale. Initially the experiments were carried out using
various salts like sodium bicarbonate (NaHCO3), sodium carbonate (Na2CO3),
potassium carbonate (K2CO3), ammonium carbonate ((NH4)2CO3) and ammonium
bicarbonate (NH4HCO3). The solubility of all the salts was determined and the
disintegration of small POP idols was carried out using the solution of above
mentioned salts to compare the time of disintegration. To minimise the
disintegration time various parameters likes stirring, heating, shaking, sonication,
water jet and spray were studied and optimised.

Different carbonates are used through out the experiment for

disintegration of POP idol. Sulphates reaction with carbonate is well known acid
base reaction. In the literature there are many reports on reaction of calcium
sulphate with carbonates leading to formation of calcium carbonate. Calcium
sulphate (POP) does not react with other salts like nitrate, chloride etc as these
salts are also acidic. Reaction of calcium sulfate with carbonate salt will generate
insoluble calcium carbonate which can be used in various applications and water
soluble sulfate salts which will be separated easily from solid calcium carbonate.

13
3. Experimental Setup
3.1 Lab scale experimental setup

Brief description of the various experimental techniques used for the

optimization is given below:

Heating: On lab scale experiments

1 lit glass beaker containing salt
solution was used in which the
idol was immersed. The beaker
was heated using hot plate with
temperature controller for
controlling the heating and
maintaining constant temperature.
Whereas for larger scale 200 lit
plastic drum was used and the
water was heated using domestic
immersible water heater (as shown
in the picture).

Stirring: Overhead stirrer (as

shown in the picture ) was used for
small scale in beaker (1 lit) and for
larger scale in 200 lit plastic drum
for stirring only the solution above
the idol so as to have uniform
concentration of the salts though
out the solution during
disintegration.

14
 Sonication: The beaker (500
ml) containing carbonate solution
and idol was kept in sonicator (230
volts, 50 Hz, 3.5 lit capacity). It
was not possible to take trial on
large scale in sonicator.

Shaking & heating: The

beaker (500 ml) containing
solution and idol was kept on
laboratory shaker with shaking
speed in the range of 100 rpm.
This could was not possible on
larger scale in NCL

Water jet and spray: On

larger scale in 200 lit plastic
drum a Tullu pump was used to
spray the water on the idol
either from the top or from
bottom of the idol as idols are
hollow from inside. For this
experiment the idol was kept
on the mesh above the water
level and salt solution was
circulated using Tullu pump
from bottom of the idol or
using a spray (shower) from
top

15
 The results of representative experiments carried out for optimization of
various parameters on small idols (~50 g) and actual ganesh idols (5-10 kg) are
given below:

4 Experimental Results
Effect of solubility

Solubility of different carbonate salts to be used for the experiment is given in the
table 1.

Table 1: Solubility of different salts in water

Sr. No Chemical Common name Water solubility

(g/Lit) at 20 ºC

1 NaHCO3 Sodium bicarbonate (Baking Soda) 96

2 Na2CO3 Sodium Carbonate(Washing Soda) 215

3 K2CO3 Potassium Carbonate(Potash) 112

4 (NH4)HCO3 Ammonium Bicarbonate (Powdered 216

baking Ammonia)

Effect of different salts on disintegration of POP

To identify the suitable salt for disintegration of POP idol, initial

experiments were carried out using small idols of ~50 g and the observations
are given below (table 2).

Table 2: Effect of Different salts on POP disintegration

Sr. Salt Charge Observation

16
 No.

1 NaHCO3 Water 200 ml + Salt (63 g) + 50 % disintegration in 6 hrs, no

Idol (62g) complete disintegration even after
73 hrs

2 Na2CO3 Water 200 mL + Salt (51 g) + 65 % disintegration in 5 hrs and

Idol (50 g) complete disintegration in 23 hrs

3 K2CO3 Water 200 ml + Salt (61 g) + 30 hrs for complete disintegration

Idol (60 g)

4 (NH4)HCO3 Water 200 ml + Salt (54 g) + complete disintegration in 21 hrs

Idol (54 g)

After the initial experiments (table 2) it was observed that NaHCO3 and
K2CO3 have less solubility in water and hence needs longer time to dissolve the
salt in water. Also during the disintegration experiment the rate of disintegration
was very slow in NaHCO3 and K2CO3. Hence further experiments were carried
out using Na2CO3.

