• Vision and Goal

• Specialist Groups

• Competencies

• S&T Services

• Activities

• Infrastructure

• Clientele

• Achievements

Applied Research

To develop eco-friendly process technologies for chemicals belonging to the agrochemicals, specialty chemicals and petrochemicals sectors, chosen on the basis of demand and/or engineering challenges. Some of the processes already under investigation are Mononitrotoluenes,Hydrazine hydrate through peroxide route benzaldehyde through catalytic air oxidation and a continuous process for Sebacic Acid.

It is also proposed to takeup process development work on Cellulose ethers and bring  out technologies for special grade Hydroxyethyl cellulose which have special applications.

To develop on-line monitoring and advanced control strategies for multi-component batch distillation, and multi-component batch and semi-batch reactive distillation systems.
To create experimental facilities and measure the most frequently needed physical, thermodynamic and transport properties for pure substances and their mixtures of interest in process development and design.

Making use of the expertise available in all the project components and create and standardize experimental /analytical /predictive capabilities for carrying out investigations on pure liquids and mixtures involving:

Highly corrosive substances like hydrogen fluoride,hydrogen chloride,and their mixtures occurring in the process streams.

The conditions of temperature and /or pressure away from the ambient.

Natural products like the Constituents of Aurvedic Drugs,not so easily characterized by the common techniques.

Isomers and Enentiomers

Ionic liquids,Conducting liquids /solutions

Solid/Liquid,Liquid/Liquid,Gas/Liquid Phase Equillibria

• Purification of Multicomponent Liquid Mixtures.

• Application of commercial membranes for difficult separations such as azeotropic mixtures, air and natural gas separation and high TDS effluents.

                                    A Design and Engineering Group was established in 1973 with a view to meet the need of successful transfer of techology to chemical process industries.The Group provides basic and detailed engineering packages to commercial plants in association with process development groups.Stagewise inspection during plant construction,testing and commissioning, plant performance guarantee and training of plant personnel are some major activities of this group.Commercial software packages like ASPEN PLUS,BJAC as well as the software developed in-house are now used in this activity.Property data bank incorporated into Aspen plus is of great help and reduces design time considerably.Modern CAD packages are extensively used for synthesis of process flow sheets,equipment specifications,plant lay out drawings,P&I diagrams,pipeline routing diagrams and single line electrical diagrams,etc.

The Process Safety Centre (PROSAC)was established in 1989 to cater the needs of chemical procees industrial safety,hazard analysis and risk assessment.

Activities of the PROSAC:

• METAN for analyzing meteorological data to draw wind rises and to calculate probabilities of wind direction and speed.

• DISP for dispersion calculations using Gaussian dispersion models taking into account source dimensions.

• CONTOUR for estimating quantitative individual risk and generating individual risk curves and isorisk contours for single or multiple accident scenarios at a location.

• PEEPI for initial fragment velocity,range,projectile properties,estimation of penetration depth of the fragments on different target material,over pressure at the surface of the vessel.

• SAFETI-Micro of DNV Technica,London to provide comprehensive chemical process hazard analysis.

• PSM OFFICE VER 1.0 of Primatech Inc.,USA for HAZOP studies and safety audit.

Training Programs