Welcome to Deartment of Chemical Engineering

Preamble

The Department of Chemical Engineering of ICT is one of the leading Chemical Engineering Departments in the Country maintaining high standards in teaching, research and industrial liaisoning, rated by the international surveys conducted by Professor Jude Sommefield of Georgia Tech, USA since 1964 for every five year period as well as every year which included all IITs and IISc. Besides, it is among the top 12 departments in the world and in terms of productivity as measured by papers per faculty per dollar spent, it is number one in the world.

The Confederation of Indian Industries (CII) and AICTE survey has ranked Chemical Engineering Department as No. 1 in the country for best Industry linked Institute, consecutively for 3 years in a row.

The number of papers published in peer reviewed journals per faculty is also the highest in India. The FIST program of DST has also revealed that the Chemical Engineering Department is the Best Department in all engineering departments in India. This is again the record which has been held due to the research contributions of faculty in international journals of repute. The value and impact of our research is reflected in highest number of papers per faculty member, highest impact factor per paper, and highest number of citations for papers of Chemical Engineering Department. The faculty has been acting as consultants to industry and the earnings are the highest for any engineering department in India. During the last 5 years, more than 400 peer reviewed international papers have been published and more than 50 sponsored research projects have been successfully completed. The Department graduates 75 B. Chem. Engg., 45-50 Masters students and 25-30 Ph.D. students every year. At present Department has more than 200 Ph.D. students working on various research problems keeping in tune with present day needs. The support for these students come from University Grant Commission as the Department is recognized as the Centre of Advanced Studies in Chemical Engineering, Department of Atomic Energy, Department of Biotechnology, CSIR, Department of Science and Technology, and several industry sponsored projects.

Major Thrust of Research Areas:

Development of Novel Reactors, Reactions and Separation Processes

Computational Fluid Dynamics for Multiphase Systems

Analysis of Multiphase Phenomena

Novel  Catalytic Materials and Processes,

Green Technology

Surfactant Science and Hydrotropy

Development of Organic Chemical Processes

Adsorptive and Chromatographic Separations

Cavitation Phenomena, Sonochemistry

Drying of industrial and food products

Industrial Crystallization and Filtration

Advanced Separation Techniques

Energy Engineering

Material Science

Biotechnology

Nanscience and Naotechnology

Biochemical Characterization

Technologies for society such as energy efficient cooking, food processing and

preservation, water treatment, waste utilization

The Department of Chemical Engineering of ICT has a unique distinction in terms of awards received by the faculty members. Major Awards and Honors to the Faculty:

   Padmavibhushan, Padmabhushan, Padmashri by Government of India

   Fellowships of TWAS, Royal Society (UK), INSA, NASI, INAE, IASc, MASc

    J. C. Bose Fellowship

    S. S. Bhatnagar Award

   VASVIK Awards

     INSA Medals for Young Scientists, Associates  of Indian Academy of Sciences, INAE Young Engineer Award, Young Scientist  award of NASI

I. I. Ch. E. Awards for excellence in Basic and Applied Research

Membership of Policy Making Bodies of Government (State & Central)

Membership of the Editorial Boards of Reputed International Journals

Directorship of Public Limited Companies

The “HOMEPAPER” or “DESIGN PROJECT” of the final year undergraduate students have been repeatedly rated as the best by IIChE and Ambuja Cements and Sir P.C. Ray Foundation. The Ph.D. students have also bagged many awards at national and international conferences. Students have also received Outstanding Young Chemical Engineer (OYCE), IIChE several times. The prestigious N. R. Kamat Chemical Engineering Quiz Trophy have been won by Chemical Engineering Department many times in succession. The chemical engineering research students have also won several prestigious awards such as Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Award, Dell Social Innovation Award, Agilent and Mondialogo Award of UNESCO.

The department has dedicated all the activities for the benefit of chemical industry and society. This is also reflected in the vision and mission of the Department.

Vision

We will strive to be a vibrant department, with continuously evolving curricula and programmes that will charter the future of chemical, biological, materials and energy industries of the nation and be on par with the very best in the world through the participation and scholarship of our faculty, and students who will be torch bearers in education and research and have great impact in solving societal needs for the benefit of mankind at large.

