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Areas of Research
 Our research areas include not only the
classical topics in Chemical Engineering but also, diverse
multidisciplinary areas where most recent and challenging
problems are being addressed. Many unsolved problems in various
disciplines require substantial knowledge of chemical
engineering. Combined with our rigourous course work students
are motivated to learn many new topics and thereby enhanced
their problem solving skills from a scientific and engineering
perspective.
Our research areas include:
Catalysis and Reaction Engineering
Colloids and Interface Science
Complex Fluids and Transport Processes
Nanotechnology
Energy Science and Engineering
Environmental Engineering
Thermodynamics, Statistical Mechanics and Molecular Simulations
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Engineering of biological processes from the molecular to the organismal scale
is central to addressing key problems in medicine and healthcare as well as energy
and environmental sustainability. Our department employs a unique blend of theory,
simulations, and experimental techniques for biomolecular engineering. Fully atomistic
and coarse grained molecular simulations are being developed to derive fundamental
insights into protein interactions underlying disease states, which help identify
novel drug and vaccine targets. Sophisticated single molecule spectroscopic experiments
have been set up to probe rare molecular interactions within living cells, allowing
first-hand observations of events that cause development and disease. Viral infections
that are important globally and nationally, such as HIV, hepatitis C, and dengue,
are an important focus of our efforts. Modelling and simulations of viral dynamics
and
evolution coupled with single molecule experiments and data from patients, obtained
in collaboration with clinicians, are being employed to unravel the origins of the
failure of current treatments and to design more potent and economical therapeutic
protocols. Reaction network theory and experiments on quorum-sensing are being used
to understand cellular signalling events and emergent systems-level properties that
viruses and bacteria manipulate to overcome our immune response, presenting new
avenues for vaccine design. Metabolic engineering of bacteria coupled with optimization
and control techniques for bioreactors is being exploited to produce biofuels and
degrade environmentally harmful effluents and waste. Our efforts thus synergize
a broad spectrum of engineering and design techniques to achieve precise manipulation
of biological phenomena for improved healthcare and sustainable development.
Developing new catalysts, methods, and processes that deliver efficient and economical
ways to carry out chemical transformations encompasses this field. Using knowledge
from catalytic chemistry, reaction mechanisms, reaction kinetics, and transport
processes, researchers in the department are trying to improve on reactions that
span from polymer degradation to biomass conversion in reactors. Significant progress
has been made in understanding of polymer polymerization and degradation under various
conditions using experimental and kinetic modelling. Other interesting avenues of
pursuit are in the development of catalysts for organics degradation and enzymatic
catalysis in supercritical carbon dioxide. Similarly, designing and engineering
improved steps for nanoparticle synthesis are allowing us to develop new reactors/contactors
to control nanoparticle mean size and polydispersity. Efforts are also ongoing to
unravel systems level properties of complex cell signalling and transcription networks
applying ideas from reaction network theory, with the goal of identifying novel
drug targets and outcomes of intervention. Another key theme has been to understand
the mineral-microbe interactions that can be utilized for bioprocessing of various
industrial materials. Using detailed mathematical models for coupling multiphase
transport phenomena and biochemical reaction kinetics in bioreactors, problems in
bioleaching of minerals and ores, biological adsorption of toxic metals and biomethanation
of biomass are being addressed.
A reduction in the length scale of reactors and attempts to create microstructured
systems with novel and desired properties have brought in the interplay of colloidal
and interfacial interactions to prominence over a broad range of length scales.
Our department has earlier contributed richly to the understanding of bubble and
drop formation at orifices, foam bed contactors/ reactors, and agitated dispersions.
Researchers are currently engaged in investigating colloidal interfacial behaviour
at nano and sub-nano length scales. Synthesis of nanoparticles, nanowires, and nanorods,
and formation of arrays and superlattices of nanoparticles for a variety of applications
are controlled by manipulation of colloidal interactions and nucleation of a new
phase. The formation of monolayers and bilayers and modulation of their properties
for lubrication and oral care applications through sub-nanoscale chemical substitutions
is another focus area in the department. Current research efforts in the department
to store electrical energy efficiently in classical and novel batteries and super-capacitors
draw heavily from new materials and interaction entities such as ions, charged surfaces,
charged cavities, and charged micro-porous solids. These new storage systems are
required to harness power from solar and other renewable resources.
From food grains and processed foods, through industrial products such as paints
and mineral slurries, to hygeine and cosmetic products such as toothpaste and lotions,
complex fluids are an intimate part of our lives. They range from multiphase mixtures
(e.g., ice-cream, a dispersion of fat globules, ice crystals and air bubbles in
an aqueous liquid) to simply a collection of discrete particles (e.g. dry food grains).
They are interesting subjects for study because their response to applied forces
is more complex than that of normal fluids such as water and air. Though diverse
in their constitution, there are similarities in important aspects of their behaviour,
and also in the tools used for their study. Faculty in our department engaged in
studying complex fluids employ a variety of tools: experimentation at macroscopic
and microscopic scales, continuum mechanical modelling and computation, and particle-dynamics
simulations. We have groups engaged in the study of granular flows, fluidized beds,
solid-liquid and liquid-liquid dispersions, and liquid-crystalline mesophases, to
name a few. Our tools of experimentation include rheometry, high-speed imaging,
confocal microscopy, and the use of soft microchannels for synthesis and mixing
of fluids. Our computational tools span length and time scales from study of phenomena
at the molecular scale, through mesoscale dynamics and population balances, to continuum
mechanical simulations. Through our studies, we hope to achieve two objectives.
