Tag: oil

IIT Kharagpur inks MoU with Oil India Limited

Under the aegis of Atmanirbhar Bharat, Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur signed a MoU (Memorandum of Understanding) with Oil India Limited on research collaboration in the broader areas of Earth Sciences and Hydrocarbon Exploration. The event was graced by Dr. Ranjith Rath, Chairman & Managing Director, Oil India Limited, senior officials of OIL, Prof. Virendra Kumar Tewari, Director, IIT Kharagpur, Prof. Amit Patra, Deputy Director, IIT Kharagpur, Prof. Chandan Chakraorty, Dean, Research and Development (R&D); Prof. Paresh Nath Singha Roy, Chairperson, Deysarkar Centre of Excellence in Petroleum Engineering and other senior professors of IIT Kharagpur.

Dr. Ranjit Rath, CMD, Oil India Limited remarked “As a step towards its commitment of ensuring India’s energy security and making India less import dependent, OIL has adopted a 3-pronged strategy of enhanced exploration activities with leap of faith exploration acreage of 50,000 plus sqkm pan India; Mission 4+ to expedite & augment domestic production of crude oil & natural gas; and expand its alternate energy portfolio aimed at achieving Net Zero by 2040”.

The collaborative Research & Development (R&D) between both the organizations will invigorate industrial and inter-disciplinary research and training undertaken at Deysarkar Centre of Excellence in Petroleum Engineering at IIT Kharagpur in Upstream, Midstream and Downstream segments of the Oil and Natural Gas value chain entailing hydrocarbon exploration, development, production, reservoir management including IOR & EOR, pipeline transportation, sedimentary basin analysis, refining & process technology etc.

“The MoU is a step towards Industry-Academia collaboration in advanced technologies in earth sciences and hydrocarbon exploration to cater to the growing demands of hydrocarbon exploration and extraction. Through this MoU, both OIL and IITKGP will engage themselves in various joint research initiatives and advanced technology solutions in energy sector and other areas of mutual interest,” Dr. Rath further added.

Prof. Virendra Kumar Tewari, Director, IIT Kharagpur remarked, “To support innovation and start-up ecosystem for a sustainable future, we need to indigenize, modernize, and renovate the oil refining industry. The focus should be on domestic exploration of petrochemical production capacity. Application of Geoscience, Engineering & Design, Chemical & Process Technologies, and R&D initiatives along with application of GIS and Remote sensing studies in Oil and Natural gas industry will create investment opportunities through Atmanirbhar Bharat.

Further, Prof. V K Tewari accompanied by a team of professors will visit different exploration sites of Oil India to augment areas of research collaboration and project implementation.

“India contributes 5% share in the global oil demand and has the fourth-largest crude refining capacity in the world. 10% Ethanol-blended petrol which has already been achieved in our country will maximize the dependence on alternative energy,” opined Prof. Tewari.

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Healthy Vegetable Oil – award winning innovation by IIT KGP researchers

IIT Kharagpur researchers have developed a low-cost polyunsaturated, antioxidant-rich vegetable oil powder for a healthy heart

India Today           NDTV        EiSamay        Careers 360

Researchers from IIT Kharagpur have developed a novel formula for a vegetable oil powder to keep your heart healthy.  The innovation, led by Prof. Hari Niwas Mishra from the Department of Agricultural and Food Engineering involved tailoring vegetable oils through the preparation of oil blends which are inherently endowed with natural antioxidants as well as well-balanced fatty acids.

Oils vary significantly in their fat saturation. The healthiest are those containing mostly polyunsaturated and monounsaturated fats that are healthy for the heart. The role of such fats is widely known for reducing low-density lipoprotein or harmful blood cholesterol.

“The novelty of the research team is in its formulation of a nutritionally balanced polyunsaturated fatty acid (PUFA) enriched with antioxidants and producing a synergistic vegetable oil blend,” explained Prof. Mishra. 

The PUFA-rich oil powder will find extensive use in replacing dairy fat in bakeries and confectionaries, believe researchers Monalisha Pattnaik and Dr. Mousumi Ghosh from the Food Chemistry and Technology Laboratory run by Prof. H N Mishra.

Monalisha Pattnaik
Dr. Mousumi Ghosh

“There is already a shortage of dairy fat which can not only be compensated by this product but also have a healthy impact particularly mitigating heart-related diseases on the consumers,” they said.

Another critical area the researchers have addressed is the susceptibility of PUFA-rich vegetable oil to rancidity and reduced shelf-life under severe environmental conditions.

“We have developed a novel process to protect the lipids from oxidation by microencapsulating with appropriate materials,” said Prof. Mishra.

The innovation has already been patented and is ready for commercialization at low costs.

Congratulating the researchers, Prof. Virendra Tewari, Director, IIT Kharagpur remarked, “Even after seven decades nutritious and healthy food are seen as lifestyle products due to affordability issue and lack of awareness. But under the holistic approach in the present scenario, we must remove this bias which is a toll on the health of millions in this country. This product answers this call by making available PUFA and antioxidant-rich vegetable oil for mass-scale consumption by large sections of the population especially in the lower-income groups, who are otherwise forced to buy oil with saturated fats due to their low prices.”

The researchers have received several awards for this product. A key among them is the Gandhian Young Technological Innovation (GYTI) Award 2020. Furthermore, this work has been recognized for Young Student Invention and the best thesis work in IIT Kharagpur. The team is working incessantly towards providing low-cost healthy foods to a wider section of the society.

Contacts: 

Project Information: Prof. H N Mishra hnm@agfe.iitkgp.ac.in;  Institute Related: Prof. B N Singh, registrar@hijli.iitkgp.ac.in; 

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