IIChE NEWSLETTER 2024

VOL. 16, ISSUE 1, March 2024

Dr. H.L. Roy Building, Raja S.C. Mullick Road, Kolkata 700 032
Website: www.iiche.org.in, E-mail: [email protected]
Telephones: (033) 2414 6670, 2412 9314

President’s Corner

SPOTLIGHT

Announcement for IIChE Award Nomination:

Page 4
List of IIChE Award recipients 2023: Page 5
Dear Members,
Report on CHEMCON 2023: Page 10
At the outset, I wish you all a Happy New Year.
Report on SCHEMCON 2023 : Page 15 May the year 2024 be filled with happiness and
fulfilment! We have begun the year at IIChE
with a team – 2024 of the Council. While
IIChE Training Institute: Page 17
conveying my gratitude to the fellow Council
rd Members for entrusting me as the President, I
Climate Change & Sustainable Manufacturing commit to do my best to honour the confidence
shown in me. I also welcome my colleagues of
IV: Page 18
5 the Council. Our objective will be not only to
Regional Centre Activity Report: Page 25 carry forward the dynamism and initiatives of
our predecessors but go beyond it by
Student Chapter Activity Report: Page 29 introducing new concepts, ideas and new
schemes.
Lovraj Kumar Memorial Lecture: Page 32
We had a very successful CHEMCON 2023,
which also marked the conclusion of the year-
Reactor Donation to JU, Kolkata: Page 34 long IIChE Platinum Jubilee celebration.
CHEMCON 2023 witnessed four days of jam-
Organisational Member Profiles: Page 37 packed programmes during 27 – 30 December
2023 at Heritage Institute of Technology,
Kolkata. Focussing on the central theme of
Energy Transition, it included vigorous and
insightful lectures, presentations and
interactions by renowned academics, research
scholars and industry experts. An elaborate
report is included in this issue of Newsletter.
Copyright © 2024, IIChE. All rights reserved.

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 In today’s milieu of globalisation, the indispensability of collaboration and cooperation have been proven
beyond any contention. IIChE has all along been a strong advocate of seamless collaboration between
academia, research bodies and industry. Every CHEMCON is the best example of such partnership. Other
than CHEMCONs, over the years, several collaborations have been in place with a number of fraternal
professional organisations in India and abroad as well as industry bodies and research organisations. Our
objective will be to expand such endeavour for becoming part of an even wider network of inter-
disciplinary forums and to be more visible in the international Chemical Engineering circuit.

Chemical Engineering is an all-encompassing discipline and its expanse is ever widening. The never
ending process of development in products, processes, materials, catalysts, equipment, etc., demands
continuous update of manpower skills and knowledge of the important resources. In this context, I would
like to update our members about the IIChE Training Institute (IIChE TI) that has been initiated last year
for broad-basing skill enhancement programmes of IIChE and strengthening the Institute’s visibility as a
formidable partner in the scheme of national development. Recently its Board of Directors held the first
meeting to chart out a detailed road map. The major initiatives that will be launched shortly include:

i. An annual Industry Conclave that will be hosted by one of the Regional Centres (RCs) with
financial backup by the Council.

ii. A dedicated R&D lab will be established at the IIChE Headquarters in Kolkata to provide hands-
on training to the Student Members of IIChE. A consultancy/testing cell at the HQ office is
also on the cards. These setups will boost IIChE’s R&D activities and strengthen its credentials
among the industries;

iii. IIChE TI will facilitate MSMEs to upgrade quality / Safety / Environment / Zero Discharge /
Energy transformation, etc. under the banner of IIChE.

iv. FDP (Faculty Development Programmes) will be conducted across the country under the banner
of the IIChE Student Chapters (SCs) or RCs. The programmes will be conducted according to
the AICTE modalities. Moreover, AICTE will be approached for recognition of these
programmes. Indeed, once the ball sets rolling, newer plans and initiatives will evolve as we
make progress.

Such initiatives will offer useful takeaway wraps from IIChE and will strengthen its connect with
industries and academia.

A very important aspect of this dynamism will be more active and vigorous involvement of our 47 RCs and
186 SCs.As a matter of fact, the RCs and the SCs are the most important constituent of IIChE. While our
collaboration with other stake holders, i.e., industry, academia and research bodies, needs to be widened,
at the same time, we need to look inwards and enhance the spirit of partnership not only between the HQ
and the RCs / SCs but also among the RCs and the SCs. I request all our colleagues at the RCs and SCs to
ponder over this idea and let us know what their opinion is. We will look forward to receiving their
constructive suggestions and ideas, which could boost the standing of IIChE at the end.

Looking around the present scenario, a special focus on safety is necessary these days. The challenge for
the chemical engineering fraternity is to ensure that the growing knowledge base is appropriately
translated into technologies that will nurture humanity and uphold a safe and sustainable earth. It has
become all the more essential in the face of the impending climate disaster due to alarming global
warming and the growing carbon footprints. Chemical engineers across the globe have great
responsibilities in ensuring survival of the Planet Earth by devising and promoting right technologies.

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 Notwithstanding our limited resources and strength, we, the IIChE community, are cut out for our role
through advocacy for sustainable development and enhancement of knowledge and practical skill by
creating a positive ecosystem. IIChE has been and will continue to focus these important issues steadfastly
through workshops, seminars, awareness programmes and so on. In all these, the need for collaboration
and partnership between the HQ, RCs and SCs remain indispensable.

Finally, Members are the pillars of IIChE. Without active participation and support of the Members, all
endeavours and visions of IIChE will remain a pipe dream. So I request all IIChEians, corporate members
as well as the RCs, to take a proactive role in expanding our fraternity by encouraging more and more
chemical engineers to join us.

Thank you.

S.I. Thakar
[email protected]

OBITUARY

With profound grief, we announce the sad demise of our following respected
Members:

Prof. B.N. Srimani (LF 00497). The late Prof. Srimani joined IIChE in May 1961

Mr. A. Krishna Reddy (LM 11437). The late Mr. Reddy joined IIChE in December 1993

Mr. B.M. Sharma (LM 01185). The late Mr. Sharma joined IIChE in June 1968

Prof. V. Subramanyam (LM 03678). The late Prof. Subramanyam joined IIChE in October 1973

Mr. Palli Sita Rama Reddy (LM 09288). The late Mr. Reddy joined IIChE in November 1989

Prof. Chityala Ayyanna (LM 07479). The late Prof. Ayyanna joined IIChE in November 1984

Prof. P.N. Singh (LM 05756). The late Prof. Singh joined IIChE in November 1984

Prof. K. Vasudeva (HF 08946). The late Prof. Vasudeva joined IIChE in February 1989

Mr. Amitava Banerjee (LM 47773). The late Mr. Banerjee joined IIChE in August 2013

We offer our heartfelt condolence to the bereaved families of the departed Members.

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 Nominations for Some IIChE Awards/Prizes For 2024
The Institute invites nominations for iiche awards/prizes for 2024, which are given in
recognition of meritorious work in the field of chemical engineering in India. The
awards/prizes
¾ are:

¾ Lala Shriram National Award for “Leadership in Chemical Industry”

¾ Herdillia Award for “Excellence in Basic Research in Chemical Engineering”
¾ NOCIL Award for “Excellence in Design or Development of Process Plant and Equipment”
¾ Jubilant Award for “Outstanding Contribution in the area of Chemical Process Design”
¾ IPCL Award for “Safety/Hazard Management in Petrochemical Industry”
¾ ONGC Award for “Excellence in Design and Development of Oil/Gas related Process Plant and/or
Chemicals”
¾ Hindustan Lever Biennial Award for ‘The Most Outstanding Chemical Engineer of theYear” under the
age of 45 Years as on 31st December 2023.
¾ Hindustan Dorr-Oliver Award for “Excellence in Use of Science and Technology in RuralDevelopment”
¾ ICI India Limited Award for “Excellence in Process or Product Development”
¾ Amar Dye-Chem Award for “Excellence in Research and Development” – for Chemical Engineer below
the age of 35 years as on 31st December 2023
¾ P K Nair Biennial Memorial Award for “Excellence in Design or Development of Process Plant and
Equipment”
¾ Lupin Industries Best Chemical Engineering Teacher Award for the Faculties in PrivateColleges below
the age of 50 years as on 31.12.2023
¾ Dr A V Rama Rao Foundations Best Ph.D. Thesis and Research Award in Chemical
Engineering/Technology for the Year 2024
¾ Prof Shyamal Kanti Sanyal Memorial Award for the “Best PhD Thesis in the area ofMembranes
Research with Significant Commercial Potential”
¾ The Chemical Weekly Prize for “Best Research Paper Published in a High Impact FactorInternational
Journal by an Undergraduate Chemical Engineering Student”
¾ (First and Second Prize)
¾ “Padmashri Professor G D Yadav and Dr (Mrs) Vasanti G Yadav Awards for the most versatile Chemical
Engineering/Technology Students in India”
¾ Professor Ashutosh Sharma Award for the Best Research Paper Published in a National/ International
Journal by an Undergraduate Chemical Engineering Student (Male/Female alternative year).
¾ Prof. A Suryanarayana and Mrs. Vanajakshi Award for the Best Author/(s) of Chemical Engineering Book
and/or Book Chapter.
The forms, duly filled-in should reach the IIChE Office on or before 30th June 2024.

¾ Ambuja’s Young Researcher’s Awards for Doing Post-Graduate Studies in India for theYear 2024 (10
awards)
The forms, duly filled-in should reach the IIChE Office on or before 31st August,2024

¾ Shah-Schulman Award ‘for the best Ph.D. thesis in the area of Colloid and Interface Science’.
¾ Dr K Anji Reddy Innovator of the Year in Chemical Engineering and Technology in India by publishing in
Reputed International Journal in Chemical Engineering & Biotechnology/Patents of merit.
Both the forms, duly filled-in should reach the IIChE Office on or before 31st May 2024.

The Institute also invites nomination for:

Acharya P C Ray Award (First and Second Prize) and Ambuja’s Best Home Paper or Design Project Report
Award (First, Second and Third Prize)

Nomination Forms for these two awards have to be endorsed by the Head of the Department of
Chemical Engineering, of the concerned institution. Forms, duly filled-in along with the Project Report
should reach the IIChE Office on or before 17th July 2024.

All Nomination forms for Awards and Prizes are available in the Website of the Institute.

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 IIChE AWARDS 2023

Following is the list of IIChE Awards and the Awardees. These Awards were presented on the occasion of
CHEMCON 2023 and SCHEMCON 2023 in recognition of eminence, excellence and talents in various
spheres of chemical engineering profession and education.