The effect of temperature on rate of disintegration was studied using Na2CO3 in

the temperature range of 40 - 80 °C. The rate of POP disintegrations was found to
be faster at higher temperature. The effect of stirring/shaking as well as sonication
on rate of disintegration was also studied. The disintegration was considerably
faster when stirring or shaking was used. Sonication also enhanced the rate of
disintegration significantly. The results for effect of different parameters on rate
of disintegration are summarized in table 3.

Effect of various parameters on POP disintegration

Table 3: Effect of different parameters on POP disintegration using Na2CO3

Sr. Temp. Water Weight of Weight of Idols Observations

No. Na2CO3

1 Room 500 mL 100 g 110 g Complete disintegration

Temperature in 27 hrs

2 Room 4 lit 854 g 499 g Complete disintegration

17
 Temperature in 27 hrs

3 60 °C 500 mL 100 g 117 g Complete disintegration

in 12 hrs

4 80 °C 1 lit 200 g 219 g Complete disintegration

in 4.5 hrs

5 80 °C 4 lit 850 g 852 g Complete disintegration

in 10 hrs

6 80 °C 11 lit 2.3 kg 2.3 kg Complete disintegration

in 8 hrs

Advantages and disadvantages of Methods Used

It was difficult to maintain the uniform temperature throughout the

charge as the heavy residue is formed during the disintegration which
settles at the bottom. The heating was done using hot plate and the
settled heavy residue was getting heated more and the heat was not
decapitated to the solution uniformly hence the temperature of the
solution was lower.

Uniform and continuous heating the solution may not be feasible and
economical on large scale.

The effect of heating on rate of disintegration was studied on

slightly bigger scale with 2.3 kg idols and the observations are given
below (table 4). Also the extent of disintegration was monitored with time
and the results are given in the table 5 below:

Table 4: Effect of temperature on disintegration on larger scale

Weight of Water Weight of Observation

idols Na2CO3

2.3 Kg 11 Lit 2.3 Kg When heated at 60-80 ºC,

complete disintegration in
8 hrs

18
 Table 5: Observation Table
Observation (% disintegration)
Sr. No Time (hrs)

1 0 Rapid bubbling started

2 1 20

3 3 70

4 4 75

5 5 80

6 6 85

7 8 90

100
The experiment
90 showed that heating at
80
higher temperatures
increases the rate of
Disintegration(%)

70 disintegration.
60 However heating the
solution uniformly at
50 constant temperature
40 may not be feasible and
economical at large
30 scale.
20
10
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
Time(hr)

Effect of Temperature and Shaking

The combined effect of heating and shaking/stirring (shaker at 65 °C at

100 RPM) on the rate of disintegration was studied and the observations are given
bellow:

19
 Table 6: Observation Table
Sr. No Time (hrs) Observation (% disintegration)

1 0 Disintegration started with bubbling

2 2 80

3 3 85

4 4 90

5 5 95

6 6 Complete disintegration

100

The results showed

95
Disintegration(%)

substantial increase
in the rate of
90 disintegration when
heating as well as
85 stirring was used.

80

2 3 4 5 6
Time(hr)

Effect of Sonication:

To study if sonication enhances the rate of disintegration, the idol was

sonicated in sodium carbonate solution and the observations are given below:

Table 7: Experimental condition

Weight of idols Water Weight of Observations

Na2CO3

20
 54 g 250 mL 54 g 95 % disintegration in 4
hrs

Table 8: Observation Table

Sr.No Time Observations

(hrs)
(% disintegration)

1 0 Disintegration started with bubbling

2 1 25

3 3 85

4 4 95

100 Sonication has improved

the rate of disintegration
90
compared to all other
80
Disintegration(%)

techniques like stirring

70 and heating however it
60 may not be feasible and
50 economical on
40
30
20
1.0 1.5 2.0 2.5 3.0 3.5 4.0
Time(hr)

Scale up studies (with Big Idols)

After optimizing the parameters with small idols the experiment was carried
out on actual Ganesh idols and the observations are given below:

Table 9: Experimental Condition

21
 Weight of idols Water Weight of Observations
Na2CO3

4.9 Kg 40 Lit 7 Kg 80% disintegration was observed in 9

hrs with intermittent heating using
immersible household heater

Here the ratio of sodium carbonate salt and POP was not kept constant as
before (1:1 wt equivalent) as excess solution (20% salt solution) had to be added
to immerse the idol completely. The idol used for this experiment had coconut
shell husk (used for support) which came out during the experiment.