Mission

We will create an atmosphere conductive to generate new knowledge at every opportunity for our students at large. Our education will enable new chemical engineering solutions to meet the need of all segments of society with regard to material and energy, while protecting the environment and conserving the natural resources. Our endeavors will enhance the public welfare. Our activities will not be limited to class-rooms but will extend to a greater multi and cross disciplinary platform to conduct research, discovery, technology development, service to industry and entrepreneurship in consonance with India’s aspiration to be a welfare state. We will team chemical engineer with professionals in other disciplines to arrive at better solutions. We will provide all students with a strong foundation in chemical engineering and applied sciences to encourage them to be our ambassadors at national and international level, in whatever professional activity they undertake to serve the society. Through our vision, we will serve the chemical engineering profession and society and strive to reach the summit as a team and stake-holders and as role models to the younger generation.

The undergraduate program has an intake of 75 students. The course syllabus has been designed by keeping in mind the Chemical Engineering syllabi of various international institutions. It is regularly updated keeping in mind the changing needs of the times. Nearly 50% of our undergraduate students choose to pursue further education in the topmost universities worldwide, namely, MIT, Minnesota, Stanford, Caltech, Delaware, UC Santa Barbara, Purdue, etc. The remaining opts for jobs in the Chemical Industry. The students are well paid and picked up by the top most industry within the country as well as outside the country well before the course gets over. The course content is thus geared towards a combination of rigorous theory and practical applications. The course is intended to bring out Chemical Engineers that can serve the academia and industry in particular and society and the nation in general. The course syllabus contains a combination of theory courses as well as laboratory experimentation. This inculcates a habit of relating observations to fundamentals. In addition, the students spend six – eight weeks in industry during their vacations, so as to update themselves with real life industrial situations. In doing so, they get an opportunity to apply theory to real – life problems. The students are also made to do independent projects, seminars and home papers. This develops their independent thinking and creative ability. It helps them analyze a given problem through various angles and synthesize innovative engineering solutions. Faculty members share their learning in industrial consultation in their classroom teaching. Undergraduate students are encouraged to carry out undergraduate summer research in ICT as well as other premier research institutes. Sometimes this work is also published in International peer reviewed journals. All these features make the Chemical Engineering course, most sought after in the country. The Chemical Engineering Department also caters to the 7 branches of Chemical Technology of the B. Tech. courses as well as Pharmacy in the relevant subjects.

Chemical Engineering Department also offers Master of Chemical Engineering course with intake of 30-40. This is a two year course with one year dedicated for research activity. Students work on real life problems faced by industry using modern research tools. Department also caters to other M. Tech courses such as Green Technology, Bioprocess Technology, Perfume and Flavor Technology. Looking at the importance of safety in chemical operations and frequent request from Industry, Department has also started since 2015, a Certificate course in Chemical Safety Management.

The programs conducted by the Department have excellent placement records. About 50% students pursue their career in Research and opt for M.S. and Ph.D. degree in leading US universities and other countries. Some of the students enroll for Management degree in IIMs and the rest of the students get placed in Chemical and allied Industries. The salary range for students placed in industries is 6 to 20 lakhs per annum.

The chemical engineering department of ICT has lion’s share in the first generation entrepreneurs, since the inception of the Institute. Out of over 600 first generation entrepreneurs of ICT, almost 50% are from Chemical Engineering Department. However, these developments took place due to certain geographical advantages of Mumbai, such as being close to harbour or being an international trade centre. The entrepreneur development cell is being proposed to promote the spirit of techno-entrepreneurship in a bigger way. This will catapult ICT into the world stage as Stanford of East.