Dr.B.P.Godrej Life Time Achievement Award

Prof. B B Paira, Advisor, MAKAUT, West Bengal
Shri Dhirubhai Ambani Orator & Chair Award
Padma Vibhushan Prof. M. M. Sharma, Professor of Eminence and former VC, ICT Mumbai

Lala Shriram National Award for Leadership in Chemical Industry

Mr. Ashok R Boob, MD, CST Ltd.

Herdillia Award for Excellence in Basic Research in Chemical Engineering

Prof. Prakash D Vaidya, ICT, Mumbai

ICI India Ltd Award for Excellence in Process or Product Development

Dr. Palash Kumar Mollick, BARC, Trombay

NOCIL Award for Excellence in Design and Development of Process Plant and Equipment
Ms. Sutanwi Lahiri, BARC, Trombay

Amar Dye-Chem Award For “Excellence in Research and Development” for Chemical
Engineering below the age of 35 years
Dr. Ananth Govind Rajan, IISc. Bangalore

Dr K Anji Reddy Innovator of the Year in Chemical Engineering & Technology in India by
Publishing in the Reputed International Journal in Chemical Engineering & Bio-Technology
/Patents of Merit
Dr. Madhu Agarwal, MANIT, Jaipur

Jubilant Award for Outstanding Work in the area of Green Technology

Dr. S Sridhar, CSIR-IICT, Hyderabad

Prof Ashutosh Sharma Award for Best Research Paper Published in a National/ International
Journal by a Undergraduate Chemical Engineering Student (Male)
Mr Vikram Vinayak Shanbhag, ICT, Mumbai

Prof Shyamal Kanti Sanyal Memorial Award for the best PhD Thesis in the Area of Membranes
Research with Significant Commercial Potential
Dr. Himanshu Pradeep Kohli, RNGPIT, Gujarat

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 Padmashri Professor G D Yadav and Dr (Mrs) Vasanti G Yadav Awards for the Most
Versatile Chemical Engineering/Technology Students in India (2 prizes – Best Male &
Female)
Mr. Jitendra Choudhary (Dr Chakma), IISER, Bhopal

RPG Life Sciences Padma Vibhushan Prof M M Sharma Medal and Chemcon
Distinguished Speaker Award
Prof. Ganapathy Ayappa, IISc Bangalore

Asian Paints Padma Bibhushan Dr R A Mashelkar Medal and Chemcon Distinguished

Speaker Award
Prof. Ajayan Vinu, Director, School of Engineering, The University of Newcastle,Australia

Deepak Group’s Padma Bhushan Prof L K Doraiswamy Chemcon Distinguished Speaker

Award
Prof. Sanjay M. Mahajani, IIT Bombay

Hetero Drugs Prof G S Laddha Chemcon Distinguished Speaker Award

Dr. Sandip Lahiri, President, IIIC, NIT Durgapur

Chemical Weekly’s Padmashri Dr G P Kane Chemcon Distinguished Speaker Award

Mr. Arvind Kumar, MD, CPCL

CSIR-IICT-Avon’s Padmashri Dr G S Sidhu Chemcon Distinguished Speaker Award

Mr. S Bharathan, Director (Refineries) HPCL

Sartorius India’s Chemcon Distinguished Speaker Award

Mr. Alok Sharma, ED, CHD

UPL Smt. Sandra R. Shroff Chemcon Distinguished Speaker Award

Mr. Atul Mulay, President and Strategic Business Unit Head, Praj Industries

Hikal’s Chemcon Distinguished Speaker Award

Mr. Pankaj Kumar, Director (Production), ONGC

CSIR-CSMCRI Chemcon Distinguished Speaker Award

Mr. Bhaskar Jyoti Phukan, Managing Director, Numaligarh Refinery Limited

CSIR-CLRI Padmabhushan Dr Y Nayudamma Chemcon Distinguished Speaker Award

Mr. Arup Jhampri, CEO, ONGC Petro additions Limited

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 DOST Professor S K Sharma Medal and Chemcon Distinguished Speaker Award
Dr. Biswajit Roy, DG, GERMI

CSIR-NEERI CHEMCON Distinguished Speaker Award

Prof. Aniruddha B. Pandit, Vice Chancellor, ICT Mumbai

Alkyl Amins Padma Bhushan Prof B D Tilak Chemcon Distinguished Speaker Award
Mr. Parthasarathi Chatterjee, EVP & Head of Offshore, L&T Energy and Hydro Carbon

Indorama Dhunseri Chemcon Distinguished Speaker Award

Mr. Biswanath Chattopadhyay, CEO, Dhunseri Petrochem Ltd., Kolkata

Prof A Suryanarayana and Mrs Vanajakshi Award for the Best Author/(s) of Chemical Engg
Book and/or Book Chapter
Prof. Chandan Das, IIT Guwahati & Dr. Sujoy Bose, IIChE HQ

Heritage Institute of Technology Award for Innovative Research and Sustainable Process
Development
Prof. Shishir Sinha, Director General, CIPET, Govt. of India and Professor, IIT Roorkee

Professor Venkateswara Rao & Smt. Anjani Devi Malapati Endowment Lecture Award on
“Green Energy & Environment for Sustainable Development”
Prof. G. D. Yadav, Past President, IIChE and Former VC, ICT Mumbai

Shah-Schulman Award ‘for the best Ph.D. thesis in the area of Colloid and Interface Science’
for 2022
Dr. Palash Dhara, IIT Kharagpur, Guide: Prof.Rabibrata Mukherjee, IIT Kharagpur Jointly with
Dr. Ranajit Mondal, IIT Bombay, Guide: Prof. Madivala G. Basavaraj, IIT Madras

Dr A V Rama Rao Foundation Best Ph D Thesis and Research Award

Dr. Debiparna De, CSIR-IICT, Hyderabad and
Guide: Dr. B. Satyavathi, Chief Scientist, CSIR-IICT, Hyderabad

The Chemical Weekly Prize for Best Research Paper published in a High Impact Factor
International Journal by an Undergraduate Chemical Engineering Student (First and Second
Prizes)
1st Prize: Mr. Animesh Chaturvedi, ICT, Mumbai &
2nd Prize: Mr. Jitendra Choudhary, IISER, Bhopal

7|Page
 Chemical Weekly Award for the Best Paper Published in the Institute’s Journal (ICE-2022)
1) Dr Kuldeep Singh, HPU Shimla and 2) Dr Suvarcha Chauhan, HPU Shimla

IIChE NRC Award Best Paper in ‘Indian Chemical Engineer’ 2022

1) Dr Abha Sahu, 2) Dr Nilesh Vijay Rane, 3) Dr Badal G Lodaya , 4) Prof Aniruddha B Pandit, ICT, Mumbai

The Kuloor Memorial Award to the best technical paper published in the journal of the Institute
in the issues of the preceding year
1)Dr Achyut Pakhare, ICT Mumbai; 2) Dr Channamallikarjun Mathpati, ICT, Mumbai; 3) Dr Vishwanath H
Dalvi, ICT Mumbai, 4) Dr Jyeshtharaj Joshi, ICT, Mumbai, 5) Dr Raosaheb Patil, TSIPL, Nashik,
6) Dr. Ekambara Kalekudithi, TSIPL, Nashik

IIChE NRC Award 2nd Best Paper in ‘Indian Chemical Engineer’ 2022
1) Dr Sourav Poddar, NIT Tiruchirapally, 2) Dr J N Ullas Krishnan, NIT Trichy, 3) Dr J Sarat Chandra Babu,
NIT Trichy

Sisir Kumar Mitra Memorial Award to the second best technical paper published in the journal
of the Institute in the issues of the preceding year
1) Dr Deeksha Matthew, NIT Mangalore, 2) Dr Vidya Shetty K, NIT Mangalore Jointly with
3) Dr Virendra K Rathod, ICT Mumbai, 4) Dr Keerthiga G, ICT Mumbai, 5) Dr Neha N Gharat, ICT Mumbai

IIChE NRC Award 3rd Best Paper in ‘Indian Chemical Engineer’ 2022
1) Dr Friedrich Y Lee, UTA, USA, 2) Dr Michael Baldea, UTA, USA, 3) Dr Thomas F Edgar, KNU, South Korea
4) Dr Jietae Lee, KNU, South Korea

Mrs.Chinnamaul Memorial Prize for Best Tech Paper presented in preceding year CHEMCON
1) Dr D.Venkata Padma, MVGRCE, Andhra Pradesh (A), 2) Dr S V.A.R.Sastry, HBTU Kanpur, 3) Dr S.Kishore
Kumar, AUCE Visakhapatnam

Kishore K Das Memorial Prize for Best Home Paper in Associate Membership Examination
AMIIChE September 2022: Mr Adarsh Kumar Soni and AMIIChE March 2023: Mr P Narasinga Rao

N R Nandi Memorial Prize for securing highest marks in Associate Membership Examination
Mr Dharmendra Kumar Panday

The Late Lakshmi Nandakumar Award for a Lady Student for the Best Presentation in the
SCHEMCON of the Year
Ms. Spandana Mentha, MSRIT Bangalore

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 Gouri Dutta Award for the Best Paper Presentation in SCHEMCON of the Year
Mr Deep Laha, NIT Durgapur

Ambuja’s Young Researcher’s Awards for doing Post-Graduate Studies in India after GATE
Examination
1. Mr Dharmesh J Machhi, SVNIT, Surat; 2. Mr Aman Kumar Kesari, IICT, Hyderabad; 3. Mr Bharat
Rengarajan, ICT, Mumbai; 4. Ms Anushka Aggarwal, ICT, Mumbai; 5. Mr Yashkumar Thakorbhai Patel, ICT,
Mumbai; 6. Mr Abhishek Kumar, IIT Guwahati; 7. Mr Adarsh Kumar A Sahu, IIT Guwahati; 8. Ms Shankhari
Swaminathan, IIT Guwahati

Ambuja’s Best Student Chapter Award (2 Prizes)

1st Prize: IIChE Student Chapter, Sri Venkateswara College of Engineering, Sriperumbudur,Chennai
2nd Prize: IIChE Student Chapter, Vellore Institute of Technology, Vallore

Pidilite’s Best Student Chapter Award

IIChE Student Chapter, SSN College of Engineering, Chennai

Prof.P.Sen Gupta Award for Best Employee of the Year

Mr Sumon Das, IIChE HQ

M P Chary Memorial Award

Dr. Baby Salini J R, IIT Madras

Best IIChE Regional Centre Trophy

Category “A” Best: Northern Regional Centre; Category “B” Best: Bangalore Regional Centre,
Category “B” Second Best: Amaravati Regional Centre