80
70
Disintegration(%)

60

50
40

30
20
0 2 4 6 8 10
Time(hr)

The experiment carried out with actual ganesh idol showed almost
80% disintegration in 9 hrs but later the rate was very slow and
complete disintegration was for possible even after further 24 hrs.
During this experiment it was observed that the idol was hollow
from inside with opening at the bottom. Also the idol had plastic
paint which peeled off slowly with time. Due to which there was no
direct contact between sodium carbonate and POP. Till the paint
peeled off the disintegration was mainly from the hollow opening
and only after the paint was peeled off, the disintegration of idol
started from outside as well.

22
4.1 Chemistry behind the disintegration

The reaction of POP with sodium carbonate takes place as follows:

Na2CO3 + CaSO4 CaCO3 + Na2SO4

During the disintegration the calcium sulphate (POP) reacts with sodium
carbonate and calcium carbonate is formed as heavy residue which settles down
and sodium sulphate is formed which is soluble in water. The pH of the solution
becomes highly alkaline (pH 11-12) because of the dissolved sodium sulphate.
The residue of the reaction was characterized by X-ray diffraction analysis and
was confirmed to be calcium carbonate (Figure below). As calcium carbonate
formed is very fine powder and forms sludge in which the remaining idol gets
embedded and hence the reaction becomes very slow after some time. Due to this
limitation, stirring of the solution was essential and overhead stirrer was used in
subsequent experiments.

4000

3500 2500
3000
2000
Intensity(a.u)

2500
Intensity(a.u)

2000 1500
1500
1000
1000

500
500

0 0
10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90
2θ
2θ
Calcium Carbonate
POP(Calcium Sulfate)

Effect of continuous Stirring

In this experiment the overhead stirrer was used in such a way to only stir
the solution above the idol and not crush the idol with overhead stirrer and the
observations are given in table 10 below.
Table 10: Experimental condition

23
 Weight of idols Water Weight of Na2CO3 Observations

8 kg 40 lit 8 kg 60 % disintegration in 6 hrs

During this experiment initial disintegration was faster with 40%

disintegration in 6 hrs however later it was very slow. Then fresh sodium
carbonate solution which was in the hollow part reacted with the idol from inside.
As there was no water circulation the reacted solution remained in the hollow part
and did not react further. Also the head part of the idol which was solid and dense
did not disintegrate even after 48 hrs. The small disintegrated portions were
embedded in the sludge and were not further disintegrated; hence the experiment
was not continued further.

Pros and Cons of the Na2CO3 method

1. Use of Na2CO3 forms a solid sludge of calcium carbonate.

2. Calcium carbonate can be used in different applications like cement

industries, cement bricks, and used in various medical applications.

3. Water soluble sulfate formed after the treatment is sodium sulphate

4. Sodium is very harmful for soil as well as for the plants and aquatic
life hence the solution cannot be discharged as such in agriculture land
or water without treatment

5. pH of the solution becomes highly alkaline (11-12) hence is not very

safe for handling

Due to all above mentioned drawbacks there is a need to use safer and
green carbonate salt for disintegration of POP hence ammonium
bicarbonate was used in all further experiments.

In order to overcome the problems faced before the design of the

experiment was changed and the idol was placed on mesh so that the formed

24
sludge settles down and the idol remains above the sludge. The water jet was
also used from the bottom of the idol using Tullu pump so that the disintegration
becomes faster from inside as well and there is better contact of fresh sodium
carbonate solution with unreacted POP. The pH of the final solution becomes
highly alkaline (pH 11-12) which is not safe to handle and needs special
precautions during handling. Hence use of sodium carbonate is not
recommended. Another disadvantage of using sodium carbonate used is
formation of soluble sodium sulphate. Sodium (Na) present in the solution is
harmful to agricultural land as well as aquatic life hence cannot be discharged in
the environment as such without any treatment. Hence the safer carbonate salt is
needed for disintegration of POP. Ammonium carbonate/bicarbonate is used for
making ammonium sulphate from calcium sulphate which is a well known
fertilizer (US2640757 A). Hence ammonium bicarbonate was used for
subsequent experiments as it would form soluble ammonium sulphate along with
calcium carbonate residue