Almost all the faculty members of the Department have Ph.D. Degree and guide Ph.D. students. The faculty members have world recognition in their chosen field of research. Due to consistent interaction with Industries, the faculty members impart knowledge beyond syllabus to the students and prepare them for the needs for society. Many of the faculty members have been awarded as Best Teacher at State and National level. Faculty members apart from teaching, research and industrial consultation, also help in government bodies in policy making and proposal evaluations. Some of the faculty members also serve on editorial board of prestigious International journals. The Department has vibrant environment and young faculty members are trained and supported by senior faculty to solve their problems. At present, the average age of the faculty members in the Department is 46. Due to the spectacular performance of the Department in last several decades, Department has attracted many young scientists/researchers from reputed universities abroad to be part of faculty members on regular positions, faculty recharge programs, INSPIRE program and DAE scientist positions. Department also has several endowment positions which help to attract and retain young as well as experienced teachers and researchers. Recently Dr. (Ms.) Mannepalli Lakshmi Kantam, Former Director of IICT, Hyderabad, has joined as Dr. B. P. Godrej Distinguished Professor and Dr. Pushpito K. Ghosh, Former Director of CSMCRI has joined as K. V. Mariwala – J. B. Joshi Distinguished Professor. Apart from regular full time endowments, Department has several other endowments under which Scientists/ Professors from foreign/other universities visit us, deliver lectures, interact with faculty and students.

Collaborative Academic Programs have been initiated with national and international institutes/R&D laboratories and industries. Following is the list of major organizations:

National:

 National Chemical Laboratory, Pune, India

 Kolhapur Zilla Sahakari Dudh Utpadak Sangh Ltd. (Gokul Dairy)

 NMIMS- Nanoparticle synthesis and characterization

 COEP, Pune

 Bhabha Atomic Research Centre, India

 Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar Technological University, Lonere

 Sardar Patel College of Engineering, Mumbai

 Shri Guru Gobind Singhji Institute of Engineering and Technology (SGGSIE&T), Nanded

 International Centre for Gentic Engineering and Biotechnology (ICGEB), New Delhi,

 CSIR-National Institute for Interdisciplinary Science and Technology, Trivandrum, India,

 Centre for Advanced Bioenergy Research, Indian Oil Corporation Limited, India, DBT New and Extension Proposals, Indo Australia Grand Challenge Project, Indo UK BBSRC RICEFUEL Project

 The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI), New Delhi, , Indo Australia Grand Challenge Project

 CSIR-Central Salt and Marine Chemical Research Institute (CSIR-CSMCRI), Bhavnagar, India,  Indo UK BBSRC SuBBSea Project

 Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai (TISS),

 Chemical Engineering Department, VIT, Pune

 Chemical Engineering Department, Sinhgad Institute of Technology, Pune

 Chemical Engineering Department, AISSMS College of Engineering, Pune

 Chemical Engineering Department, VNIT, Nagpur

 National Institute of Research in Reproductive Health, Parel, Mumbai

 Foundation of Medical Research, Mumbai, India

 National Burns Centre, Airoli, Navi-Mumbai

International Collaboration:

 Bradford University, UK, Co-crystallization under UKIRI

Centre for Tropical Crops and Biocommodities, Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, Australia,Prof. William Doherty, Dr. Philip Hobson, Indo Australia Grand Challenge Project.

Centre for Energy, The University of Western Australia, Perth, Australia, Prof. Dongke Zhange, Indo Australia Grand Challenge Project.

CSIRO Energy Transformed Flagship, North Ryde, New South Wales, Australia,

Dr. Victoria Haritos, Indo Australia Grand Challenge Project.

NSW Department of Primary Industries, New South Wales, Australia,

Dr. Tony Vancov, Indo Australia Grand Challenge Project.

Centre for Biomolecular Sciences, University Park, The University of Nottingham, UK, Prof. Nigel Minton, Indo UK BBSRC RICEFUEL Project.

 School of Biological Sciences, Queens University of Belfast, UK, Prof. Christine Maggs, Indo UK BBSRC SuBBSea Project.

 School of Biological and Biomedical Sciences, Durham University, Prof. John Bothwell, Indo UK BBSRC SuBBSea Project.

 Institute of Biological, Environmental and Rural Sciences, Aberystwyth University, Aberystwyth, Dr. David Bryant, Indo UK BBSRC SuBBSea Project.

