In iron ore beneficiation an extremely fine fraction (typically less than 45 micron) called slime is generated. Tata steel R&D has developed a flowsheet to recover iron values from slime. Selective flocculation process is an integral part of the flowsheet in which starch is an effective flocculant. It is known that a polymer can be modified through grafting with other polymers to enhance its performance. We are searching an effective grafted polymer for the starch based flocculation process. ( Mentor: Abhay S Patra, E-Mail: abhay.shankar@tatasteel.com)

Metallurgical coke is being used as a fuel, reducing agent and permeable burden support material for blast furnace iron making route. Coke with high reactivity is required for better reaction efficiency and at the same time coke having high strength is demanded for maintaining permeability at lower part of blast furnace. However, conventional metallurgical coke used presently exhibits inverse relationship between coke strength and reactivity. In this context, we look for a novel methodology to develop a coke which has both strength and reactivity together. ( Mentor: Mr A Suresh, E-Mail: asuresh@tatasteel.com)

Coke is one of the raw materials used in the blast furnace. It is being produced in the coke ovens. The volatile matter comes out from the battery in the form of coke oven gas also contain coal tar. This coal tar is being precipitated and separated in the downstream process. The coal tar can be converted into coal tar pitch by different methods such as , distillation. We are looking for the ideas to produce the needle coke from the coal tar pitch or different oils produced from the coal tar distillation. ( Mentor: Vimal K Chandaliya, E-Mail: vkchandaliya@tatasteel.com)

In Ironmaking blast furnace BF top gas is burnt in stoves to heat the incoming cold blast and the flue gas containing CO2 and N2 are released to atmosphere through chimney after removal of all the possible heat and dust. This is a major source of C footprint for steel companies. If this gas could be used somehow for producing C, CO or any other chemical or fuel, keeping the economics of the process in mind, it will be great relief to steel industries from carbon credit. Suitable processes can be developed for this purpose using waste or scrap of other materials. ( Mentor: Dr Prakash Abhale, E-Mail: prakash.abhale@tatasteel.com)

The handling of RO reject water is a worldwide problem. Reject generated during membrane treatments contains pollutant (chloride) concentration almost 4-5 times of feed. The available technologies for the treatment of reject are multi effect evaporation, natural evaporation or solar evaporation. The disadvantages associated with these technologies are high energy requirement and high space requirement respectively. We are searching a technology/methodology which can work at low pressure and low temperature but as effective as multi effect evaporation and less space requirement than natural or solar evaporation. ( Mentor: Apurva Sinha, E-Mail: apurva.sinha@tatasteel.com)

BOF slag is the main by-product from primary steelmaking. Disposal of huge amount of BOF slag and its effective utilization is the main concern for the steel industry. The cementitious nature of silicates in the BOF slag suggests that it is possible to use it in cement making application. The glassy phases present in the solidified BOF slag has more hydration potential compared with the crystalline phases. However, the strong crystallization ability of the high basicity BOF slag leaves the glassy formation of the slag a challenge. Even under rapid cooling condition, the major phase is di-calcium silicate (C2S) and the glass phase is hardly formed. So, we are searching a method to increase glassy content in the BOF slag. ( Mentor: Nilamadhaba Sahu, E-Mail: nilamadhaba.sahu@tatasteel.com)

Microtexture of coke impacts its strength and reactivity. The technique of coke microscopy is still a matter of research and its human dependency restricts its practical application. Presently, it is being done by manual method. We are searching a machine intelligence based method which will have less error and better repeatability. Challenge is to find the best methodology to judge coke strength and reactivity in terms of its micro-texture and microstructure and then develop a process of evaluating coke through image processing and automation. ( Mentor: Rashmi, E-Mail: dr.rashmi@tatasteel.com)

There are conducting metallic alloys and conducting polymers available in the commercial market. Because of the conducting property, these are being used for various applications. Ceramic materials have been used generally for electrical insulation, high temperature resistance, anti-corrosion and wear resistance, Some of the ceramics has got good mechanical and physical properties but uses is limited because of electrical insulation in nature. There are several challenges to convert these ceramic materials into conducting ceramics. Challenges of dissolving, fast melting, casting, alloying, shaping, inter/intra interaction bonding etc.,. Idea invited to find a process to make conducting ceramics which can be an independent thin sheet/block or as a coating on substrates. ( Mentor: Tapan K Rout, E-Mail: tapankumarrout@tatasteel.com)

Commercial production of electrical steel with 6.5 wt% Si is still a faraway dream despite enormous research at laboratory stage. The steels are game changer in electrical industry compared to the existing 3.5 wt % Si steels for its low core losses, maximum permeability and extremely small coefficient of magneto-striction. Any increase in Si more than 3.5 wt%, makes it practically impossible to process it economically at large scale. Chemical vapour deposition method to produce the steels exists but it works at much smaller scale and also uneconomical to scale up. Since steel having 6.5% Si will be difficult to process, the proposal is to garner the idea that even a coating of desired composition (steel with 6.5% Si) can render a similar effect. The challenge is to find a way to do the coating uniformly and in a manner which can be scaled up, such as increasing Si content by diffusion at high temperatures, etc. ( Mentor: Sarbari Ganguly, E-Mail: sarbari.ganguly@tatasteel.com)

Iron and Steel Industry has undergone numerous changes over the decades on process, product and services front. With advent of new technologies such as AI, internet of things, 3D Printing, sensors, digital intervention, the steel industry is anticipating disruptive changes. We are inviting you to propose an idea, value proposition on technology front that could make a change in steel industry. The idea may come from a different industry or an interdisciplinary stream with a potential of value creation in steel industry on product quality, process efficiency, industrial safety, process automation, enhancing customer experience, new product design (from steel), energy conservation fronts. ( Mentor: Munish Sudan, E-Mail: munish.sudan@tatasteel.com)