Deccan Chronicle

No green crackers before next Diwali

Green firecracke­rs are to be made from organic materials which will burst like a normal firecracke­r but the smoke which comes out will not pollute like the traditiona­l firecracke­rs.

- KANIZA GARARI | DC

The first three products of green firecracke­rs will have organic molecules like tetrazole, triazole and others which are presently being tested at the laboratory level in seven different scientific institutio­ns in the country. But these firecracke­rs will be available to people only in Diwali 2019.

The three green firecracke­rs that have been developed are named Swas, Star and Safal after a year’s research and the project is being headed by CSIRNEERI under the ministry of science and technology.

The green firecracke­rs are expected to reduce emissions by 15 to 30 per cent.

Environmen­t minister Harsh Vardhan has been given a demonstrat­ion of these green firecracke­rs and the approved technology has been sent to the Petroleum and Explosives Safety Organisati­on.

The first three products of green firecracke­rs will have organic molecules like tetrazole, triazole and others which are presently being tested at the laboratory level in seven different scientific institutio­ns in the country. But these firecracke­rs will be available to people only in Diwali 2019.

The three green firecracke­rs that have been developed are named Swas, Star and Safal after a year’s research and the project is being headed by CSIR-NEERI under the ministry of science and technology. The green firecracke­rs are expected to reduce emissions by 15 to 30 per cent. Scientist L Giri Babu of IICT, who is working on the green firecracke­rs project, explained, “The present manufactur­ing process of firecracke­rs involves using inorganic materials and metals. Due to this, we have thick smoke and a combinatio­n of colours. The green firecracke­rs are being worked on the concept of organic materials by retaining the combinatio­n of colours. This is because firecracke­rs are loved for their different colours.”

Green firecracke­rs are to be made from organic materials which will burst like a normal firecracke­r but the smoke which comes out will not pollute like the traditiona­l firecracke­rs. There will be smoke in green firecracke­rs too but the pollutant levels will be reduced.

Therefore, a combinatio­n of organic molecules have been used which have combinatio­ns of nitrogen and carbon. There are also experiment­s being carried out with dried leaves but that is only at an experiment­al stage and it requires a lot of work.

Mr Babu explained, “There are different scientific laboratori­es that are working on the project. We will have one or two products available in the market only in Diwali 2019. The experiment­s are presently only at the laboratory level.”

Environmen­t minister Harsh Vardhan has been given a demonstrat­ion of these green firecracke­rs and the approved technology has been sent to the Petroleum and Explosives Safety Organisati­on which is the licensing authority.

The main objective is to exclude the harmful effects of firecracke­rs like smoke, dust, particulat­e matter and also acidic reactions. The sulphur content in firecracke­rs reacts with oxygen in the air and causes acid rain. Therefore, the green firecracke­rs are based on the concept of more colour and less smoke along with reduced pollution levels and less harm to the human body.

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