CaSO4.1/2 H2O + (NH4) HCO3 (NH4)2SO4 + CaCO3 +

H2O

(POP) (Ammonium (Ammonium

(Calcium

Bicarbonate) sulphate)
carbonate)

Experiment with ammonium bicarbonate

As discussed above the experiment was carried out using

ammonium bicarbonate using modified experimental set up (as
shown in section 3.1).

Experimental set up = 200 lit drum with mesh fixed on a support for
keeping the idol + Overhead Stirrer + Tullu Pump (for water
circulation)

Table 11: Experimental Condition

25
Weight of idol Water Weight of (NH4)HCO3 Observations

7.9 Kg 40 Lit 8 Kg 60 % disintegration in 9

hrs

Table 12: Observation Table

Sr. No. Time (hr) Observation (% Disintegration)

1 0 Disintegration started

2 3 25

3 6 45

4 9 60

60
50
Disintegration(%)

40
30
20
10
0
0 2 4 6 8 10
Time(hr)

Effect of spraying from bottom

As the previous experiment showed promising results, to further improve

the rate of disintegration, idol was sprayed from bottom (instead of jet) using
ammonium bicarbonate solution so as to have better contact of ammonium
bicarbonate solution with POP. Also to study if rate of disintegration of dry idol
and wet idol are comparable, the idol was kept in plane water for 12 hrs before the
experiment was carried out and the observations are given below:

Table 13: Experimental Condition

26
Weight of Wight of the wet Water Weight of Observations
dry idol idol (NH4)HCO3

5 Kg 7 Kg 60 Lit 5 Kg 30% disintegration in 7

hrs, 65 % in 28 hrs,
94% in 86 hrs and 96 %
in 103 hrs

Table 14: Observation Table

Sr .No Time (hr) Disintegration (%) Condition

1 0 Disintegration started With stirring

2 5 20 With stirring

3 7 30 With stirring

4 11 35 With stirring

5 23 63 Without stirring for 12 hrs

6 28 65 With stirring

7 40 77 Without stirring for 12 hrs

8 43 77 Removed from solution &

kept in fresh solution without
stirring

9 45 78 Without stirring

10 86 94 Without stirring

27
 The experiment showed almost
100
complete disintegration with only
80 part of head remaining at the end
Disintegration(%)

60
of 103 hrs. Also when shower
was used from the bottom the
40 uneven disintegration was
20 observed. Hence in the next
experiments the spray was used
0
from the top. The above
0 20 40 60 80 100 120 experiments showed that rate of
Time(hr)
disintegration are fast in the
beginning and slows down later
with time.

Effect of spraying from top

The experiment was performed as above except using spray from top instead of
bottom and the observation are given below:

Table 15: Experimental Condition

Weight of dry Wight of wet idol Water Weight of Observations

idol (NH4)HCO3

2.6 Kg 4.1 Kg 30 Lit 2.6 Kg 87 % disintegration in 44

hrs. The rate of
disintegration was almost
same throughout the
experiment.

Table 16: Observation Table

28
Sr. No Time (hr) Disintegration (%) Remarks

1 0 Disintegration
started

2 4 25 With showering

3 6 45 With showering

4 14 64 With showering for 4 hrs

5 20 72 With showering for 6 hrs

6 24 76 With showering for 4 hrs

7 28 85 With showering for 4 hrs

8 31 87 With showering for 3 hrs

9 35 95 With showering for 4 hrs

100

80
Disintegration(%)

60

40

20

-5 0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40
Time(hrs)

29
5. Pros and Cons of experiments:

1) The disintegration of POP using different carbonate salts generates

calcium carbonate as residue. Calcium carbonate finds applications in
mainly cement industry as well as additives in manufacturing cement
accessories like cement pipes, sheets, bricks, lids etc.