To mark the closure of the Platinum Jubilee celebration of IIChE, Platinum

Jubilee Awards were conferred upon the following eminent personalities:

Padma Vibhushan Prof. M M Sharma, Emeritus Professor of Eminence, ICT Mumbai

Padma Shri Prof. G D Yadav, Emeritus Professor of Eminence & Former VC, ICT, Mumbai
Mr. Samir Somaiya, Chairman & Managing Director, Godavari Biorefineries Limited
Mr. Subhasendu Chatterjee, Vice Chairman, Haldia Petrochemicals Limited

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 IIChE-CHEMCON 2023

WB Governor Dr. C.V. Ananda Bose inaugurating IIChE-CHEMCON 2023

IIChE-CHEMCON 2023, the 76th annual Chemical Engineering Congress, was organised in a grand style
by the Headquarters of Indian Institute of Chemical Engineers (IIChE) in Kolkata during 27 – 30 December
2023 in Kolkata in association with Heritage Institute of Technology, Kolkata (HITK); Rajiv Gandhi Institute
of Petroleum Technology (RGIPT), Jais (Amethi); Jadavpur University (JU), Kolkata and University of
Calcutta, Kolkata. Held at the impressive campus of HITK, CHEMCON 2023 was all the more important
because it marked the conclusion of the Platinum Jubilee celebration of IIChE that started in the year 2022.
The central theme for CHEMCON 2023 was ‘Energy Transition: Challenges and Opportunities’. As many as
24 eminent speakers from industry and academia delivered lectures while 900 research papers were
presented over the four-day congress.

The inaugural session on 27 December 2023 started with the arrival of the Chief Guest, the Governor of West
Bengal, Dr. C.V. Ananda Bose. Besides the Governor, other dignitaries present on the podium included Prof.
Anil Kumar Saroha, President (2023), IIChE; Prof. A.S.K. Sinha, Chairman, National Organising Committee
(NOC), CHEMCON 2023; Mr. Vikram Swarup, Chairman, Local Organising Committee (LOC), CHEMCON
2023; Padma Shri Mr. P.R. Agarwala, Chairman, HIT; and, Guest of Honour, Mr. H.K. Chaudhary,
Chairman, Heritage Group of Institutions and Chairman Emeritus, Vikram Solar Ltd. Following lighting of
the lamp, floral tributes were paid to the founding father of IIChE and its first President, Dr. H.L. Roy. The
Commemorative Volume on CHEMCON 2023 was released by the Governor. This was followed by the
release of the Platinum Jubilee commemorative edition of the book, Life and Times of Hiralal Roy by Prof.
Asit Kumar Mitra, former President of IIChE and ex-HoD, Chemical Engineering Department, JU along with
the grand-daughter of Dr. H.L. Roy, Smt. Sudakshina Ghosh. Other members of her family and members of
the IIChE Council were also present on the dais.

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 IIChE President, Prof. Saroha, while welcoming all the guests and dignitaries, stressed IIChE’s long
commitment in creating an empowered workforce, who would be contributing to the sustainable growth
and progress of the nation. He also narrated about IIChE’s activities for contributing to a sustainable
society. The Governor, Dr. Bose, while drawing attention of the audience to the impending danger of the
climate disaster, emphasised the importance of the Indian way of development through self-reliance.
He stressed the vision and action together so that the dream can be translated into reality. The
Governor also lauded IIChE and hoped it would continue with its pursuits for perfection as envisaged
by Dr. H.L. Roy and other stalwarts. All the dignitaries were felicitated with mementos and shawls.
The inaugural function was followed by the Award Ceremony of IIChE. Around 50 awards, including life
time achievement awards, national awards, CHEMCON Distinguished Speaker Awards, student awards,
etc. were given away to eminent academics, world renowned scholars, reputed chemical engineers,
prominent entrepreneurs, etc. Additionally, to mark the finalé of the Platinum Jubilee celebration of the
Institute, IIChE Platinum Jubilee Awards were conferred upon Padma Vibhushan Prof. M.M. Sharma,
Padma Shri Prof. G.D. Yadav, Mr. Subhasendu Chatterjee, Mr. Samir S. Somaiya and Dr. C.V. Ananda
Bose.

Contrary to the traditional practice, this year, presentation of the three signature Memorial Lectures,
namely, Dr. H. L. Roy Memorial Lecture Sponsored by Jacobs Worley, Aker Powergas’s Prof. N.R.
Kamath and Mrs. Ruzena Kamath Memorial Lecture and Inventaa C.K. Murthy Memorial Lecture were
spread out over the four-day congress.

Aker Powergas’s Prof. N.R. Kamath Memorial Lecture

was delivered by Ms. Sukla Mistry, Director
(Refineries), Indian Oil Corporation Ltd. on 27
December 2023. ‘Energy Transition, A Paradigm Shift
– Oil Refiner’s Perspective’ was the title of her lecture.

Presentation of N.R. Kamath Memorial Lecture

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 Inventaa C.K. Murthy Memorial Lecture
was delivered on 28 December 2023 by Mr.
Prabh Das, Managing Director & Chief
Executive Officer, HMEL. Centering his
lecture on the CHEMCON 2023 theme, Mr.
Das focussed on the issues like energy
security, equitable access to energy,
environment and climate, etc.

Presentation of C K Murthy Memorial

Lecture

Dr. H. L. Roy Memorial Lecture was delivered on the

concluding session of CHEMCON 2023 on 30 December 2023
by Padma Shri Prof. G.D. Yadav, Emeritus Professor of
Eminence and Former Vice Chancellor, ICT, Mumbai. Prof.
Yadav chose the title of his lecture to be ‘God Still is a Chemical
Engineer’. Prof. Yadav based his lecture on the idea of Chemical
Engineering being the most versatile discipline, which is
present everywhere from atmosphere to atom. He also
emphasised the all importance of carbon-free energy and
pointed out the emergence of a new trinity of Solar, Wind and
Hydrogen energy for sustenance and survival of the future
civilisations.

Presentation of Dr. H. L. Roy Memorial Lecture

CHEMCON 2023 featured three panel discussions on 27 December and 28 December 2023. The first
one in the afternoon session of the inaugural day was held on the theme of ‘Affordable & Sustainable
Energy mix for India’s Energy Transition’. The second and the third one were held on the next day, 28
December, respectively centring on the themes of ‘Readiness of Chemical Process Industries towards
Net-zero with COP28 Mandate of Sustainable Action’ and ‘Roles of IIChE in Promoting Industry-
Academia Interaction’. Top echelons of industry and technocrats participated in these brainstorming
sessions.

Another important feature of CHEMCON 2023 was the Indo-Canadian Joint Symposium on 28
December 2023. The focus of the symposium was ‘Green Fuels, Chemicals and Materials from
Alternative Resources.’ A panel of 15 distinguished academics and technologists, associated with
different Indian and Canadian universities, technological institutes and startups took part in this
session. The prevalent tone of all the presentations was the indispensability of the global search for
alternative energy sources, particularly bio-energy and hydrogen fuel; reduction of waste generation;
various approaches to achieve the goals of net zero emission of Green house gases, and, the efficacy of
the next generation technologies for navigating the roadmap of the future.

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 The Dhirubhai Ambani Commemoration Day was observed on
28 December 2023 as customary. The Dhirubhai Ambani
Oration was delivered by the legendary scientist, academic and
chemical engineer, Padma Vibhushan Prof. M.M. Sharma. He
went in detail to narrate the present scenario of chemical
Dhirubhai Ambani oration
engineering domain and explained the gaps that need to be
addressed. Prof. Sharma also focussed on the climate change and observed that revolutionary innovations
are being made as far as the removal of CO2 is concerned.

Over the four days of CHEMCON 2023, 15 Parallel Technical Sessions were conducted featuring lectures
and interactions as well as 17 CHEMCON Distinguished Speaker lectures were delivered. Technical
Sessions were held under the titles of ‘Energy and Environment’, ‘Transformation for Energy Transition’,
‘Advanced Nano-materials and Nano-technology’, ‘Water and Wastewater Treatment’, ‘Advanced
Chemical Engineering’, ‘Advanced Polymer and Composite’ and ‘Biochemical and Bioscience
Engineering’. Each session commenced with a lecture by one of the IIChE national award winners (2023).

On 29 December 2023, the ICC (Indian Chamber of Commerce) Industry Summit was organised in which
Speakers comprised the heads of top industry houses, research organisations and professional bodies.

Signing of MoUs with EFCE and AIChE

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 Two Memoranda of Understanding were signed during CHEMCON 2023. The first one was signed between
IIChE and European Federation of Chemical Engineering (EFCE) was signed on 27 December 2023. EFCE
was represented by Prof. Favio Maneti and IIChE by Prof. A.K. Saroha during the signing.

The second MoU was signed between IIChE and American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE) on 28
December 2023. Dr. Veera M. Boddu represented AIChE.

The Valedictory Session of CHEMCON 2023 was held in the afternoon of 30 December 2023, which was
presided over by Dr. Avijit Ghosh, Organising Secretary, CHEMCON 2023 and Honorary Secretary, IIChE.
Chief Guest for the session was Shri Vikram Swarup, Chairman, LOC, CHEMCON 2023 while the Guest of
Honour was Padma Shri Prof. G.D. Yadav. Others present on the dais were Prof. Anil K. Saroha, President
2023, IIChE; Vice Presidents, IIChE, Prof. C. Karthikeyan and Prof. K.S. Rajanandam; Prof. A.S.K. Sinha,
Chairman, NOC; Shri Biswanath Chattopadhyay, Vice Chairman, NOC; Shri Pradip Agarwal, CEO, Heritage
Group of Institutions; and, Shri Sunil Thakar; IIChE President Elect, 2024. Prof. Anil K. Saroha praised the
organising team for doing a wonderful job and working like a well-oiled machine. He hoped that Jalandhar,
which will host CHEMCON 2024 next year, will match the bar, which has been set by this Kolkata
CHEMCON. Dr. Avijit Ghosh thanked each and every one associated at different stages of organising
CHEMCON and expressed gratitude to sponsors for funds.

Photo session at the Valedictory programme

A unique addition in this year’s CHEMCON was publication of IIChE-CHEMCON 2023 Tabloid in
multicolour during all the four days of the event, which was greatly appreciated and commended by the
attendees.