Centre for Synthetic and Systems Biology and School of Biological Sciences, The University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK, Dr. Chris French, Indo UK BBSRC SuBBSea Project.

Bangor University, Bangor,  Gwynedd, UK, Dr. Katherine Steele, Dr. Lewis Le Vay, Indo UK BBSRC SuBBSea Project.

The University of York Wentworth Way, York, UK, Dr. Neil Bruce, Dr. Simon Mc Queen Mason, Indo UK BBSRC RICEFUEL Project.

Institute for Cell and Molecular Biosciences, Newcastle University, UK, Dr. Harry Gilbert, Indo UK BBSRC RICEFUEL Project.

Department of Biological and Medical Sciences, Oxford Brookes University, UK, Dr. David A Fell, Indo UK BBSRC RICEFUEL Project.

Department of Chemical Engineering, Centre for Process System Computations, Curtin University, Perth, Western Australia, Prof. Vishnu Pareekh, Dr. Ranjit Utikar, Indo Australia Grand Challenge Project, AISRF DBT Project.

 National University of Singapore, Singapore

 Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Norway

 Lappeenranta University of Technology, Finland

 Otto von Guericke University of Magdeburg, Germany

  King Mongkut´s University of Technology (KMUTT) – Bangkok, Thailand

 University of West Hungary, Hungary

 University of Paderborn, Germany

 Professor Prodromos Daoutidis,

 University of Minnesota.

 University of New Castle

 University of Minho, Portugal

Industries at International level:

 The Coca Cola Company

 Bio-Rad laboratories USA

 Pepsico Inc, USA

 British Petroleum International

 Oxbow Ltd.

 Ecosphere Technologies

The Department is well-equipped with the state of art research facility. The list of major instrument added in last five years is provided below:

 Maliksons  `LAB-30` Laboratory Model Single Screw Extruder

 Microreactors

  Scanning electron microscope

  Particle size analyzers

 High performance computing

  Thermal Imager Testo 885-2

  Variable Wavelength Detector VWD-3100

  High Speed Refrigerated Centrifuge

  Micro Ultra Centrifuge

  Nitrogen Generator

  Fixed Bed Micro Reactor

  High Pressure Reactor

  Agilient Nano-LC

  Agilient Capillary Electrophoresis

  ICP

  GC-MS

  HPLCs with different detectors

Centres of Excellence in Department

In the Xth and XIth Five Year Plan, BARC and Department of Chemical Engineering, ICT had undertaken a joint research program encompassing several DAE research projects in the Chemical Engineering field. Through the Virtual Centre, called, DAE-ICT Centre for Knowledge Based Engineering, BARC scientists and ICT faculty have collaborated and very successfully completed several projects. In view of the success of the collaborative program through the Centre for Knowledge Based Engineering, BARC and IGCAR proposed to enlarge the scope of collaboration by establishing the DAE-ICT Centre for Chemical Engineering Education and Research that will synergize the strengths of both these Organizations. The centre strives to develop innovative technologies to tackle the problems of efficient nuclear fuel utilization in the second and third stages of nuclear power program.

Based on the spectacular and consistent performance of the Department of Chemical Engineering, UGC has awarded first ever Networking Resource Centre in Chemical Engineering, in October 2008, to undertake following activities:

1. Research, training and skills development of the faculty and research scholars through periodic discussion, workshop and summer/winter schools
2. Capacity building by adopting faculty and Departments for augmenting their research skills and to mentor them
3. Hosting and facilitating researcher from other institutes/universities to carry out key experiments
4. Augmentation of information resource facility of the Department to provide quality research information to other institutes/researchers
5. To enhance and build the state of the art in-house research infrastructure and other research facilities in the Department.

The rapidly changing face of research in chemical engineering offers new opportunities for integrating new research areas within its fold and several workshops, courses, demonstration experiments, regular experiments and seminars have been organized by the Centre. The objective of many of these activities is to acquaint the Chemical Engineering community especially from academic institutions with the emerging face of our discipline, and the how to meet the new challenges that it poses to contribute at the leading edge. The idea is also to train the academic fraternity so that the overall research and development in chemical engineering is promoted. The interactive workshops also aim at initiating a dialogue on how the new face of Chemical Engineering can be used to address problems, specific to us as a growing nation. The vacation periods, long weekends and week-long program are undertaken which are publicized on the homepage of the institute and also communicated to all chemical engineering Departments.

