What If a Firecracker Left No Smoke? This IISER Scientist Found an Unusual Way to Make One

This story is part of “India Invented This?” — The Better India’s weekly trivia series that uncovers the Indian minds, ideas and innovations behind inventions that have shaped the way we live. From ingenious solutions created by scientists and engineers to technologies developed in response to some of India’s biggest challenges, each story goes beyond the invention to explore the problem it solved, the impact it created and why it still matters today.

There is something special about the moment a child lights their first sparkler. The excitement of holding it, the little circles they draw in the air, and the delight of watching it fade into tiny glowing embers are memories that often stay with us long after childhood.

For generations, firecrackers have been part of how many Indian families celebrate Diwali. But what if the thrill of watching something burst into the sky did not have to come with clouds of smoke, lingering gunpowder smells and piles of burnt debris?

That was the question Dr Samrat Ghosh, a chemical scientist at the Indian Institute of Science Education and Research (IISER), Mohali, decided to explore. His answer? A firecracker that uses an entirely different approach to create the familiar excitement of fireworks, without the smoke and particulate emissions associated with conventional crackers.

And the interesting part is that his innovation began with something most people would simply throw away: an empty plastic bottle.

From waste bottles to a new kind of firecracker

In October 2017, following concerns about firecracker pollution and a Supreme Court order temporarily restricting their use in the NCR, then Union Environment Minister Dr Harsh Vardhan called upon scientists to develop safer alternatives, including electronic firecrackers.

Dr Samrat took up the challenge.

An assistant professor in IISER Mohali's Department of Chemical Sciences, he drew upon his expertise in combustion chemistry to develop what became known as the IISER-M pollution-free firecracker.

The first prototype was built using recycled plastic bottles and a specially developed combustible formulation. Instead of the conventional arrangement of chemicals packed into a paper casing, his device worked through a small launcher mechanism.

Here's how it worked: When triggered by a spark, the combustible material ignited and generated pressure, pushing the bottle upwards like a rocket. The launch produced a loud bang, recreating some of the excitement associated with traditional fireworks.

But the real innovation lay in what happened around it.

No smoke, no leftover debris, and even a fragrance!

Unlike conventional firecrackers, Ghosh's formulation was designed to produce no visible smoke or particulate matter. The device also left no conventional firecracker debris behind.

Another unusual feature was that the sound level could be adjusted, allowing users to customise how loud the explosion was.

Depending on the ingredients used in the combustible formulation, the device could even release a fragrance into the air.

The idea was to replace the familiar smell of gunpowder with something more pleasant. Imagine finishing Diwali celebrations with the scent of lavender rather than burnt chemicals!

His team developed both aerial and non-aerial prototypes. The device was also designed to be reusable, with the bottle being launched rather than destroyed in the process.

The next experiment involved something unexpected

A year after developing the prototype, Ghosh and his team began exploring ways to make the formulation more affordable.

Their next experiment involved distilled cow urine.

In 2019, the team had developed a cheaper version of its green firecracker using this ingredient. According to Ghosh, incorporating distilled cow urine reduced the cost of the formulation by 50%, without changing its performance in terms of sound, light and flight.

The team also maintained that its organic formulation produced no particulate-matter emissions. An emission study was being conducted at IISER to analyse the gases released during combustion.

The experiment was also driven by a practical consideration: making the technology affordable enough to explore wider adoption.

A different way to look at celebration

For Ghosh, the idea was never simply to make another firecracker. It was to rethink how fireworks could work while addressing some of the problems associated with conventional ones.

His innovation also had potential applications beyond Diwali. The device could potentially be used to drive animals away from agricultural fields or help clear airport runways.

The technology was still under development according to the reports in 2018, and its commercialisation and wider adoption were not established. The innovation was still awaiting patents at the time of the reports, and its journey towards wider commercial use remained a work in progress.

But perhaps that is what makes the experiment interesting. It shows how even the most familiar traditions can leave room for new ideas. A discarded plastic bottle, a scientist's curiosity and a desire to reduce pollution came together to challenge the way we think about firecrackers.

And who knows? With further research and development, innovations like Ghosh's could one day help make the excitement of Diwali a little kinder to the air we all share.

Sources:

'This Diwali go for this pollution-free firecracker' by Business Standard, Published on 29 April 2018.

'Mohali scientist makes fireworks with cow urine' by Shimona Kanwar for The Times of India, Published on 22 April 2019.