The Tamil connect to a new domestic fuel from CSIR – NCL Pune

As the country looks for alternative fuel sources amid the West Asian crisis, a team of scientists from CSIR – National Chemical Laboratory in Pune, led by Senior Principal Scientist Raja Thirumalaiswamy, a Tamilian from Bhavani, is preparing to transfer technology for a reactor and catalyst that will produce Dimethyl Ether, which can be used as an alternative to Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG).

“7 companies and 4 countries, including Finland and Ghana, have already applied to us for this technology that we have been working on since 2016. We started producing 500 milligrams and have now increased to 2500 kg/day. ONGC contacted us for 2.5 tons/day production at its facility in Hazira. We have five patents for the method of indirectly obtaining DME from methanol. Our catalyst works at lower temperatures and performs better in purity and important in terms of operating costs,” explained Dr. Thirumalaiswamy.

The process has been approved with due diligence from IOCL Research and Development, Faridabad, Attrium Innovations, Pune and ONGC, New Delhi. “We patented our catalyst in 2019. It is very strong and does not break down easily. It works at 10 bar pressure. We designed cooking stoves that work with both LPG and DME. Although DME is heavier than air and will sink, we designed the flame to burn upwards. Ordinary home stoves usually work with 64% to 68% efficiency. Ours work with 74.5% efficiency. Normal stoves can consume 20% of DME without any changes. “Mixing it with LPG,” he said.

The catalyst, which is key to the DME variant, has been in testing for over 15,000 hours, with scientists like Manikandan, Sivaprasad, Prabhu and Praveen constantly monitoring it. “Our catalyst is able to withstand sulfur from coal gasification to a certain extent,” he added.

tamil connection

“Though I have been working in Pune for over 23 years, I have not learned much about Marathi or Hindi. I prefer to have Tamils ​​in my team as it is easier for us to communicate. My father retired as a deputy collector in Tamil Nadu. I am the Dharmakartha of a Murugan temple in Pune. We continue our services for Tamil here too,” he said.