An exhibition was also organised on the occasion in which several start-ups participated, besides a number of
student groups and research scholars, showcasing their projects. Following were the sponsors for
CHEMCON 2023: Reliance Industries, Haldia Petrochemicals-MCPL, Godrej Industries Ltd., Somaiya
Vidyavihar University, WBPDCL, Balmer Lawrie & Co. , Indian Chamber of Commerce, Chennai Petroleum
corporation, Nandesari Industries Association, Bhumistha Infra Services, Indian Chemical News, Exide
Industries Ltd. (Exhibitor), Vikram Solar (Exhibitor) and Terrae Green (Exhibitor).

14 | P a g e
 SCHEMCON 2023

The 19th Annual Session of Students’ Chemical Engineering Congress (SCHEMCON 2023) was organized
by the Student Chapter at the Department of Chemical Engineering, Kongu Engineering College,
Perundurai (Tamil Nadu) under the aegis of the Coimbatore Regional Centre of IIChE on 22 and 23
September 2023.
The program started with a grand inaugural programme in the presence of the Chief Guest, Mr. Arvind
Kumar, Managing Director, Chennai Petroleum Corporation Limited, Chennai; Guest of Honour Prof. .S.K.
Sinha, Director, Rajiv Gandhi Institute of Petroleum Technology, Jais, Rae Bareli; the Chief Patron of the
programme, Padma Shri Prof. G.D. Yadav, former Vice Chairman, ICT Mumbai, Patron of the conference,
Thiru.A.K. Ilango, Correspondent, Kongu Engineering College; Dr. V.Balusamy, Principal Kongu
Engineering College; Prof. Anil K. Saroha, IIChE President; Dr. Avijit Ghosh, Honorary Secretary, IIChE
and Dr. T.Kannadasan, Chairman, Coimbatore RC; Prof. M Chidambaram, and Prof. V.Sangeetha, Head,
Department of Chemical Engineering. SCHEMCON 2023 was coordinated by Prof. K.Kannan, Chairman,
Dr.S.Mothil, the Secretary of the Organizing Committee and Dr.Vivek Joe Bharath, Joint-Organizing
Secretary. The function was hosted at Kongu Convention Centre which is the Asia’s second largest
auditorium.

Chief Guest Mr. Arvind Kumar, Chief Patron Padma Shree Prof. G.D. Yadav and Guest of
Honour Prof. A.S.K.Sinha being honoured at the inaugural programme

The Inaugural function was followed by Industrial Panel Discussion on the Topic ‘Engineering &
Entrepreneurship for a Sustainable Future,’ moderated by Mr. Praveen Saxena, Senior Member of
IIChE and Graphite Equipment Advisor & Mentor. Mr.Ramesh Srinivasan (Wipro Technologies),
Mr.Srinivas Vadlamani (Schlumberger SLB), Mr. Venkatesh (WTT International Pvt. Ltd), Dr.
Shravan Srisailam (BASF- Catalyst Division), and Mr. P. Naveen (Sim Infosystem) took part in the
deliberation, in which the students and the professors also participated.

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 The two-day event included a Keynote Lecture by Prof. M. Ramasamy, Principal, KPR Institute of
Engineering & Technology; Mr. Ramu Boya, CEO, Neostik Tapes Pvt. Ltd. Bangalore; Dr. Udaya Baskar
Reddy, Associate Professor, Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham, Coimbatore and Dr. Sunil Baran Kuila,
Professor & Head, Haldia University of Technology, Haldia. Invited Lectures were also delivered by
eminent scientists, academics from CSIR, DAE, IITs, Central Universities as well as industry
professionals.

Around 300 abstracts were received and around 220 papers (Oral and Poster) were presented during
SCHEMCON 2023. This conference featured 14 parallel sessions as well as announcement of MP Chary
Memorial Award. Dr. Baby Salini J R, Post-Doctoral Fellow, IIT Madras was the recipient. Students also
put up a cultural show in the first evening of the programme.

Mr. Shailesh Kumar, CEO, VA Tech Wabag, India Cluster was the Chief Guest for the Valedictory
function and distributed the prizes for the winners of technical and other events. Best presentation for
each session was also announced and cash prize was given away.

Mr. Shailesh Kumar, CEO, VA

Tech Wabag, India Cluster was the
Chief Guest for the Valedictory
function and distributed the prizes
for the winners of technical and
other events. These two days
witnessed keen participation by
professionals, academics, research
scholars and students and
stimulating sessions of dialogues,
discourses and discussions at
SCHEMCON.

MP Chary Award winner was announced during the valedictory function during the conference. Best
presentation for each session were also announced and cash prize was given to the winners.

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 IIChE Training Institute

The IIChE Training Institute commenced last year in order to streamline and rationalise the Institute’s
initiatives for skill and knowledge enhancement. The Training Institute will be fully functional from the
current year. The major initiatives that will be launched include:

1. Conduct of IIChE-Industry Conclave annually.

2. Dedicated R&D lab at the Headquarters office.
3. MoU between IIChE Training Institute and Industry / Academia.
4. Conduct of regular FDPs across the country.
5. Providing Certificates of Recognition / Appreciation to MSMEs.

1. One Industry Conclave will be organised annually, preferably in the metro cities and industry
clusters of India. The primary objective of such conclave will be to widen network of the Institute
through collaborations with industry and accordingly expand the IIChE ecosystem. The current
year’s conclave will be held at Ankleshwar, followed by Mumbai in 2025.

2. A dedicated R&D lab and a consultancy/testing cell will be set up at the HQ office in Kolkata. The
objective will be to offer hands-on training to the Student Members of IIChE which will showcase
IIChE’s R&D activities. IIChE will also take up regular industry consultancy assignments. The
Institute is recognized upto 31.3.26 by the Department of Science and Technology, Government of
India, as a Scientific and Industrial Research Organization. Such activities will also strengthen
IIChE’s case for IT exemption.

3. Out of the five R&D Faculty Projects, which are selected each year for funding by IIChE, one will be
allocated to the HQ R&D facilities. There will be an open invitation for the selection of the project,
which will be finally selected on the basis of the R&D committee recommendations. In course of
time, MoUs will be signed between the IIChE Training Institute and Industry / Academic / research
bodies for collaborative programmes.

4. IIChE will provide Certificates of Recognition / appreciation to MSMEs for quality / Safety /
Environment / Zero Discharge / Energy transformation, etc.

5. Annually 12 FDP (Faculty Development Programmes) will be organised under the banner of one of
the IIChE Student Chapters or Regional Centres according to the AICTE modalities. The
Organisational Members of IIChE will be approached so that customised programmes can be
initiated to suit the specific needs of the industry houses.

IIChE Training Institute is also working on a process to grant joint certification for various programmes by
collaborating with Rajiv Gandhi Institute of Petroleum Technology, Jais, Rae Bareli. However, it has not yet
been finalised.

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 Climate Change and Sustainable Manufacturing –IV
Energy and Water Conservation Ideas in Chemical, Petrochemicals
and Refinery sectors -2/3
Joy M. Shah1

Introduction:

Reducing carbon foot print, the first step is to conserve energy and improve energy efficiency of
existing assets. It is possible to reduce 10 - 15% specific energy consumption by improving
operational discipline and identification of all low hanging fruits and execute the ideas. It requires
structured approach which is the energy management system.

The below mentioned drawing shows how petrochemicals are consuming energy and where more
focus is required in petrochemical sectors. Energy conservation Amendment Bill 2022 is passed by
Parliament for focused approach on not only energy efficiency but transition in to low carbon
energy.

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 In previous article, I mentioned about 40 such ideas. In this article, I shall talk about 41 more ideas
which I practised over the years. You may check possibilities to implement at your plants.

EMS - 41: Source and price of energy is very dynamic in last 10 years. The scheme which was techno-
economically feasible a few years back is found unviable due to change of source and price. Vice
versa is also true. Therefore, it is essential to review position periodically. One of the methods is to
carry out periodic energy audit of facilities to identify energy saving opportunities and prepare short
term and long term road map for energy conservation drive.

EMS - 42: Refinery and petrochemical plants are very complex and have many valves with gland
packing, flanges with gaskets as well as rotary equipment seals to arrest any leakage. These are prone
to minor diffusion of line material and in case of wear and tear or aging, the rate of diffusion and
leakage to atmosphere increases. Some of the companies carry out accounting of fugitive emission
loss and periodic maintenance based on leak test by soap solutions or LEL detectors. However, the
exercise is very cumbersome and manpower intensive. Moreover, unapproachable locations cannot
be monitored. It is worthwhile to consider fugitive emission leak detection program for complex
chemical plants using infra-red camera for its monitoring, identification and arresting leakage
quickly. Although the cost of camera is high but can be paid back by careful regular monitoring in
first round of leak detection program.

EMS - 43: Steam and condensate lines in any plants are insulated. There is more probability of
corrosion under insulation esp. where there is cyclic temp and wet atmosphere. The insulation gets
damaged due to many reasons. It is observed that frequent leakage gets developed in steam and
condensate line leading to loss of expensive utilities. Similarly, frequent operation of trap as well as
moving part damage, cyclic temp operation, trap also malfunction leading to loss of expensive steam.
Steam and condensate lines normally cannot be isolated, therefore leaks are arrested by on line
sealing. Prior to annual turnaround of any plant, survey of leakage, online sealing joint as well as
severely corroded lines and meticulous planning of repair of these areas can bring significant loss
reduction and energy saving.

EMS - 44 : Compressed gas/ air is used in process plants for various locations. Over a period of time,
leakage of compressed gas from union, joints, pinholes due to corrosion, valves glands leakage lead
to increase in consumption. Many location, utility points valves are also passing and not closed
tightly. Till the capacity of supply is limiting, such leakage is not given focus to arrest. It is observed
that such leakage can contribute up to 20-25% loss of energy in compressed air unless focused
approach of periodic leak detection survey of air, nitrogen and other compressed gas lines are taken
up and repair the same.

EMS - 45 : Stand by pumps for high temp. service are provided with warm up line to avoid thermal
shock while start up. esp. when pump is multistage. Many pumps are provided with minimum
circulation lines with RO which ensures minimum circulation through standby pumps all the time
for keeping it warm. This recirculation is loss of energy. During normal operation, such continuous
recirculation can be stopped by providing automation to establish flow as and when

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 required. In some of the pump applications, it was possible to stop continuous warm up circulation and
pump was warmed up just prior to start up.

EMS - 46: Deaerator consumes LP steam to increase temp of DMW. In case low level heat is available,
deaerator is operated at high pressure/temp however it will reduce heat recovery from flue gas and may
increase flue gas temp. In order to recover flue gas heat to maximum extent, deaerator can be operated
at low temp and low pressure too without compromise in integrity of oxygen removal. It is possible to
optimise Deaerator temp and pressure based on free heat available in flue gas and cost of LP Steam.