2) The soluble salts formed are sodium sulphate when sodium carbonate is
used which has many applications in chemical industries, however the
concentration of the final solution is ~ 20% and transportation of the
solution is not economical as well as concentration of 20% solution to get
solid sodium sulphate will be highly energy intensive and will not be
economical. The sodium in the solution is harmful to agriculture soil and
marine life as well as the pH of the final solution is highly alkaline (pH
11-12), hence it cannot be disposed in the environment without further
treatment.

3) In case of ammonium bicarbonate, soluble ammonium sulphate is formed

along with calcium carbonate residue. Ammonium sulphate is used as a
fertilizer for the plants as well as the pH of the final solution is almost
neutral (pH ~7) hence the aqueous solution of ammonium bicarbonate can
directly be used as fertilizer for plants.

4) Water circulation is important to keep the concentration of the ammonium

bicarbonate uniform throughout the experiment so as to have better
contact of ammonium bicarbonate with POP.

5) The rate of disintegration enhances at high temperature however heating

on large scale may not be economical if sodium carbonate is used. In case
of ammonium bicarbonate heating is not possible as ammonium
bicarbonate is not stable at high temperature and decomposes at 42ºC
releasing ammonia gas in the atmosphere.

6) Disintegration using spray has shown better results hence a better design
for uniform spraying ammonium bicarbonate solution from top as well as
bottom is needed.

30
6. Precautions

Following safety precautions needs to be taken for carrying out the experiment
using ammonium bicarbonate:

Wearing safety goggles and mask is necessary during the

experiment, as some amount of ammonia is liberated during the
experiment and the vapors gives eye irritation as well as inhalation
for prolong period leads to health problems like bronchitis, asthma
and coughing.

Experiment should be done in well ventilated open place, not near

residential area. The treatment should be done preferably in a
closed vessel.

In case of direct contact of ammonia with skin, wash the infected

area with plenty of water.

Direct inhalation of ammonia for prolonged period may create

problem in respiratory system.

7. Summary

Expeiments carried out in lab using different carbonate salts (sodium

carbonate, sodium bicarbonate, ammonium bicarbonate) proved the
feasibility of the disintegration of POP idols using carbonate.

Various parameters like amount of salt, concentration of salt,

temperature, stirring/circulation were optimized to minimize the time
for disintegration

31

Ammonium bicarbonate was found to be best salt for POP
disintegration giving ammonium sulphate a well known fertilizer as
valuable byproduct.

8. Recommendation

From all the experimental optimization the following conditions are

recommended for disintegration of POP idols: Preferable operating
conditions for the experiment are as follows:
20% solution (g/vol) of ammonium bicarbonate in water, POP to
ammonium bicarbonate ratio (wt/wt) 1:1

Provision for keeping the idol on the mesh so that formed residue is
directly separated from idols during operation

It was observed that using spray/jet from top as well as bottom

increases the rate of disintegrations hence the experimental set up
needs to be designed accordingly.

Initial prototype setup can be designed for demonstrating the

feasibility of the operation on smaller scale (may be 4- 5 idols at a
time).

The residue formed during the experiment can be used in cement

industry, as additive in the manufacturing of Cement accessories like
cement spun pipe, cement bricks, cement sheets of course it depends
on its purity & suitability for the product. Since it is good quality
calcium carbonate, it can be used as such for road making and
repairs.

The ammonium sulphate formed is soluble in water and can be

directly used as fertilizer in agriculture land or gardens.

32
The drawing for the prototype of Ganesh idol visarjan (4-5 idols) as
designed by Mojj Engineering Systems Pvt Ltd is given below:

33
34
35
 Annexure-1

Pilot run was designed and fabricated by Mojj Engineering System Ltd – Pune, in
consultation with NCL and Cummins for disintegration of Ganesh Idols.

The experiments were carried out on 4 numbers of household Ganesh Idol with
approximate 1foot height and 5 Kg weight.

The tank, fabricated as per sketch attached on previous page, has following features –

1. Material Mild Steel

2. Provision to contain 100lit of water and place 4 Ganesh Idols on Mesh size
of 1 square inch

3. Ammonium bicarbonate Re-Circulating system using electric pump

4. Nozzles for spraying solution from top and bottom of each idol.

5. Provision to accumulate sludge

The snaps for complete set up are shown below.

36
Trial conducted at Mojj Industry premises (Bhosari, Pune) with following procedure.

1. 25Kg of ammonium bicarbonate was added to 100Liters of water.

