Patent Announcement
In April 2026, the Patent Office of the Government of India granted a patent titled “Waste Water Filtering Device” to a research team from Chandigarh University (CU). The team comprised Prof (Dr) Anu Kumar, Associate Professor in the Department of Biotechnology, and two biotechnology students, Bhanu Krishan and Shivani. The patent secures intellectual property rights for a novel two‑stage filtering system intended for kitchen wastewater.
Device Description
The patented device integrates a modified strainer housing with two consecutive treatment sections. The first section contains multiple polyurethane sheets coated with silica, which absorb oily constituents and soap micelles present in kitchen wastewater. The second section incorporates activated charcoal that provides an additional adsorption stage for remaining contaminants. After treatment, the filtered water is directed through a tail pipe into an attached storage tank, where it can be collected for non‑potable domestic uses such as watering plants, lawns, toilet flushing, floor cleaning, and outdoor‑area cleaning, thereby reducing demand for fresh potable water.
Water Crisis Context
According to the Economic Survey 2025‑26, India generates approximately 112 billion litres of urban wastewater each day, yet only about 8 % of this volume is recycled and reused. Concurrently, 80 % of water supplied to Indian households is discharged as wastewater, and more than 60 crore (600 million) people are experiencing high to extreme water stress due to groundwater over‑extraction, erratic monsoons, and rapid urbanisation. Prof Kumar highlighted that the idea for the device originated from the severe water scarcity observed in Shimla in 2018.
University Research Highlights
Chandigarh University emphasized its robust research ecosystem. To date, CU has filed over 6,100 patents, of which 5,800 have been published and 260 granted. The university is ranked number one in India for filing the highest number of patents and has 44 faculty members listed among the world’s top 2 % scientists by the Stanford University–Elsevier index. CU is recognised as a Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (SIRO) by the Ministry of Science and Technology’s Department of Scientific and Industrial Research (DSIR). The institution allocates an annual research budget of Rs 15 crore, operates 60 research centres and 15 centres of excellence, and manages 67 projects funded by corporate and government bodies amounting to Rs 90 crore. CU’s scholarly output exceeds 25,000 documents across engineering, computer science, life sciences, physical sciences, social sciences and management, accumulating more than 1.53 lakh (153,000) citations in Scopus.
Institutional Recognition
Deepinder Singh Sandhu, Senior Managing Director of Chandigarh University, congratulated the research team, noting that the patent reflects CU’s strong innovation culture and its commitment to advancing technology. He reiterated the university’s NAAC A+ accreditation, QS world ranking, autonomous status, and its distinction as the youngest private university in Punjab to receive an A+ grade. CU offers more than 109 undergraduate and postgraduate programmes across diverse fields and has been honoured as “The University with Best Placements” by the World Corporate Rankings (WCRC).