EMS - 47 : The strength of various circulating absorbents or solvent is decided based on solidification
possibility at higher strength or limited by high temp to avoid degradation or equipment limitation. One
of the possibility of energy conservation in such system is to Increase of strength of absorbent or solvent
to operate at reduced flow. This will not only save pumping energy but save thermal energy for
preheating of solvent.

EMS - 48 : Low temp heat is removed from process using circulating cooling water or released to
atmosphere. In some of the applications, it is in millons of calories of heat. Such low level heat can be
utilised to generate work either in terms of electricity or refrigeration. One of the idea is application of
organic rankine cycle (ORC) for energy recovery and power generation.

EMS - 49 : Plant is designed for auto control and to certain extent feed forward, cascade as well as
sequence control. Advance process control is normally designed and executed after start up and
stabilisation of plant operation. For some of the complex plants, APC is not executed due to various
reasons and plant operates with basic controller for years together. It is essential to give priority and
implement of advance process control to drive process to optimum operating points all the time. It is
expected that 2-3% energy saving can be achieved by APC.

EMS - 50 : Manual valves, control valves as well as Pressure relief valves can start passing after frequent
operation. There are hundreds of such valves in complex plant for pressure control and regulations.
Normally leak or passing of valves is not visible, although experienced operator can recognise based on
change in sound pattern or visible sweating on pipeline downstream of valve. It is possible to
Monitor Leak and passing of Control valves, Safety valves and manual valves using fixed or portable
ultra-sonic sound detector for identification and early repair of the same.

EMS - 51 : Small capacity Turbine driven pumps and compressors are provided in design for improved
reliability and meet the steam balance requirement. However, it is observed many time, back pressure
turbine generates LP steam for which there is no sink. Sometimes to run turbine using HP steam, steam
is letdown from SHP header. Now a day, increase in power reliability makes turbine driven reliability
redundant. In such case, it will be economical and prudent to replace steam turbine by electric motor.

EMS - 52 : Multiple level steam headers are connected by PRDS. In case of short fall or surplus in any
of the header, stream is letdown from one to other header. However due to mis match in demand supply
of any of the header, the let-down of steam from high pressure to lower pressure through PRDS is
taking place on continuous basis to meet low pressure steam requirement. In such case it is worth
considering mini stream tribune in place of PRDS for power generation.

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 EMS - 53 : In large vacuum columns, multistage ejector is provided. Steam consumption in such
ejector can be very high, if inert loading is more. It is observed at some of location that replacing all or
any one stage using vacuum pump can reduce steam consumption substantially for energy saving.

EMS - 54 : Azeotrop of any chemical can reduce latent heat of vaporisation. It also reduces boiling
point in many cases. In some of the application, it is observed that converting conventional distillation
to Azeotropic distillation by addition of entrainer can reduce steam / heat requirement significantly.

EMS - 55 : Distillation columns design pressure is decided based on many constraints. In normal
operation, it is observed that margin exists in various constraint for manipulating pressure of
distillation column. Operation of distillation column at lowest possible pressure will reduce temp
requirement and reduce reflux ratio. It will reduce energy consumption significantly and also improve
product quality.

EMS - 56 : When temp difference of top and bottom of any distillation column is not large, provision
of vapour compression Heat pump in place of overhead condenser and steam usage in its reboiler can
be justified for significant energy saving.

EMS - 57: Due to design margin as well as composition mis-match, many distillation columns are
operating better product quality than design. In case there is no premium for superior quality, reflux
can be optimised for Quality give away of distillation column top and bottom product can
reduce energy requirement.

EMS - 58 : Nitrogen is inert gas and is used for blanketing, conveying, inertising and pressure control
in hydrocarbon industry. It is an expensive utility. In some of the dry applications, pure nitrogen could
be replaced by available waste Carbon dioxide / reactor off gas after its drying.

EMS - 59: India have taken up project to convert normal house hold lights by LED making LED bulbs
not only affordable but easily available. This reduced electricity consumption significantly. New
installation also considers LED lights. However, old industry installations as well as commercial
buildings lag in this initiatives for energy conservation. Replace standard lighting fixture by LED on
priority in all industrial and commercial installations.

EMS - 60: Public installation of solar lights is considered in areas where electricity is not available.
Due to risk of theft and requirement of battery maintenance, it is being avoided in public places in
cities and villages. It will be worth to consider mounting solar panel on such public poles which are
providing clear access to solar energy and connect 20-30 poles to electricity grid through inverter for
use of solar electricity.

EMS - 61: For an electric power system, a load of induction motors with a low power factor draws
more current than a load with a high power factor for the same amount of useful power transferred.
The higher currents increase the energy lost in the distribution system and require larger wires and
other equipment. Because of the costs of larger equipment and wasted energy, electrical utilities will
usually charge a higher cost to industrial or commercial customers where there is a low power factor.
It is normally practised to improve power factor by capacitor bank or by integrating synchronous
motor load to electrical network.

21 | P a g e
 EMS - 62: At many locations in a complex process, to improve reliability of operation, liquid is
pumped two times using intermediate tank. Some of the examples are pumping of hot water and
cold water in chilling system, pumping of liquid from reflux drum to intermediate tank and then
to final tank, etc. Check such cases. It is possible to avoid double pumping of liquid in many
applications..

EMS - 63: Fans are used in many applications. Many of the fans are provided with fan blade angle
control system or possibility of adjusting blade angle to adjust load. Normally blade angles are not
changed even if plant load or flow requirement reduces. Significant power saving is possible by
regular Blade angle adjustment for required duty for fans.

EMS – 64: Deaerator is designed for fixed vent rate with an orifice to remove non-condensable.
Some application, this vent with orifice plate do not have isolation valves. Combining chemical
and mechanical de-aeration can reduce oxygen in BFW and steam vent rate can be reduced
maintaining DO level.

EMS -65: Air leakage in to furnace chamber is one of the major reason for poor efficiency.
Operation of furnace chamber at slightly positive pressure to reduce air leakage is one of the
option. Regular inspection and repair of gaskets of peep door and man holes is good practice to
minimise air leakage.

EMS – 66: Steam PRDS are designed for very high flow. But after optimisation of the
energy users, normally flow is minimised for energy conservation. At a lower flow, control of
pressure and de-superheating are not effective. Often BFW passes lead to two-phase flow
downstream. In such case, it is worthwhile to design PRDS with two control valves, one for fine
(small) flow and other for coarse (large) flow.

EMS -67: Boiler blowdowns kept fixed by many operators to control TDS, Fe and Silica. It can be
optimised to reduce heat and chemical losses taking advantage of better quality of boiler feed
water. It will conserve both, energy and water.

EMS -68: Many of the furnaces require de-cocking to reduce tube metal temp. The frequency of
de-cocking requirement varies from few days to several months based on feed composition and
severity of operation. There are many possible theories by which coke formation is taking place.
Careful study and identifying root cause as well as hard and soft changes can increase time
between two decokes and save energy significantly.

EMS -69: Boiler and steam turbine efficiency reduces over time and again regained after cleaning
and periodic maintenance. Some manufacturers runs periodic boiler and turbine efficiency
maintenance program to identify root cause of loss of efficiency and take quick corrective actions
for significant energy conservation.

EMS -70: Cooling water exchangers get fouled over time irrespective of its treatment. Due to
inbuilt dirt factor, margin available in downstream equipment as well as operation at low capacity,
such fouling is not affecting process and normally overlooked. Periodic review and cleaning of an
exchanger is observed effective strategy for energy conservation and reliability improvement.

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 EMS – 71: We have seen provision of VFD or change of blade angle of fans fan for minimum
required duty reduces energy consumption. However for multiple fans application, turning off some
of the fans to meet minimum required load can be one of easiest feasible option.

EMS -72: Any chemical complex, air and nitrogen compressors are designed and operated at fixed
pressure. These are high power consuming equipment. By careful study of minimum pressure
requirement, operating pressure of air and nitrogen compressors can be reduced for reducing loss
in leakages as well as reduce energy consumption of compressors.

EMS -73: Air compressors are provided with Intermediate and final knock out drums to remove
moisture. In order to reduce capex, the drain valves are fixed drain with orifice or with air trap to
pass water. Based on atmospheric humidity, such moisture varies or due to mal-functioning, trap
passes leading to loss of pressurised air. It is worthwhile to consider knockout drum with level
control valve to drain water.

EMS – 74: Suction strainer of pump fouls, leading to high diff. Pressure. Sometimes it results in to
cavitation of pumps and damages it. Similarly, discharge filter also gets fouled and is cleaned as and
when process limitations observed. It is worthwhile to consider provision of DP meter across
selected filter and clean periodically to save energy and improve reliability.

EMS – 75: At many of the complex and commercial establishment, lighting load itself is very high.
In such cases, auto start and stop of lighting load based on timer based or photo sensors in open
space and motion sensors in close space can save significant energy.

EMS – 76: Task lighting is the concept to providing adequate light where required instead of
illumination of whole office room or conference room. It is always scientific and energy-efficient to
provide task lighting as and where required based on illumination survey.

EMS – 77: Many workshops and closed large halls need large lighting load to illuminate it even
during day time. Day lighting load can be reduced significantly by providing light pipes and glass
windows to use sun lights for energy saving.

EMS – 78: In a large complex, only one pressure level of Air and Nitrogen headers is provided. At
many locations, low pressure Air and Nitrogen are required which is let down from a common
header. In such cases, providing two pressure levels of Air and Nitrogen by design with intermediate
withdrawal or two different level compressors can be an energy-efficient option.

EMS – 79: Energy conservation with lighting system. India have identified major house
hold energy consumption in lighting system and achieved major energy conservation by replacing
incandescent bulbs by CFL. Following are some more initiatives which can further reduce lighting
load.

• In many workshops and sheds, as well as house holds, use of natural day lighting. Use of
transparent roof, larger area of glass windows, use of light pipes are some of the possibilities.
• New installations use electronic chokes. But old installations still have conventional
electromagnetic ballast. Replace them by electronic chock.
• Use slim LED light and replace old 40 W standard fluorescent tubes.

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 • Use timer control or photo sensors or occupancy detector for lighting circuit control.
• Use task based lighting for focused lux instead of one or multiple light in room.
• Use of lighting voltage transformer for industries and commercial building lighting circuit.
• Segregate lighting circuits for easy switch on and off based on requirement.
• Street lights are also significant load. Many initiatives are visible in recent past to reduce
load. Check street lights are also replaced by LED lights.
• Use of electronic chokes for HPSV, HPMV and metal hallo de lamps.
• Daytime lights should be witched off when enough sunlight is available.

