Calling India’s Brightest Minds!

Refinery and petrochemical integration

• Crude-to-chemicals configurations
• FCC-aromatic-steam-cracker network optimization
• Modular brownfield integration and debottlenecking
• Flexible feed and product-slate management

Bottom-of-the-barrel and heavy-feed upgrading

• Residue hydro conversion and slurry hydrocracking
• Solvent deasphalting with maximum value recovery
• Heavy aromatic oil and pyrolysis-tar upgrading
• Asphaltene/coke control and metals management
• Advanced separations and future feedstocks

Process and catalyst innovation

• Opportunity-crude desulfurization/demetallization catalysts
• Low-H₂ hybrid adsorptive/catalytic desulfurization
• Catalyst regeneration and poison-tolerance studies

Digitalization and AI/ML

• AI-guided catalyst/material discovery and recipe optimization
• Real-Time Detection of Pilferage and Unauthorized Tapping
• Digital twins and AR/VR workforce training
• Autonomous Crawling Robot for Above-Ground and Confined Pipelines

Maintenance & asset integrity

• Risk-based inspection digital twin for fixed equipment and pipelines
• ML-based corrosion/Corrosion Under Insulation/High Temperature Hydrogen Attack early warning
• Predictive maintenance and drone/robot inspection
• Material property prediction for catalysts and battery materials
• Energy optimization and AI-enabled pinch/heat integration
• Integrated mass-balance, pressure-wave and acoustic leak-detection system

Advanced Polymer Technology and Value-Added Petrochemical Products​

• Process Intensification of Ethylene Oligomerization Using Membrane-Assisted Product Recovery
• Energy-Efficient Recovery of High-Purity Isobutylene from Mixed C4 Streams
• Catalyst and Process Development for Selective C5 to C9 Stream Valorization
• Petcoke- or Carbon-Black-Based Conductive Polymer Composites
• Natural-Fibre-Reinforced Polypropylene Using Agricultural Residues
• Biodegradable Polyolefin Composites
• EMI-Shielding / Conductive Polyolefin Composites
• Self-Sensing and Self-Healing Composite Materials
• Halogen-Free Flame-Retardant Polyolefin Composites
• Chemical Decontamination of Recycled Polyolefins for High-Value Applications
• Reversible Adhesives and Debond-on-Demand Multilayer Structures

Advanced Effluent Treatment and Resource Recovery​

• Smart Segregation of High-COD, Oily, Saline and Toxic Refinery Effluent Streams
• Reusable Oleophilic Membrane or Sorbent for Oil Recovery from Effluent
• Simultaneous Removal of Phenol, Sulfide, Ammonia and Cyanide from Refinery Effluent
• Integrated Advanced Oxidation and Biological Treatment with Minimum Chemical Use
• Contaminant-Aware Membrane System for High-Quality Industry Water Reuse
• Low-Energy Minimal-Liquid-Discharge System for Refinery Effluent
• Automated Chemical-Dosing System Based on Real-Time Water Quality
• Energy-Neutral Effluent Treatment Using Biogas and Waste Heat
• Energy-Efficient Spent Caustic Treatment
• Compact and Retrofit-Friendly Treatment Solutions

API / KSM and pharmaceutical intermediates

• Indigenous routes for critical imported KSMs/APIs
• Continuous-flow synthesis of high-value intermediates
• Chiral building blocks by catalytic/enzymatic routes
• Impurity profiling and purge strategy

Specialty chemical product platforms

• Refinery aromatics to pharma/agro intermediates
• Toluene, xylene and phenol derivative platforms
• Specialty additives for fuels, polymers and coatings
• Eco-friendly agrochemical and surfactant intermediates

Green chemistry and process intensification

• Low-E-factor routes with solvent/water recycle
• Safer solvent replacement and solvent-free synthesis
• Telescoped reaction-separation-crystallization

Indigenous technologies

• Domestic catalysts, ligands, resins and membranes
• Modular multipurpose KSM/API manufacturing skids
• Local raw-material and side-stream valorization
• Supply-risk reduction and indigenous IP

• This category welcomes innovative ideas of indigenous origin across, but not limited to, the following HMEL relevance domains: Refining, Petrochemicals, Retail, Fine Chemicals, Biofuels, Pharmaceutical KSMs, Sustainability, Energy Storage & Conversion, Decarbonization, Water Conservation, Agricultural Feedstocks, Digitalization, and other emerging technologies.
• Students are also encouraged to submit unique, high-impact, and commercially viable ideas that solve real-world problems, create value for HMEL and the nation, or introduce completely new and out-of-the-box concepts - even if they do not fall under the above themes.

Process & Technology

• Fired-heater/reformer efficiency and electrified heat
• Steam, power, waste-heat and pinch-network optimization
• Hybrid solar-thermal, heat pumps and low-carbon utilities
• Carbon-footprint reduction for refinery operations

Carbon capture, utilization and conversion

• CO₂ capture from actual refinery emission points
• Hybrid membrane/solvent capture for flue gas
• CO₂ to methanol, formate, syngas or minerals

Low-carbon hydrogen, alternate energy and storage

• Solar/wind electrolyzers with wastewater pretreatment
• O₂ utilization, H₂ storage, fuel cells and batteries
• SMR heat/power, supercapacitors and smart grids

Alternate Energy and Sustainable Solutions

• Hybrid solar-thermal + boiler systems for process-water preheating
• Wind shields/ducts and AI-based wind siting for mini-turbines
• Small Modular Reactors and nuclear heat applications
• Solar/wind/biogas innovation for industrial operations
• Advanced electrolyzer design for large-scale hydrogen
• Wastewater/seawater electrolysis for hydrogen in industrial zones
• Hybrid solar-wind-powered electrolyzer systems
• Novel electrocatalysts for efficient, low-cost hydrogen production
• Hydrogen storage and PEM fuel cells
• Battery, supercapacitor, metal-air and solid-state storage technologies
• Smart grid integration and industrial peak-load management

Bio-refinery and biomass platforms

• Lignin to phenolics, surfactants and resins
• Biomass gasification to clean syngas chemicals
• Furfural/HMF/levulinic-acid derivative platforms
• Bio-aromatics and drop-in refinery chemicals
• Valorization of starch/cellulose-based feedstock for biofuel & novel value-added products
• Novel opportunities in Bio-Ethanol & Bio-Butanol

Fermentation, synthetic biology and biocatalysis

• Fermentation-derived solvents, polymers and acids
• Enzyme-cascade routes to fine/API intermediates
• Microbial conversion of CO₂/CO to value products
• Continuous bioconversion with enzyme reuse

Biofuels and refinery-compatible products

• SAF and renewable diesel from waste/non-edible oils
• Wet-waste hydrothermal liquefaction to biocrude
• Alcohol-to-jet and biogas/CBG upgrading
• Biogenic feed co-processing with product compliance

Circular economy, recycling and valorization

• Mixed-plastic chemical recycling and polyolefin upcycling
• PET/polyamide depolymerization to virgin monomers
• Battery, solar-cell and critical-metal recycling
• Refinery by-product, petcoke and catalyst valorization
• Battery recycling technology
• Recycling of end-of-life solar cells