Professor B. N. Thorat

Head, Department of Chemical Engineering

Program Education Objectives (PEOs) of B. Chem. Engg.

1. Our graduates are expected to think critically, creatively and apply the fundamentals of Chemical Engineering to chemical and allied industries for the benefit of country in general, economy, society and environment in particular.
2. Our graduates are expected to adopt to evolving technologies and stay in tune with current needs of the country and society.
3. Our graduates are expected to work for implementation of new technologies for the benefit of mankind in general, economy, society & environment in particular.
4. Our graduates are expected to be innovative and have good entrepreneurship and project management skills

Program Outcomes (POs) of B. Chem. Engg.

1. The graduates will be able to apply knowledge of basic sciences (Mathematics, Physics, Chemistry and Biology) and engineering courses in getting solutions to issues pertaining to chemical and allied industries.
2. The graduates should be able to systematically break up complex problems in realizable steps and solve them.
3. The graduates will be able to design a system or a component of a system or provide an engineering solution for a specific task within realistic constraints.
4. The graduates will be able to design and conduct experiments as well as analyze and interpret data. The graduates should be able to systematically break up complex problems in realizable steps and solve them.
5. The graduate will be able to use modern tools, softwares, equipment etc. to analyze and obtain solution to the problems.
6. The graduates will be able to study the impact of process industry on the global, economic, and societal context
7. The graduates should practice their profession considering environmental protection and sustainability
8. Graduates are expected to practice professional skills in an ethical manner
9. The graduates should have competence to undertake designated task on individual or team basis as per the requirement.
10. The graduates will be able to communicate effectively their points of view
11. The graduates will acquire attitude for life- long learning
12. The graduates should actively participate in project and financial management
13. Graduates will be acquainted with the latest development in different fields so as to enable them to take up higher studies,  research & developmental work
14. Graduates will be introduced to managerial subjects, so as to enable them to take up further studies in management  subjects & function effectively as managers

Program Education Objectives (PEOs) of M. Chem. Engg.

1. Our graduates are expected to think critically, creatively and apply the fundamentals of Chemical Engineering to chemical and allied industries for the benefit of country in general, economy, society and environment in particular.
2. Our graduates are expected to adopt to evolving technologies and stay in tune with current needs of the country and society.
3. Our graduates are expected to undertake fundamental and applied research for development and implementation of new technologies for the benefit of mankind in general, economy, society & environment in particular.
4. Our graduates are expected to be innovative and have good entrepreneurship and project management skills

Program Outcomes (POs) of M. Chem. Engg.

1. The graduates will be able to apply knowledge of basic sciences (Mathematics, Physics, Chemistry and Biology) and engineering courses in getting solutions to issues pertaining to chemical and allied industries.
2. The graduates should be able to systematically break up complex problems in realizable steps and solve them.
3. The graduates will be able to design a system or a component of a system or provide an engineering solution for a specific task within realistic constraints.
4. The graduates will be able to design and conduct experiments as well as analyze and interpret data. The graduates should be able to systematically break up complex problems in realizable steps and solve them.
5. The graduate will be able to use modern tools, softwares, equipment etc. to analyze and obtain solution to the problems.
6. The graduates will be able to study the impact of process industry on the global, economic, and societal context
7. The graduates should practice their profession considering environmental protection and sustainability
8. Graduates are expected to practice professional skills in an ethical manner
9. The graduates should have competence to undertake designated task on individual or team basis as per the requirement.
10. The graduates will be able to communicate effectively their points of view
11. The graduates will acquire attitude for life- long learning
12. The graduates should actively participate in project and financial management
13. Graduates will be acquainted with the latest development in different fields so as to enable them to take up higher studies,   research & developmental work
14. Graduates will be introduced to managerial subjects, so as to enable them to take up further studies in management subjects & function effectively as managers