EMS – 80: Energy conservation for mild heating. For heating of space or water, electric or steam
heater is a normal practice. Here you need 1 KW power for 860 kcal/hr. Heat pump is a device
which can heat space with 3 to 5 coefficient of performance and can provide refrigeration too in case
of requirements, in different space. i.e. power requirements can be reduced to 20% to 34%. It is
worthwhile to consider usage of heat pump in place of electric / stream heaters
for energy conservation.

EMS -81: Hydrocarbon loss management in integrated and complex plants of refineries and
petrochemicals. To reduce loss of hydrocarbon molecule, it is essential to know the areas and
quantity of loss, e.g., find, measure and manage. Following areas can be considered to arrest loss of
material.

1. Loss to flare header

2. Emission from storage tanks
3. Drainage to process sewers
4. Routine and non-routine purge
5. Passing of PSVs, CVs and manual valves
6. Start up and shutdown losses
7. Sampling loss
8. Fugitive emission from seals, flanges, glands, etc.
9. Leakage due to holes, cracks etc.
10. Ship and receipt loss
11. Tanker filling loss
12. Transportation loss
13. Losses due to poor measurement, volume correction as well as weight calculation
14. Coke on spent catalyst and carbon deposits in process
15. Hydrogen leakage due to diffusion.
16. Poor efficiency of heaters, furnace and boilers.
17. Quality of crude, feed, i.e. non-hydrocarbons in crude, feed, etc.

I am sure that Professional Chemical Engineers will appreciate their role to actively take up the
ideas to execution for sustainable manufacturing and reducing impact on climate change. We shall
discuss ideas of Water Conservation in the next issue.
1
The author is the Founder and Chief Consultant, Innov8 ProTech Solutions, The Sustainability and Management Consultant.
Formerly, he was Sr. Vice President (Head - Technical) at Reliance Industries Ltd. He was also a member of the IIChE Chemical
Process Safety, Energy and Environment Committee from 2018 to 2022. For the last five years, he has been consulting for
Energy and Water Management, Green company advisor and branding for Sustainable Manufacturing as well as Process Safety
and Risk Management. Email: [email protected]; Mob: +919374715109

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 Regional Centre Activities

Amaravati Regional Centre

Amaravati Regional Centre has a new office address,

which was inaugurated on 6 August 2023 at JKC
College campus, Guntur. The office was inaugurated by
Dr Rayapati Srinivas, President Nagarjuna
Education Society (NES) and former Member of
Legislative Council (MLC) of the combined state of
Andhra Pradesh in the presence of Mr. J. Murali
Mohan, Chairman, Amaravati RC; Dr. V.
Govardhana Rao, former professor IIT Bombay and
immediate past Chairman IIChE ARC and other
members and well-wishers of the Regional Centre.

The office room, obtained under the initiative

of Mr. Murali Mohan, has been renovated and
refurbished with contributions from several
individuals and institutions. Dr. M.
Venkateswara Rao, Honorary Secretary, IIChE
Amaravati RC warmly welcomed the guests,
the members of the RC present and other
invitees. Mr. Murali Mohan, in his opening
remarks, commended the role of Dr. Rao in
starting IIChE ARC in 2015 and appreciated his
untiring efforts in organizing the meetings and
enrolling students from various colleges under
the purview of ARC as Student Members and
chemical engineering professionals as Life
Members of IIChE.

Ankleshwar Regional Centre

A Talk was organised on 10 November 2023 on

water technology. Mr. Nitin Patel, General
Manager, GNFC was the Chief Guest. He discussed
about the cooling water technology. The personnel
of Chembond Water Technologies Ltd.,
Ankleshwar gave an informative presentation on
the water technology. Dr. Avijit Ghosh, Hony.
Secretary, IIChE in his talk, stressed about the
need for new membership drive for the Institute.

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 Mr. Sandeep Parekh, Hony. Secretary, Ankleshwar RC, IIChE briefed about the activities of Ankleshwar
RC and the roadmap for the future initiatives. T he programme was coordinated by Mr. Jayesh Modi.

Bhubaneswar Regional Centre

Dr. R. N. Patra, Former CMD, Indian Rare Earths Limited, delivered the IIChE-BRC Er. D.P. Misra
Distinguished Oration on 27 September 2023.

Bhubaneswar RC will organise a National Student Seminar, titled, Challenging Applications of

Chemical Engineering (CAChE-2K24) on 16 March, 2024.

Calcutta Regional Centre

Engineers’ Day was observed at the initiative of the Calcutta RC, on 15 and 16 September 2023. On 15
September, the Student Chapters of i) Calcutta University (CU), Rajabazar and ii) Calcutta
Institute of Technology (CIT), Uluberia organised programmes to mark the occasion. At the CU
programme, Dr. S. Datta and Dr. S. Barma delivered talks. At CIT, chemical engineers Mr. S.
Chakraborty, Mr. A. Bhar and Mr A. Mallick presented talks. A few of the EC members of Calcutta RC
were present.

On 16 September, technical lectures were delivered at Calcutta RC. Dr A. K. Roy, formerly with SAIL,
delivered a lecture on ‘Application CFD in Steel Making Process’ and Prof. P. Ray, former faculty
member of Calcutta University presented lecture on ‘Expanding Universe of Chemical Engineering’.

On 2 November 2023, the birth anniversary of Dr. Hira Lal Roy, the founder President of IIChE, was
celebrated. On the occasion, Dr. A. Mondal, formerly with ONGC, delivered a lecture, titled, ‘Application
of EOR Tech in Sustainable Growth in Oil & Gas Energy Sector’.

Members of the Calcutta RC had their annual picnic

on 24 January 2024 at a farm house garden in the
outskirts of Kolkata. The 44 participants included the
families of some of the CRC members. Following the
picnic, Calcutta RC donated Rs 7,500 to an NGO,
Arogya Sandhan, which maintains the garden.
Arogya Sandhan takes care of differently-abled
children and adults by giving them special education.

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 Professor D.K. Dutta Memorial Lecture was delivered on 24 February 2024 by Dr. Asit Kumar
Das, Head, Refinery R&D and Process Development, Reliance Industries Ltd. (RIL), Jamnagar. The title of
Dr. Das’s lecture was ‘Developed India: An Image of India’s Future in Energy & Chemicals’.

Following the lecture, a Quiz Contest was held, in which students of Chemical Engineering from various
engineering institutes around Kolkata participated.

Northern Regional Centre

On 12 December 2023, the 30th Lovraj Kumar Memorial Lecture - 2023 was delivered by Dr. V.K.
Saraswat, Hon’ble Member, NITI Aayog, Government of India. The event was organized by Lovraj
Kumar Memorial Trust in association with Northern RC, IIChE. (Detailed report inside).

The Foundation Day of Northern RC was celebrated on 24 February 2024 with Lectures. It was
followed by distribution of IIChE (NRC) Golden Jubilee Scholarships 2023-24 and Award for best
M. Tech Thesis in Chemical Engineering and/or allied discipline (2022-23).

Prof. S. Basu, Professor (HAG), Department of Chemical Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology
Delhi, delivered the lecture, titled, ‘Electrochemical Reactors Integrated Into Bio-Refinery:
Furfural Conversion to Various Platform Chemicals’.

The second Lecture was delivered by Mr. Rahul Kul Shreshtha, Strategic Alliances Division, Office of
Principal Scientific Adviser, Government of India. The title of his lecture was ‘Manthan – Multi stake
holder Collaboration Platform for Research and Innovation Aligned with Sustainable
Development Goals and Emerging Technologies’.

On 28 February 2024, Lectures w e r e a r r a n g e d for college and school students on Climate

Change in association with Climate Change Research Institute (CCRI).
A Lecture, titled, ‘Towards Net Zero Emission in Chemical Industry’ was delivered in March
2024.

Ahmedabad Regional Centre

Shrish Parikh Memorial Lecture was delivered by Prof.

Parag R. Gogate, ICT, Mumbai on 16 February 2024.
The theme of the lecture was ‘Process Intensification of
Chemical Processing Applications Using Cavitation
Reactors’. The programme was held in collaboration with L
D College of Engineering.

Prof. Gogate, among other issues, discussed the ongoing

research at ICT Mumbai. He also talked about the research
team and the facilities that the team uses.

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 Student Chapter Activities

Government Engineering College, Bharuch

The IIChE Students Chapter at the Department

of Chemical Engineering, GEC Bharuch received
the Best Students Chapter Award from the
Ankleshwar Regional Centre for the year 2023.

On 1 February 2024, around 30 students of the

Department of Chemical Engineering (6th semester),
Government Engineering College (GEC),
Bharuch went on a visit to the Ankleshwar unit of
Bharuch Enviro Infrastructure Limited
(BEIL), Gujarat. BEIL is one of the leading
Hazardous Waste Treatment companies in India.
The students were explained about landfilling
process of toxic waste with the help of membranes
and handling of the liquid waste in MEE (Multiple
Effect Evaporator). They also learned how to handle
the E-waste and incineration of solid waste.

A selected group of students attended the CCPS (Centre for Chemical Process Safety) India
Regional Meeting on the theme, ‘Process Safety Incidents and Lessons Learned’ on 2 December
2023. The issues highlighted included Leadership Panel, Technical Panel, Process Safety Incident Case
Studies, Best Practice Sharing and CPS Global Updates.

On 15 September 2023, the students celebrated Engineer’s Day. A lecture, titled, GNFC - Growth
nucleus for Country’ was delivered by Mr. Jayesh Modi, Manager, Formic Acid Plant, GNFC. He
explained the role of GNFC in development of the country and the role of chemical engineers in protection
of the environment. Prof. (Dr.) P.P. Lodha, Principal, GEC Bharuch was the Chief Patron. Prof. A.N.
Vaghela, Head, Dept. of Chemical Engineering and Chairman, IIChE Students’ Chapter, GEC Bharuch and
Dr. N.H. Tahilramani, Asst. Professor, Dept. of Chemical Engineering and Faculty Coordinator, IIChE
Students’ Chapter, GEC Bharuch were also present.

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 Student Members observed Teachers’ Day on 5 September 2023. Students devoted the day to thank all
the teachers through various activities. Prof. A.N. Vaghela, Head, Dept. of Chemical Engineering and
Chairman, IIChE Students’ Chapter, GEC Bharuch and Dr. N.H. Tahilramani, Asst. Professor, Dept. of
Chemical Engineering and Faculty Coordinator, IIChE Students’ Chapter GEC Bharuch were present during
the day-long celebration.

