IIT Guwahati sets up new centre for managing industry waste

NEW DELHI, SEPTEMBER 20: IIT Guwahati is setting up a Centre of Excellence (CoE) for converting waste generated from petroleum, bio-refineries and agro-industries into commercial products.

The centre will provide technological solutions for converting waste products such as wax and oil sludge into biodegradable plastics and other chemicals for commercial applications. It has been set up in collaboration with Numaligarh Refinery Limited (NRL), Assam, and is named the NRL-Centre of Excellence for Sustainable Materials.

As per the agreement signed by the two parties, IIT Guwahati will take in waste products from NRL’s refineries to reduce the carbon footprint of the company by converting it into usable products.

“This alliance between IIT Guwahati and NRL is a first of its kind academic-industrial collaborative venture. This CoE will work towards the production of biodegradable plastics for our civil society utilizing the waste and intermediate materials from the existing oil and bio-feedstock based industries,” said Prof. T.G Sitharam, Director, IIT Guwahati.

“The conception of this CoE at IIT Guwahati will provide a huge impetus to green technology development and waste management techniques in the North-East states of India,” said Prof. Sitharam.

NRL is a joint venture between Bharat Petroleum, Oil India and Government of Assam.