On one hand, we want to develop materials and design processes required for today's
technology and on another, we hope to understand the fundamental physical and chemical
processes that underly the dynamics of complex fluids, which in turn will help in
the design of newer and novel products and processes of the future.
Buoyed by the ever-advancing ability to characterize, control and fabricate materials
at the nanoscale, the interdisciplinary field of nanotechnology is becoming pervasive
in every aspect of our lives. The potential application areas of nanotechnology
range from semiconductor electronics, smart materials, energy solutions to biological
diagnostics. Nanotechnology research in our department similarly ranges in its diversity
and extends from simulations to understand phenomenon at the nanoscale to the engineering
processes for generating nanomaterials and nanoarchitecture. Researchers are applying
molecular dynamics and Monte Carlo simulations to understand structure and dynamics
of fluids confined to the nanoscale that are important for developing novel gas
storage applications and enhancing our molecular view of wear at the nanoscale.
Similarly, population balances approaches are being employed to investigate the
role of various mechanisms, such as nucleation, growth, coagulation, capping, and
ripening of nanoparticles in influencing particle size distribution to develop better
and efficient nanoparticle synthesis methods. Aggregation and 3D nanoparticle array
formation is being modeled with thermodynamic and statistical mechanics approaches.
Novel technologies are being pioneered for high throughput synthesis of metal nanoparticles
and semiconductor nanowires in large scales. Extending these for generation of functional
nanoscale architectures with guided self-assembly to form 2D and 3D superlattices
is a key theme of the current work in the department. Researchers in our department
are also interested in biological processes at the molecular level to understand
underlying mechanisms. Design and characterization of polymers at the nanoscale
has led to the development of new materials with unique structure, properties, and
functions.
The standard of living across the nations is strongly correlated with per capita
energy production. Given the limited and finite nature of fossil fuels and the problems
associated with the traditional renewable resource such as hydel power, it is imperative
to develop technologies to harness and store energy from renewable sources such
as solar energy, wind energy, tidal energy, etc. Renewable energy also has an additional
advantage of being by and large environment friendly. In this department, pioneering
research is being carried out towards the development of new materials and processes
for energy capture and storage. Fundamental work on methane and natural gas storage
using novel adsorbents such as metal organic frameworks (MOFs) and covalent organic
frameworks (COFs) is currently pursueds using computational tools such as ab-initio
electronic structure calculations and classical Monte Carlo simulations. Continuum
and molecular modelling studies pursued in the department are helping us in improving
the design and performance of rechargeable batteries and super-capacitors. Fundamental
work on nanoparticle self- ssembly carried out in the department is helping towards
development of novel devices that greatly enhance the collection efficiency of solar
power. 
Research work in our department addresses problems of land, water, and air pollution.
Consider the problem of plastic waste that is plaguing many of our cities and towns.
We are trying to degrade the polymers in solution, using a variety of techniques.
Even though the projects have not covered the last mile between lab and the land,
we hope to do so within the next few years. The use of polymers as scaffolds marks
our maiden attempt to venture into the field of biomedical engineering. Several
promising photocatalysts have been developed that appear to be good at degrading
pollutants in waste water from industries. Similarly, supercritical solvents have
been developed for enzymatic reactions to produce compounds that are used in the
pharmaceutical and food industries. Efforts has also been focused to develop activated
carbon fabric and modified granular activated carbon for the removal of gases such
as CO2, NOx, CO and also Cr and As. Work is in progress to reduce or eliminate foul
smell from the sites (landfills) that have been identified by the Corporation of
Bangalore. Methods have been developed to determine sub- icrogram levels of Mo and
Fe in industrial effluents. Our major research interests concern engineering and
designing of processes and tools for treatment of water from various sources to
make them compatible for human consumption or environmental release. One main theme
has been defluoridation of drinking water where we have shown how column design
and choice of adsorbents are critical to the output water quality. Similarly, we
have demonstrated the use a solar still for the treatment of drinking water, rainwater
harvesting and efficient disposal of spent analytical reagent can be achieved at
the laboratory scale.
An attempt was made to remove the excess fluoride from the reject water of a reverse osmosis unit located in a
village using adsorption. However, further work is needed before an effective method can be found.
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Understanding phenomenan at the molecular scale allows one to tailor products using
a bottom-up approach. We study a wide variety of phenomenon using classical molecular
dynamics and Monte Carlo simulations and statistical thermodyamics, which require
a knowledge of the forces between the various molecules. This approach provides
a molecular understanding of adsorption and separations processes, catalysis, energy
storage for transportation, novel drug synthesis protocols, nanoparticle engineering,
biomembrane function and transport in complex fluids. Using a variety of molecular
simulation techniques, we study transport and phase equilibria of fluids confined
to the nanoscale, fluids adsorbed in microporous materials such as zeolites and
metal organic frameworks, gas hydrates, structure, dynamics and flows of complex
oil-water-surfactant systems and protein biomembrane interactions. With enhanced
computing power, molecular simulations are increasingly providing a powerful in
silico method to predict properties of a wide variety of engineering systems without
resorting to detailed experimentation. Multiscale modelling strategies which bridge
molecular level information with continuum transport models that are of direct engineering
relevance are also being pursued.