Electrostatic force field has been exploited in the design and development of an air-assisted electrostatic sprayer for agricultural applications to increase the mass transfer efficiency, bio-efficacy, uniform deposition, maximum canopy coverage and liquid pest to reach the hidden areas and underside of the target by reducing the drift of active ingredients of pesticides from the target microorganism. Electrostatic spray technology has a cut above performance in getting better droplet size, size distribution, deposition rate and uniformity. This nozzle is light weight, highly efficient, reduces pesticide use and human health risks, and eco-friendly.

The sudden outbreak of novel coronavirus SARS-CoV-2E also termed as COVID-19 has become a global thread for human beings and it has put the world in tremendous crisis. Disinfection and sanitization has become one of the most essential tasks to stop the spread of novel Coronavirus. Disinfection is the process to destroy or inhibit the growth of disease causing the microorganisms thriving on the living and non-living surfaces. We have designed and developed an electrostatic disinfection machine to sterilize the indoor and outdoor surfaces to stop the spread of Coronavirus. The developed technology has been transferred to three industries for commercial production.

The electrostatic dust mitigation device has been designed to tackle the problem of airborne dust particles generated by unpaved roads, cement enterprises, construction and general demolition work, open mining activities and bulk material handling. Electrostatic dust mitigation device is highly useful in suppressing the dust particles entrained in the air and protect the environment in an efficient way. It produces uniform and fine spray particles that are nearly equal in proportion of dust particles / particulate matter PM2.5 and PM10.

During the lockdown in 2020, we have worked with the Indian Air Force (IAF) on aerial spraying based on the MI-17 helicopter for locust control. It was a very critical job to develop the air-assisted nozzles suitable to mount on the MI-17 helicopter because of high wind, high range coverage, trust created by the rotors etc. The work has been appreciated by the Ministry of Defense, Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, Ministry of Science and Technology.

The Handheld Electrostatic Disinfection Device (HEDD), based on the electrostatic principle, produces uniform and fine spray droplets of disinfectants which is very much desirable to kill the microorganisms and viruses. Due to the small size of droplets, the surface area of spray droplets increases which enhances the interaction with the harmful microorganisms and CORONA virus. Charged droplets cover the directly exposed and obscured surfaces uniformly with increased efficiency and efficacy and the disinfectant reaches to any hidden areas of the target, where there is a maximum possibility to find the viruses. Therefore, it kills or inhibits the growth of pathogens very effectively. The device uses very less disinfection material as compared to conventional methods, which helps to save natural resources and negligible increase of chemical waste in the environment.

Processed food with edible coatings and aesthetic look has got a lot of attention in recent times. In conventional methods, various strategies and technologies have been developed, however, they are accompanied with bottlenecks such as non-uniformity, uneven thickness and side effects of coating materials. To address these challenges, we have developed an electrostatic coating system for fruits and vegetables to enhance the shelf-life, nutritional value and sensory attributes. We are also working on edible and biodegradable coating materials so that side effects of existing coating material can be minimized. The coating materials are Aloe-Vera, Rice bran wax, Carnuba wax, Leaf extract and Chitosan.

The spraying system uses high voltage for charging of liquid sprays, therefore, safety of the user is a prime concern. For the above said purposes, an air-pressure electric switch has been used in-line with air supply and in series with DC voltage power supply to turn ON/OFF the high voltage to charging electrode. The air-pressure electrical switch plays an important role in automating the functioning of air-assisted electrostatic sprayer and to provide the safety of the operator. It is simply a push-pull switch which has been converted into automated mode to make it automatic switch based on a certain level of air-pressure range. The designed pressure switch is a kind of transducer which converts air pressure into electrical signal.

A portable high voltage power supply has been generated from a rechargeable battery or AC input, raised to several kilovolts in-housed with various electrostatic spraying devices. In some of the applications, the input voltage is 230 Volts AC and in some of the applications, the input voltage is 9.0 V DC depending on the applications and instrument type. The device is application specific and customized as per the requirement. High voltage power supply is in one of the most important components of any electrostatic spraying device.