Page 187 - CW E-Magazine (12-11-2024)

ICC Conference on R&D ICC Conference on R&D

a core operating model that requires development agreements, and signi- power plants and cogeneration to im- enable waste reduction, improve energy tor – Strategy & Industry Partner-
conviction to invest capital and mone- fi cant partnerships between academia prove effi ciency, reduce water loss effi ciency and reduce use of solvents. ships, Somaiya Vidyavihar Univer-
tise returns, and access to latest tech- and innovation hubs across the indus- and increase power generation. “The Globally, this shift is driven by indus- sity, spoke about the ‘We-Chemie -
nologies and capital required to drive try. “If the core skill is lacking within chemical industry can especially try-academia collaboration,” he said. Women enabled for careers in Chemi-
innovation. the organisation, you will have to act adopt cogeneration, where the entire CSIR-NCL has also established a stry’ initiative designed to bridge the
like an investor. Companies should effi ciency becomes close to 90% be- Centre for Sustainable Continuous gender gap in the chemical industry.
“In order to address the R&D-led look at getting access to early-stage cause it will use 25% of energy in the Manufacturing. This partnership between Somaiya
innovation challenges we will need a R&D efforts happening in universi- fossil fuel for electricity generation Vidyavihar University, BASF India,
multi-pronged approach. We will re- ties, and to scale them up by providing and 65% for process heat. Boilers in “In India, a number of startups are and the Indian Chemical Council
quire a very different R&D operating resources,” he said. the industry can be operated with the derisking R&D of larger companies (ICC) is aimed at developing a pipe-
model rather than the classical model exhaust heat from power generation,” to show them that they can transform line of skilled female graduates and
we have in India, where organisa- Energy transition he said. their processes from batch to conti- postgraduates from underprivileged
tions build their own in-house R&D In his address, Prof. Sunil Bhagwat, nuous. Around 250 Indian chemical backgrounds, empowering them to
setup, identifi ed few themes, invested Director, Indian Institute of Science “Energy is the driver of GDP. The companies have already started pursue careers in the chemical indus-
money & resources, and tried to develop Education and Research (IISER), Pune, source of energy need not always using fl ow chemistry in continuous try. She informed that about 75 girls
solutions in that particular area. For spoke about the changes being brought be fossil. Solar can be used as heat effi ciency enhancements and cost processes at a lab scale. Around 50 in the fi rst batch of the programme
the new-age research themes like AI- about in the chemical industry due or converted to mechanical energy. benefi ts. have taken their products to pilot scale, have been placed mostly in the chemi-
assisted chemical discovery, or CO to the evolving energy landscape. He Wind is directly in the form of and more than 11 are at the commercial cal industry, while the second batch
2
chemicals, bio-feedstock, or specia- noted that with the chemical industry mechanical energy. Biomass generated is Key research themes scale for different products,” informed is being prepared for placements. She
lity materials required for new appli- accounting for about 5.5% of the total going to be proportional to the popu- Dr. Ashwin Patwardhan, Profes- Dr. Kulkarni. also highlighted the other industry-
cations, it is very diffi cult to follow a industrial energy consumption, there is lation, and combined & core genera- sor of Chemical Engineering, ICT, academia partnerships nurtured by
conventional R&D operating model, urgent need to transition to sustainable tion cycles, wherever implemented, Mumbai, gave a presentation on re- Continuous fl ow synthesis is the the Somaiya Vidyavihar University
where one organisation tries to do energy sources. He emphasised the in- will be tremendously benefi cial,” he cent trends in R&D in chemical engi- most optimal way of exploring chemi- including tie-ups with Japan’s Shimadzu
everything. It has simply not delivered termittent nature of renewable energy emphasised. neering, in which he highlighted key stry. But continuous separation is also and Germany’s Evonik.
in the last fi ve to six years. We will and proposed biomass as a solution due themes published in reputed journals. required and right now, not many peo-
need to shift to more collaborative and to its inherent storage capabilities. Prof. A.B. Pandit, Vice Chancel- These included utilisation of solar ple are working on it. Indian chemical Later, a panel discussion led by
multi-functional form of R&D, where lor, Institute of Chemical Technology energy; low-carbon-footprint energy industry is moving fast in adopting Prof. Rahul Nabar, Adjunct Associate
growth will depend on the ability to Prof. Bhagwat compared the effi - (ICT), Mumbai, made a brief speech carriers like renewables, hydrogen, it, but translational research centres Professor, Dept. of Chemical Engineer-
engage with the outside world,” he ciency of different energy sources, not- covering the impact of decarbonisa- synthetic fuels from biomass; energy are essential. He said that CSIR-NCL ing, Indian Institute of Technology-
said. ing solar energy’s highest thermal po- tion of energy systems on the chemi- storage & conversion like liquid has announced an Industry Consor- Bombay and including Mr. Chirag
tential and the concept of ‘exergy’ to cal industry and the huge potential organic hydrogen carriers, batteries, tium on Continuous Manufacturing Barvalia from Mettler-Toledo India,
Mr. Kotecha said such a model explain energy utility. for Jugaad (a Hindi word denoting EVs, fuel cells and carbon capture, that aims to involve mid-size Indian Mr. Subrato Dey from Kewaunee
would call for more outsourcing, effi - frugal innovation or innovative fi xes/ utilisation & storage. fi ne and speciality chemicals indus- International Group, Mr. Vinod Honmute
cient joint venture partnerships or joint He advocated for combined cycle simple workarounds) to bring about tries and enable access to a wide from Aarti Industries and Ms. Sherin
He also discussed papers published range of fl ow synthesis facilities at the Mary Samji from CAS, debated the
on tools and techniques to enable institute. role of lab automation and digitisation
the future of chemical engineering, as enablers of research in the chemi-
including data science, modelling & Industry-academia partnership cal industry. Topics like self-optimised
simulation and other techniques of Prof. V.N. Rajasekharan Pillai, reactors, digitising of legacy lab data,
analysis, as well as new techniques Vice-Chancellor of Somaiya Vidya- chemical database tools and informa-
like 3D printing. vihar University, urged chemical com- tion needed to uncover relevant and
panies to fi nd ways to collaborate with actionable insights for R&D, moder-
Continuous manufacturing educational institutions across the nisation of lab infrastructure, among
Dr. Amol Kulkarni, Scientist, country and to effectively support the others were discussed.
CSIR-National Chemical Laboratory chemical education system in univer-
(NCL), Pune, underlined the problems sities. “R&D for frugal innovations During a session on renewable
faced by the fi ne & speciality chemicals in chemistry or chemical research can chemicals, representatives from Godrej
in India due to the use of old processes be effectively done by the students if Industries, Proklean Technologies, and
and solvents. “There is an urgent need guided properly,” he said. Godavari Biorefi neries, discussed the
to re-engineer manufacturing processes challenges and opportunities in the
and look at continuous processes to Earlier, Dr. Achala Danait, Direc- bio-based chemicals arena.

186 Chemical Weekly November 12, 2024 Chemical Weekly November 12, 2024 187

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