Students were part of a Summit, ‘Vibrant Gujarat 24’, which was organised on 12 January 2024 by
GOC in collaboration with Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) and iNDEXTb. Focussing on the
theme, ‘Gateway to the Future’, the meet brought together global leaders, policy makers and industry
experts to discuss and explore opportunities for sustainable development.
Government Engineering College, Bharuch

Visvesvaraya National Institute of Technology, Nagpur

A Workshop was organised by the Department of Chemical Engineering in collaboration with IIChE
Nagpur Regional Centre and DRDO on ‘Advances in Explosive and Propellants’ during 8 – 12
May 2023. Mr. A.M. Naik, former Board Member, Ordnance Factory was the Chief Guest while Dr. B.C.
Bag, Scientist-F, Jt. Director & OIC, DRDO Nagpur and Mr. K. Thiagarajan, Jt. Chief Controller of
Explosives, PESO, Nagpur were the Guests of Honour at the inauguration of the workshop. Prof. P.M.
Padole, Director & Chairman, BoG, VNIT presided over the inaugural programme. Keynote addresses were
delivered respectively by Mr. A.M. Naik, Dr. G.K. Ghosal, Former Head, Pet. Refining & Petrochem.
Tech., LIT, Ex-R&D Consultant, SIIL (Explosive), Nagpur and Mr. Ajai Nigam, Ex. Chief COE, PESO,
Nagpur.

The workshop included several invited talks and lectures by experts. The participants also visited several
plants during the four days, such as, NAPES & TS, Gondkhairy ; Ordnance Factory, Bhandara ; BPCL,
Borkhedi and Ordnance Factory, Ambazari, Nagpur.

Amrita School of Engineering, Coimbatore

The regular talk series, CHEM TALK was organised respectively on 15 June 2023, 17 August 2023, 31
August 2023 and 23 September 2023. As part of the programme, experts and professionals in diverse
fields of Chemical Engineers shared their on-field experiences, provided insights into the relevant field of
studies and gave hands-on advices. The talks served as a bridge between classroom learning and real-world
applications, offering students an opportunity to explore the exciting possibilities in the field of Chemical
Engineering.

On 19 June 2023, Ocean Odyssey was organised to commemorate the Ocean Day, which falls on 8 June
2023. The event featured two competitions: one for creating posters online and the other for writing essays.
These contests provided participants with a platform to express their creativity, passion for the ocean and
knowledge about marine conservation.

An online event, namely, Trivia Titan, was held on 5 August 2023 to observe National Thermal Engineer
day and World Nature Conservation Day. A quiz competition was specially held to raise awareness about the
Student Chapter.

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 CONNECT-ED-CAREERS, an interactive
session was held on 7 September 2023 to
provide career counselling to the students.
Industry professional Dr. Shrisudersan
Jayaraman, drawing from his extensive
experience, provided thoughtful and
informative insights into various facets of
industry, including job opportunities,
internships, scopes for higher studies and the
acquisition of critical skills.

The IIChE Student Chapter was formally

inaugurated at Amrita Vishwa
Vidyapeetham on 20 September 2023,
marked by a series of events. The SC has
been playing a crucial role in nurturing the
interests and skills of budding chemical
engineers.

A three-day Workshop also commenced

on the day on Solar Photovoltaic
Application along with DIY and
opportunities for hands-on experience.

Madan Mohan Malavya University of Technology, Gorakhpur

The following Webinars were conducted by means of expert talks:

On 29 September 2023, the Webinar on ‘Introduction to Electroplating Industry’ was held to

educate and train about electroplating industry. It was conducted by Mr. Puru Pandit, currently serving
as a Research & Development Engineer at MKS Atotech.

On 10 October 2023, the Webinar, titled, ‘Turning Waste into Wealth: The Microbial Fuel Cell
Revolution’ was conducted by Dr. Shiv Singh, a Scientist and Assistant Professor at CSIR-AMPRI
Bhopal. The seminar aimed to provide an insightful discourse on microbial fuel cells (MFCs).

On 7 November 2023, the Webinar on

‘Hydrogen Energy Value Chain’ was led by Dr.
Sanjay Danao, Director of Danao Green Tech Pvt.
Ltd. and Chairman of SURYA (Society of Urban and
Rural Youths. Dr. Danao offered valuable insights
into hydrogen as an emerging and vital energy
carrier.

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 On 2 December 2023, the Webinar on ‘Chemical Engineering in Process Industries’ was held featuring Mr.
Ashish Kumar, Asia Pacific HSSE Advisor at Shell. The speaker underscored the pivotal role of Health,
Safety, Security and Environment (HSSE) in chemical engineering and emphasized sustainable practices and a
steadfast commitment to safety standards.

On 1 December 2023, the University Foundation Day was observed. The event included a Fluid
Mechanics Quiz Competition and a Best Poster Presentation Competition. Esteemed faculty members,
Dr. Vitthal L. Gole and Dr. Jyoti, delivered motivational speeches, emphasizing the significance of University
Foundation Day and the role of IIChE in shaping future chemical engineers.

Chemisch'Graphy was organized online during 5 – 15 January 2024, merging chemistry and photography.
Students showcased their creativity in visually portraying scientific phenomena. A panel of experts evaluated the
submissions, based on creativity, scientific relevance and visual impact. The event underscored the dynamic
interaction of science and art within our community.

Sri Sivasuvramaniya Nadar College of Engineering, Chennai

The 8th International Conference, titled, Recent Advancements in Chemical, Environmental and
Energy Engineering (RACEEE 2024) was organised on 15 and 16 February 2024. The conference was
organised by the Department of Chemical Engineering in collaboration with the IIChE Student Chapter in the
college.

Harcourt Butler Technical University, Kanpur

On 29 and 30 November 2023, an

International Workshop was held on
Recent Advances in Water Purification
& Waste Water Treatment under the
initiative of Department of Chemical
Engineering Department of Biochemical
Engineering and Indian Desalination
Association (InDA) in association with IIChE
Student Chapter. The major themes of the
Workshop were Water Purification to
solve drinking water problems, Waste
Water Treatment and Use of Artificial
Intelligence tools in Water Purification
and Water Treatment. The Workshop
included Oral Presentations, Poster
Presentations, Innovative Idea
Presentations and Animation Video
Presentations.

CHEM-TECHNOVA 2024 will be organised by IIChE Student Chapter and Department of Chemical
Engineering, Department of Biochemical Engineering; School of Chemical Technology, Harcourt Butler
Technical University Kanpur with American Chemical Society as the co-sponsor. The theme will be
Sustainable Green Chemical Technologies: Challenges & Opportunities. Speakers will include
renowned academics from India, USA and Canada.

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 Lovraj Kumar Memorial lecture 2023

Net Zero Transition

Lovraj Kumar Memorial Trust and IIChE NRC jointly organized Lovraj Kumar Memorial lecture on 12
December 2023 on the theme ‘Accelerating Net Zero Transition with Project Management’, which was delivered
by Dr V K Saraswat , Member, Niti Ayog recently in New Delhi. Welcoming the delegates, Secretary of the trust,
Mr Shyam Bang, said that several countries have made commitments to achieve Net Zero defining time lines.
The Government of India has also made commitments in this regard. For India, the challenge is bigger than
many other countries. Factors, such as, growing aspirations of people, growing energy needs and a change in the
democratic social structure make the situation difficult and challenging. India has technical capabilities but
managing transition is not an easy task, Mr Bang said.

At present only 2% population in India has air conditioned houses as compared to 98% in Japan. Probably only
10% families have cars. What happens when these numbers become comparable to the developed countries.
The forecast is that India’s GDP will increase by a multiple of 10 from the current level of US $ 3.7 trillion in the
next 25 years. To achieve Net Zero while managing the economic growth is a big challenge. At the same time, it
cannot be ignored as well. Some countries are talking about Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM),
which can affect exports from India, meaning that India’s economic growth will be affected if steps are not taken
in the direction of Net Zero.

Recently, a high level delegation of the Government of India participated in COP28 in Dubai. Currently, the
estimated emissions from India is about 3.5 billion tonnes. This is at the current GDP level. This number will
increase with an increase in the GDP. So one can imagine how difficult it is to achieve Net Zero with a growing
economy.

Dr Saraswat explained that with industrialization, consumption of oil, gas and coal has increased, which has
increased concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. This, in turn, is causing global warming. As a
result of the global warming, we have erratic climate conditions like more floods, storms, draughts, etc. All the
countries have agreed to limit the temperature rise to 1.5 degree centigrade till the year 2100. This is possible
only if emission of carbon dioxide is stopped completely, the concept known as Net Zero. The Developed
countries have taken the target to achieve Net Zero by the year 2050. India has also taken target to achieve Net
Zero by the year 2070. Major carbon emission is from the use of fossil fuels like oil, gas and coal. While it is not
possible to eliminate the use of fossil fuels, we have to work on alternative technologies to reduce the
consumption of fossil fuels.

At present, India’s total installed capacity for power generation is 425 GW, which includes 206 GW from coal, 25
GW from gas, 7.4 GW from nuclear, 47 GW from hydro, 6.6 GW from lignite and 132 GW from renewable
sources like wind and solar . Total thermal power capacity is 239 GW, which is considered to be carbon emitting.
India’s target is to increase installed capacity of non-fossil fuel-based capacity to 50% of the total installed power
capacity by the year 2030. There has been a good progress in last decade in this direction and already it has
crossed 40 %. The Increasing renewable energy from solar and wind also demands energy storage system . To
reduce dependence on imported Li-ion batteries, lot of research work is going on to develop alternative
technologies, such as the one based on sodium, aluminium, etc . Besides technology, it calls for huge investment
also. Hydrogen and pumping water for hydro power are also considered as alternative storage systems. At
present, the cost of producing hydrogen by water electrolysis is US $ 5 per kg as compared to US $ 1.5 for
hydrogen produced by steam reforming of natural gas. Large investment is required for producing electrolysers
in large capacity to reduce the cost of hydrogen production.

32 | P a g e
 Nuclear energy is considered as a clean energy option. Currently, the trend is to set up large capacity nuclear
power plants, which calls for large investment. It is proposed to invest in small modular reactors (SMR). Such
SMR will need less land and can be installed at multiple locations for specific needs of large industries like
steel, aluminium, cement, etc. This should reduce the capital cost and running cost as well.