2. Water was recirculated using pump for initial few minutes to dissolve ammonium
bicarbonate to prepare solution.

37
3. Ganesh idols were placed on mesh; refer snap below

4. Experiment was started and ammonium bicarbonate solution was sprayed from
top and bottom of each idol using pump recirculating

5. The disintegration of idols was monitored each hour

Findings:

It was observed that; almost 90% disintegration of idols achieved in 5.5 hours after
starting the experiment.

Stepwise idol disintegration photographs are shown below.

38
39
40
41
Photograph 3, Photograph 4, 5, 6, etc………

These trials were conducted by by NCL,MOJJ and Cummins together and the further
optimisation would be done by NCL before the final handover to PMC.

It was also decided to conduct the experimentation in presence of NCL, PMC and
Cummins India Foundation.

The whole experimentation/trials including set up, chemicals is funded by Cummins

India Foundation

42
 Annexure-II

After the pilot plant was designed and fabricated by Mr. Pol, Mojj
Engineering Systems Ltd, initial trials were conducted in their premises to check
the performance of the pilot plant. During the initial pilot plant trials in Mojj
premises pilot plant was modified many time by Mr. Pol for improvising the
performance. After the trials in Mojj factory, when the pilot plant design was
optimized for the performance, the set up was moved to NCL, Pune for further
experimentations for optimization of various parameters on pilot scale. Keeping
the water volume constant (250 lit) to the capacity of the tank of the pilot plant,
optimization studies were carried out on:

1. Ratio of ammonium bicarbonate to water

2. Maximum concentration of ammonium bicarbonate usable for experiment
3. Number of recycles of water

By considering these parameters experiments were carried out batch wise

(4 idols/batch).

4 Ganesh idols/ batch

Experiment 1
Initially in 250 lit water 25 kg ammonium bicarbonate was added to make 10%
concentration solution. The idols corresponding to 25 kg POP were disintegrated
in the batches of 4 idols at a time. The observations of the experiment are as
follows:

43
Water = 250 lit Ammonium bicarbonate = 25 kg Concentration of ammonium
bicarbonate = 10%

Batch 1 = Total wt of 4 idols 12 kg dry (17 kg wet wt)

Time for disintegration 3 h 30 min

Batch 2 = Total wt of 4 idols 12 kg dry (19 kg wet wt)

Time for disintegration in 4 h

Batch 3 = Total wt of 4 idols 17 kg dry (25 kg wet wt)

In this batch only partial (40%) disintegration was observed in 3 h.

(In 3rd batch only partial disintegration was observed. The weight of un-
disintegrated idols = 14 kg)

Observation for experiment 1

In 10% solution of ammonium bicarbonate for 25 kg ammonium bicarbonate, 41

kg dry (46 kg wet ) POP could be disintegrated. The average time for
disintegration was 3 h 30 min.

40% disintegration after 3 h in the last batch

In this experiment total 25 kg of ammonium bicarbonate disintegrated 41 kg dry (46 kg

wet) POP idols.

Experiment 2

44
In the next experiment one more batch of 25 kg ammonium bicarbonate was
added to the same solution of experiment 1 and further disintegration was carried
out as above. Batch 3 was continued for disintegration of remaining idols.

Batch 3 = Total wt of remaining idols 14 kg wet wt

Time for disintegration is 2 h

Batch 4 = Total wt of 4 idols 21 kg dry (30 kg wet wt)

Time for disintegration is 4 h 30 min

Batch 5= Total wt of 4 idols 14 kg dry (18 kg wet wt)

Time for disintegration is 4 h 30 min

Batch 6 = Total wt of 4 idols 15 kg dry (20 kg wet wt)

In this batch no further disintegration was observed.

Observation for experiment 2

Addition of more 25 kg ammonium bicarbonate to previous solution resulted in

20% of total concentration of solution. And in this experiments total 45 kg dry (62
kg wet) pop idols could be disintegrated using 25 kg ammonium bicarbonate.

In this experiment total 45 kg dry (62 kg wet) POP could be disintegrated using
25 kg of ammonium bicarbonate

Experiment 3
45
In the same water from experiment 2 one more batch of 25 kg ammonium
bicarbonate was added to disintegrate the remaining idol in previous experiment.

