Consumers’ Perceptions of the Environmental Impact of E-Waste Disposal: Evidence from Hyderabad City, India

Divyashree Mohapatra, Promila K Chahal — Sat, 01 Nov 2025 00:00:00 +0000

The expansion of the IT and communication industries has significantly increased the global utilization of electronic devices. Accelerated upgrades and the introduction of new electronic devices compel consumers to buy the newest models while discarding outdated electronics, contributing to the growing generation of electronic waste (e-waste) in the solid waste stream. This includes dangerous materials, resulting in a risk of decline in environmental quality and public health. To reduce environmental impacts, initiatives for e-waste management and promoting awareness of its safe disposal, as well as maximizing reuse, recovery, and recycling of valuable materials, are being enacted. A study has been carried out to evaluate consumer perceptions about e-waste management and its disposal. Random sampling method has been used for the purpose of gathering responses from 120 consumers in Hyderabad. The findings indicated that with the rise in general information, respondents tend to purchase or replace more electronic items, which leads to more E-waste generation. Knowledge of safe e-waste disposal channels and use of formal options was found low with lower variance, indicating consistently poor e-waste disposal practices. An inference was drawn from the results, which showed that the socio-demographic profile characteristics were in positive association with the perception level of the respondents, p < 0.05. Further, data suggest that there is an immediate need to develop the sense of awareness about the proper disposal of discarded e-waste among consumers.

Effect of Salt and Glycol on Ice Crystal Nucleation and Growth during Freezing

Rohit, H.K., Chitranayak, Minz, P.S., Deshmukh, A.K., Arijit Ray — Sat, 01 Nov 2025 00:00:00 +0000

Water’s high specific and latent heat make it an effective coolant, though its high freezing point limits use in subzero applications. To solve this problem and change the properties of water; different antifreeze chemicals are added and their cooling performance was evaluated through experiments. The cooling characteristics of PG and NaCl aqueous ternary solution at different concentrations were analyzed. The result indicates that as salt concentration rose from 0 to 5% NaCl, the freezing point reduced to 2.5 ± 0.5°C. Addition of different solutes in RO water act as a nucleating agents and initiate the early freezing process resulting in lower degree of subcooling of solutions as compared to pure solvent. The lowest degree of subcooling (0.1°C) was observed in a solution containing 6% PG and 1% NaCl multi component blend (MCB). The results showed that salt reduced the degree of subcooling, while propylene glycol lowered ice adhesion and prevented ice crystal agglomeration. The results give critical understanding for developing effective coolants in industrial refrigeration, food preservation, and thermal energy storage systems.

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Consumers’ Perceptions of the Environmental Impact of E-Waste Disposal: Evidence from Hyderabad City, India

Effect of Salt and Glycol on Ice Crystal Nucleation and Growth during Freezing