Tackling Wastewater With Eco-Friendly Tech

Biosolve Innovations uses a patented mix of bacteria that forms biofilms to remove micropollutants. (SIVStockStudio/Shutterstock.com)

Biosolve Innovations, a Nexus-trained start-up, specializes in providing effective wastewater treatment solutions for both domestic and industrial use. Founded by Mousumi Debnath, who draws on her background as a teacher and researcher, the start-up uses a patented mix of bacteria that forms biofilms to remove micropollutants. The process not only cleans the water but also eliminates color and odor, making Biosolve a promising solution in wastewater management.

“Biosolve’s core strengths lie in innovation and intellectual property. We focus on environmental issues, and our passion for creating a better planet drives our core mission as entrepreneurs,” says Debnath. “Our efforts contribute to a healthier Earth by ensuring clean water, while our biosurfactant helps to cleanse the soil, promoting cleaner, more sustainable land.”

Excerpts from an interview with Debnath.

Could you please tell us about your background and how you became interested in entrepreneurship?

I am an ardent researcher with postdoctoral experience in the United States, Germany and Australia, and a teacher by profession. Creating innovations that can save time and energy has been the prime motive behind my research, which is both product-oriented and process-oriented.

Seeing the huge volume of colored water from the textile industries pumped directly out to the Amanishah Canal in Jaipur was unacceptable to me. It was even more disheartening to see that the same water was used for irrigation. Determined to find a solution for my community, I decided to innovate, leading to the birth of Biosolve Innovations Private Limited. The goal was to provide clean water to communities and industries, recycle the wastewater for industry, and reuse for irrigation.

How does your wastewater treatment solution work?

Using a modified moving bed biofilm reactor, we aim to clean, recycle and reuse the wastewater from different industries and the domestic sector. We use novel biological products from bacteria to create a fine mesh by developing microorganisms. This continuously eats off the pollutants. The system needs minimal maintenance cost after it’s set up. It is a safe process that requires very little space and energy consumption but, at the same time, assures the reduction of toxic compounds.

Mousumi Debnath (first row center, in white saree) at a felicitation function in Rajasthan. (Photograph courtesy Mousumi Debnath)

We have successfully cleaned the wastewater from textile industries in Warangal, Sanganer, Bagru and Pune using our moving bed biofilm reactor technology. Additionally, the treated sewage water was sent back to the fields for irrigation.

Please share some of your experiences during the Nexus program. Can you share any advice for people who are interested in building an environmental start-up?

After graduating from an entrepreneurship program in Rajasthan, I was selected for the 13th cohort of the American Center New Delhi’s Nexus program. It was an exciting journey of sharing experiences and learning about everything related to the start-up journey. I treasure those days being a student of Nexus. I am indebted to all the Nexus mentors for all that I learned from the program.

I feel entrepreneurship in the sustainability sector in India and the United States thrives on developing eco-friendly solutions. If the solution is robust and replicable, then success is inevitable.

I would like to see many more new competitors in my domain. This can help rejuvenate our planet and help restore the air, water and soil.

Jason Chiang is a freelance writer based in Silver Lake, Los Angeles.