Current Research
- Underground Coal Gasification
(with Prof. Anuradda Ganesh (Energy); Kartic C Khilar, and Sanjay M Mahajani)
The in-situ gasification of deep coal deposits has great potential for
enhancing energy supply for the country. A systematic chemical engineering
approach is being taken in order to understand the various complex
phenomena in UCG. The focus is on the occurrence of multiple reactions,
determination of appropriate kinetic equations, study of flow patterns,
and modelling of coal cavity formation/growth.
- Reduction of Automotive NOx
The catalytic converter is currently widely used for the control of
pollutants forming in automobile engines. This multi-purpose device is
useful in oxidation of hydrocarbons and carbon monoxide, and also the
reduction of Nitrogen Oxides. However, its applicability to diesel, CNG,
and lean-burn petrol engines is limited. The focus in our group is on
quantification of the relevant catalyst reaction pathways, discrimination
between various catalysts from among Platinum Group Metals, and
improvements to ensure wider applicability.
- Reduction of Large Reaction Mechanisms
Combustion of hydrocarbons is typically envisaged as a complex phenomenon
involving several thousand elementary reactions and several hundred
intermediate species. While such reaction mechanisms are easily
incorporated in ideal or simplified reactor models, they are
computationally too intensive for efficient use in Computational Fluid
Dynamics (CFD) simulations. In situations where the transport aspects are
critical, and the role of the reaction chemistry is less important, use of
reduced reaction mechanisms in CFD codes is the common practice. The
reduction, however, has to be performed in a coherent, mathematically
robust manner. The focus in our group is on development of reduced
reaction mechanisms for combustion of large hydrocarbons such as JP10 and
n-decane, for use in CFD simulations of scramjet engines.
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Selected Publications
- Dinesh Mantri, Preeti Aghalayam,Detailed Surface Reaction Mechanism
for Reduction of NO by CO, Catalysis Today,119, 98-93 (2007)
- Dinesh Mantri, Preeti Aghalayam , Micro-kinetic Model for NO reduction
on Pt Group Catalysts, International Journal of Chemical Reactor Engineering, V5, A1 (2007).
- Anil Khadse, Mohammed Qayyumi, Sanjay Mahajani and Preeti Aghalayam,
“Reactor model for Underground coal gasification channel, International Journal of Chemical
Reactor Engineering, V4, A37 (2006).
- Dinesh Mantri, Viral Mehta and Preeti Aghalayam, Bifurcation Analysis
of Pt and Ir catalysts for NO reduction, The Canadian Journal of Chemical Engineering, (In Print).
- Anil Khadse, Mohammed Qayyumi, Sanjay Mahajani and Preeti Aghalayam,
Underground Coal Gasification: A New Clean Coal Utilization Technique for India, Energy (revised manuscript submitted Mar 2007).
- Kamath, R. S.; Qi, Z. W.; Sundmacher, K.; Aghalayam, P.; Mahajani, S.
M., Comparison of Reactive Distillation with Process Alternatives for the Isobutene Dimerization
Reaction, Ind. Eng. Chem. Res.; 2006; 45(8); pp.2707-2714.
- Talwalkar, S.; Chauhan, M.; Aghalayam, P.; Qi, Z.; Sundmacher, K.;
Mahajani, S.M., Kinetic Studies on the Dimerization of Isobutene with Ion-Exchange Resin in the
Presence of Water as a Selectivity Enhancer, Ind. Eng. Chem. Res.; 2006; 45(4); pp. 1312-1323
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