Batch 6 was continued after addition of the fresh ammonium bicarbonate

however there was no further disintegration observed.

Observation for experiment 3

More addition of 25 kg to solution (making it total 30% concentration)
could not disintegrate the idols further. Therefore 20% ammonium bicarbonate
concentration is optimum for the experiment. As no disintegration could be
observed even after adding more ammonium bicarbonate due to saturation of salts
in the water and hence no further reaction of POP with ammonium bicarbonate
was possible.

Experiment 4
From the previous experiment 20% concentrating was found to be
optimum hence in this experiment directly 20% solution was used for the
disintegration of the idols. Hence the experiment was started with fresh batch of
250lit water.

Water = 250 lit, Ammonium bicarbonate = 50 kg, Concentration of ammonium

bicarbonate = 20%

Batch 1 = Total wt of 4 idols 14 kg dry (18 kg wet wt)

Time for disintegration is 1 h 30 min

Batch 2 = Total wt of 4 idols 15 kg dry (20 kg wet wt)

Time for disintegration is 2 h

Batch 3= Total wt of 4 idols 10 kg dry (15 kg wet wt)

Time for disintegration is 3 h

Batch 4= Total wt of 4 idols 12 kg dry (17 kg wet wt)

Time for disintegration is 3 h 30 min

Batch 5 = Total wt of 4 idols 15 kg dry (19 kg wet wt)

Time for disintegration is 3 h 30 min

46
Batch 6 = Total wt of 4 idols 14 kg dry (17 kg wet wt)

Time for disintegration is 4 h

Observation for experiment 4

It was observed that 80 kg dry (106 kg wet) POP was disintegrated using 50 kg
ammonium bicarbonate on an average time of 3 h 30 min

Complete disintegration of idols

One of the trials was demonstrated to PMC officials, Mr. Kunal Kumar (PMC
commissioner), Mr. Suresh Jagtap (Joint Municiple commissioner, Incharge
Department of solid waste management and vehicle depot, PMC) Mrs. Ketki
Ghatge(Medical officer,PMC)

47
Conclusion:
1) The optimum concentration of ammonium bicarbonate was found to
be 20%. If added in excess does not give any disintegration due to
saturation of the salt.
2) 20% concentration of ammonium bicarbonate resulted in optimum time
of disintegration (3-4 h).
3) The disintegration becomes visible within 30 mins from the start of the
pump. In the beginning the hollow portion of the idol, mainly the central
portion, which has a smaller wall thickness, starts dissolving. The other
parts with higher thickness, such as the base, the solid fingers, and the
crown are the last ones to disintegrate.
4) Batch wise addition of ammonium bicarbonate (10% per batch) or one
time addition of 20% ammonium bicarbonate has led to the almost
similar time for disintegration (3-4 h).
5) For 1 kg ammonium bicarbonate average 1.3 to 1.5 kg POP can be
disintegrated.

Observations and problems:

 Decomposition of ammonium bicarbonate releasing ammonia gas

causes irritation of eyes and on inhaling causes discomfort.
 Proper safety mask, goggles and gloves are essential for carrying out
the experiments

48
 Due to the continuous run of the pilot plant increase in the temperature
of water was observed which led to decomposition of ammonium
bicarbonate thereby decrease in ammonium bicarbonate concentration in
solution.
 As a result of rise in temperature coil of motor burns which leads to
leakage through piping joints.
 Sometime the nozzles were choked due to the husk present in the POP
idols. The husk during circulation may get stuck in the nozzles leading to
choking of the nozzles. Due to such irregularities the time for
disintegration varied for some batches.
 Due to the corrosive nature of the ammonium bicarbonate/ammonium
sulphate solution, rapid rusting of the plant was observed and over a
period led to leakages at few joints.
 As it was also observed in subsequent batches calcium carbonate is
accumulated as sludge. During circulation of water along with sludge
there is difficulty for circulation due to formation of thick slurry which
leads to heating up of water and decomposition of ammonium bicarbonate.
It was also observed that corrosion & heating leads to leakages from the
pump gland and gaskets of the joints near the pump.
 Safety gadgets used during the trials are shown below.

Masks Rubber Gloves

49
Safety Helmet

50