M.Tech. in Chemical Engineering at IITM

T he M.Tech programme in Chemical Engineering is spread over four semesters. The main emphasis in the first two semesters is on course work. Courses are classified as core or compulsory courses and electives. The former includes Chemical Reactor Theory, Transport Phenomena, Thermodynamics and Mathematical Methods in Chemical Engineering. In core courses advanced topics are covered and presented in a holistic framework. The elective courses are decided by the student in consultation with his/her thesis supervisor. These are intended to provide expertise in the research area of interest for the student and also equip the student with the necessary tools and concepts for carrying out research.

The programme is designed so that the students are evaluated on a continual basis. Emphasis is also placed on developing the written and oral communication skills of students.

The research project constitutes a major part of the work in the second year. The student under the supervision of a faculty member carries out state of the art research in the frontier areas of chemical engineering such as computational fluid dynamics, materials science, biochemical engineering, environmental engineering, process control, reaction engineering, transport phenomena, particle technology, semi-conductor processing, etc. The research involves solving problems of industrial relevance as well as of fundamental significance.

The M.Tech programme equips students with skills which enables them to contribute to the development of chemical industry in India. The scope of each research area in the Chemical Engineering Department of IIT Madras is given below:

Fundamental Studies

Mathematical modeling of physico - chemical phenomena. Applied statistical mechanics, thermodynamic property estimation, phase equilibria. Flow visualization using lasers, microwave assisted thawing. Drying, multi- component boiling and condensation, simultaneous heat and mass transfer processes.

Modeling of processes and equipment

Hydrodynamic and kinetic studies of turbulent bed contactors, trickle beds, slurry reactors, fast and inverse bed fluidized beds. CFD analysis of process equipment. Advanced separation processes such as reactive and azeotropic distillation, membrane processes. Modeling of rotary kilns, crushing and grinding equipment, fluid energy mills. Bio-process engineering and optimization; analysis of bio-reactors. Microelectronic fabrication techniques.

Development, characterization and processing of materials

Development of polymer blends and composites, polymer based nano-composites. Rheology of polymers and colloids; damping and vibration isolation using polymers.

Process design and control, systems engineering

Advanced control design such as adaptive control, intelligent control, non-linear control, fault diagnosis and fault tolerant control. Synthesis and optimization of process systems; statistical data processing. Simulation and optimization of crushing and grinding circuits.

Environmental engineering and waste reduction

Liquid and solid waste treatment, air pollution monitoring and control, toxic and hazardous waste management, environmental risk assessment, colour removal from waste water. Recycling of mixed plastic waste.

Programme Codes:

• CH1Y -> M.Tech. in Chemical Engineering with HTTA
• CH1N -> M.Tech. in Chemical Engineering without HTTA