We may need multiple initiatives like improving technologies in coal based power plants to reduce emissions,
improving energy efficiency in all consuming industries, increasing renewable energy, increasing nuclear
energy, using hydrogen, energy from biomass and exploring carbon capture and utilization. One possible
technology option is to capture carbon dioxide and together with hydrogen produce syngas / methanol from
that. Fuels like methanol and ethanol are also being promoted for automobiles .

Technology development work is in progress on these options. Some pilot plants are being set up. Clarity on
technologies will emerge in the coming years. However, we need strong policy framework in place to achieve
the target of Net Zero by 2070.

Institute of Chemical Technology Support

Nathalal Parekh Marg, Matunga, Mumbai 400 019

Email: [email protected]; Website: www.ictmumbai.edu.in

Profile: Established on 1 October 1933 as the University Department of Chemical Technology (popularly
called UDCT) of the University of Bombay (now Mumbai), with the noble intention of advancing India’s
knowledge reserves in chemical science and technology, the Institute has grown to become a premier
(deemed) university, devoted to education, training, research and industrial collaboration in chemical
engineering, chemical technology, applied chemistry, pharmacy, biotechnology and bio-processing. The
then UDCT grew in stature over the years and was granted partial autonomy by the University of
Mumbai in 1985, which was taken to the next echelon under the concept of autonomy propagated by the
University Grants Commission (UGC)

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 State-of-the-Art High Pressure, High Temperature, Continuous Flow
Catalytic Fixed-Bed Reactor for Jadavpur University, Kolkata

A Continuous Flow High Pressure and High Temperature Catalytic Fixed-bed vertical Reactor has been donated
to the Chemical Engineering Department, Jadavpur University, Kolkata by an ex-student (1971 batch), Mr. C.
Ravi Prasad, for conducting experiments by the students and for sophisticated research work. The donation has
been made in memory of his late parents. The Reactor has been fabricated and assembled in Mumbai under the
‘Made in India’ initiative. It has already been installed in the University. Commissioning, Dry Runs and Trials
are in full swing and will be completed soon.

Design Features:

Design Pressure 200 bar

Design Temperature 700 oC
Reactor Volume
100 ml
MOC
SS 316 grade
Design
ASME Sec VIII Div 1

Safety Features:
Rupture Disc One
Safety Relief valves
Two
Back Pressure Control Valve One,
pneumatically operated

Mounting and Overall Dimensions Skid Mounted System; 2.2 M x 0.6M x 2.0 M ht

The Reactor System comprises Electrically Heated Furnace, Preheater and Line Heater for Gas Feed; Liquid
Feed Storage vessel, High Pressure Plunger Pump, Vaporizer, and Line Heater for Liquid Feed. There are quick-
opening special closures for the Reactor vessel with provision for fast Catalyst loading on bed supports.

For the Reactor outlet section, there are Water cooled Condenser, Gas-Liquid Separator, Liquid Product receiver
vessel (MOC Glass) for product liquid while for product Gas, there are Gas Scrubber with Circulating Pump, Wet
Gas Meter and Gas Bomb for the sampling of gas.

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 The system is supported by a robust
instrumentation system consisting of
Pressure and Temperature measurements
at vantage points, Back Pressure Automatic
Control valve, Mass Flow Controllers (for
H2 and CO2), Level Gauges, PID based
Control panel with SCADA, and aDesktop
computer for On-line data viewing and
retrieval.

This system can be used for experimenting

on Hydrogenation, Hydro-treatment, GTL
Conversion, Advance Oxidation, Selective
Reduction and also check specific catalyst
activity and selectivity. The results can be
viewed on-line instantly.

This facility will propel the students to the

forefront of advanced research and will
help initiate novel developments in the
chemical industries in the country.
Industries can also benefit from it. They
can contact for specific experimental
assignments which can bolster their
process:

Contact: The Head, Chemical Engineering

Department, Jadavpur University, Kolkata
700032

This report has been contributed by Asok Nag, Department of Chemical Engineering,
Jadavpur University, Kolkata (1971 batch)

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36 | P a g e
 Profile: IIChE Life Organisational Members

Vellore Institute of Technology, Vellore

We welcome academic, research or

industrial organisations, joining IIChE
as Life Organisational Member.
We would like to introduce them with
their brief profile. Newly inducted Life
Organisational Members may send
their brief profile (around 300 words) to
IIChE ([email protected]), which
will be published in the E-Newsletter.

Vellore Institute of Technology (VIT) was established with the aim of providing quality higher education on par
with international standards. Engineering and Technology subject areas of VIT are the 240th best in the World
and the 9th best in India, eight subjects of VIT are within the top 500 in the world (as per QS World University
Rankings by Subject 2023). The 9th best University, the 10th best research institution and the 12th best
engineering institution in India (NIRF Ranking, Govt. of India 2022). It persistently seeks and adopts
innovative methods to improve the quality of higher education. The campus has a cosmopolitan atmosphere
with students from all corners of the globe. Experienced and learned teachers are strongly encouraged to
nurture the students. Our Memoranda of Understanding with various international universities are our major
strength. They provide for an exchange of students and faculty and encourage joint research projects for the
mutual benefit of these universities. Many of our students, who pursue their research projects in foreign
universities, bring high quality to their work and esteem to India and have done us proud.

The School of Chemical Engineering (SCHEME) is determined to improve the quality of life through
innovations in Chemical Engineering. Our school is placed in the 301-350 rank in the QS world ranking and has
secured 11th rank in India. Our mission is to drive excellence in Chemical Engineering education and training
thereby lead to the creation of a common platform for connecting academia and industry in the exchange of
knowledge. Besides high-quality teaching and instruction at UG level, the faculty members of the school are
actively involved in executing many R&D and consultancy projects from government agencies, including DST,
DBT and from many reputed organizations. The school has also regularly benefitted from international
linkages facilitated by MoUs with leading universities from abroad. The state-of-art laboratories cater to the
practical applications of the Chemical Engineering principles to processes and UG level research. The
placement record of the school is very impressive. Every year students visit abroad for their final year projects
under the Semester Abroad Program (SAP).

The IIChE Students Chapter at VIT was established in 2010 and it aims at providing a platform for all chemical
engineering and related undergraduate degree students to grasp unchartered knowledge in the vast ocean of
engineering academia and research. The chapter was nominated for the Best Technical Chapter Award in VIT
for three consecutive years and conducted more than 200 events in the last two years.

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 FEEDCHEM (INDIA) PRIVATE LTD., Rajkot

The FEEDCHEM group is in the manufacturing of foundry Binders, Coatings as well as Lustrous Carbon
Additives, at the Foundry Hub of Rajkot (Gujarat), where around 750 foundry units are working to serve the
nation. FEEDCHEM has been pushing boundaries in every possible way in terms of trending technology and
accelerating the competency of our customers across foundries.

The company closely collaborates with the foundries and consistently improves its products to assure their
technological and practical suitability. It is ensured that the products meet the benchmark of quality and
perfection. Customer satisfaction is a top priority as reliability and transparency make FEEDCHEM go long
and quick. In this industry, differentiation matters a lot in terms of the fineness and richness of the products.
Hence, the primary strategy is to cater powerful products to the company’s esteemed customers, based on
three prior performance metrics:

1. Enhanced Surface Finish,

2. Reduced Defects in Castings and

3. Decreased Consumption of Sand Additives, Shots and Sand.

The production involves Refractory coatings, Binders, Hardners and other allied products which is used in
Foundry. As there was no reputed company in the region and only few companies are serving in the country,
one is sure about the bright future of FEEDCHEM (INDIA) PVT. LTD.

FEEDCHEM (INDIA) PVT. LTD. provides services and solution to foundry. This also gives a great help to
the customers by means of keeping a single window operation. The Team consists of Metallurgist, Chemical
Technologist and Foundry men with vast experience in foundry in India and abroad.

38 | P a g e
 IIChE Council 2024
+

Mr. Thakar Sunil Indulal Prof. Bishnupada Mandal

[email protected] [email protected]

Prof. Anil Kumar Saroha Prof. R. Parthiban

[email protected] [email protected]

Mr. Shashikant Pokale Prof. K. S. Rajanandam

[email protected] [email protected]

Smt. Sheela
Dr. M. Srinivasa Rao
[email protected]
[email protected]
Prof. Sunil Baran Kuia
Dr. Prasad T.L. Gupta
[email protected]
[email protected]
Prof. R. Saravanan
Prof. Ajay Bansal
[email protected]
[email protected]
Prof N Balasubramanian
Prof. K. A. Badrinarayana
[email protected]
[email protected]
Mr. Dhawal Saxena
Dr. Gaurav Rattan
[email protected]
[email protected]
Dr. Utkarsh Maheshwari
Prof. G.D. Yadav
[email protected]
[email protected]
Prof. Anil Verma
Prof. Shishir Sinha
[email protected]
[email protected]
Prof. Asit Kumar Saha
Mr. Biswanath Chattopadhyay
[email protected]
[email protected]
Prof. Sanjiv Kumar Gupta
[email protected] Prof. M. K. Jha
[email protected]
Prof. G. M. J. Raju
[email protected] Dr. Avijit Ghosh
[email protected]
Prof. Parag Ratnakar Gogate
[email protected]

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 Fees for Different Categories of IIChE Membership

Life Fellows Compound Fees

(For all age groups) Rs. 10,000/- + GST@18%
(Including Registration Fee Rs. 100/- and Admission
Fee Rs. 600/-)

Life Members Compound Fees

(Including Registration Fee Rs. 100/- and Admission
Fee Rs. 400/-)

Age: 26 – 50 years Rs. 7,000/- + GST@18%

51 – 60 years Rs. 6,000/- + GST@18%
Above 60 Rs. 5,000/- + GST@18%

Life Associate Members Compound Fees

(For all age groups) Rs. 5,000/- + GST@18%
(Including Registration Fee Rs. 100/- and Admission
Fee Rs. 400/-)

Student Members Compound Fees

Rs. 500/- + GST@18%
(Including
Interested candidates have to apply online Admission Fee Rs. 100/-)
for Membership.
Please visit: www.iiche.org.in

Organisational Membership Fees

Life Organisational Admission Fee Life Subscription Fee Total

Member with turnover (in Rs) (in Rs) (in Rs)

- 100 crores and above 1,000/- 1,00,000/- + 1,19,180/-

18,180 GST

- above Rs. 10 crores 1,000/- 50,000/- + 60,180/-

9,180 GST

- below Rs. 10 crores 1,000/- 25,000/- + 30,680/-

4,680 GST
Academic Institutions, 25,000/- + 29,500/-
Govt. R&D -- 4,500 GST
organizations
(Irrespective of turnover)

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