An electrochemical cell has highly efficient means of transforming carbon from waste, biomass or coal into energy providing an exhaust stream that is well matched to CO 2 sequestration and may thus underpin a modern, renewable carbon economy. One of the most significant scientific challenges presently is to generate power in the most efficient and economical way possible. Coal fines generated during handling, storage and transportation are remain unutilized and are the important source of energy. This material could be used as solid-state electrolyte in an electrochemical cell by developing a composite compound from coal-based waste to produce electricity.  We are searching a cheap and scalable methodology to produce electricity by utilising coal-based waste in a productive way.
( Mentor: Sovan K Patra, E-Mail: sovan.patra@tatasteel.com)

Industrial waste (Blast furnace slag and LD slag) is the by-products generated during Iron & Steel making process. Global production of steel slag in 2014 has been estimated to 247 million ton. The chemical composition of industrial iron and steel slag is primarily consisting of silica, alumina, calcium oxide, hence it is considered as potential source for the production of silica. One of the fundamental reasons for the difficulties of slag use is that slag has been used through easy and passive way of treatment to produce low value-added product (for example in cement industry).  Hence, the project idea aims to find a method to synthesize high purity nano-silica from industrial slags generated at Tata Steel.  As nano- silica can be used as high value-added material for high value-added applications.
( Mentor: Abhijeet P Moon, E-Mail: abhijeet.moon@tatasteel.com)

Huge quantity of manganese ores is mined every year, and almost 40 % of the total ores are either low grade or sub-grade. These low grades ore are at times beneficiated and upgraded, but the sub-grade ores mostly remain un-utilized. These low and sub-grade ores have Mn (<25 wt.%) apart from Fe(T) <40 wt.%. Manganese carbide is an important additive for many industries, and it can be produced using manganese oxides. We are searching for a method to produce pure and high-quality manganese carbide from low grade Mn ores where presence of iron imposes technoeconomic challenges.
( Mentor: Pankaj Kumar, E-Mail: pankaj.kumar14@tatasteel.com)

During cold rolling of steel, iron sludge is generated in rolling mill which typically constitutes of (30-40%) Fe, (40-50%) rolling oil and rest water. The scale of generation of iron sludge is typically 20 tons/year from a single PLTCM cold rolling mill. Tata steel generates significant quantity of such kinds of sludges at various steel mills. Considering the stringent environmental norms, a selected portion of these sludges is sold at a very nominal cost and the rest is sold for free to external agencies. Tata Steel wishes to find a cost effective and scalable methodology to convert the cold rolling mill sludge to useful material.
( Mentor: Subho Chakraborty, E-Mail: subho.chakraborty@tatasteel.com)

Water is used in WRM to cool down wires during rolling process. This processed water is then cooled in cooling towers before recirculating it back to the system. However, the rollers are lubricated by grease/oil which are carried away during cooling in the cooling water. This water is then sent in sediments and clarifiers to remove the scales, grease and other impurities. However, during continual operation these grease and oil keep on accumulating in the circulated water which further increases the energy consumption of cooling towers and also reduces the efficiency of mills. We are searching for an advanced oxidation process to remove such impurities.( Mentor: Neha Kumari Agarwal, E-Mail: neha.agarwal1@tatasteel.com)

Water is an important resource for steel industry and its reuse and recirculation is very important for sustainability of any industry. There are various technologies for water purification. We are searching for more advance, efficient and automated technology for water treated. Technologies based on advanced oxidation processes (AOPs) and photoreactors are emerging in this area. We need a best durable coated substrate which will be selected for the placement inside the conventional photoreactor used for advanced oxidation processes (AOPs).
( Mentor: Pinakpani Biswas, E-Mail: biswaspinakin@tatasteel.com)

Development of new steels has become more and more challenging, especially developing at industrial scale within the existing facilities. Here’s a challenge to develop a new grade of steel with combination of properties, i.e., not only weldable but formable at strength levels of 1000 to 2000 MPa which can address the needs of future automotive industry requirements for sustainable development. The steel can be either hot or cold rolled but can be processed and produced within the facilities of TATASTEEL, India. It is expected to use existing mathematical models in published literature to design the steels containing C < 0.25 wt.%, Mn < 2 wt.%, Si < 0.2 wt.%, Al < 0.2 wt.% and micro-alloying elements which are necessary to obtain the properties. After designing the chemistry using mathematical models, the alloy can be processed and characterized at R&D or associated labs.
( Mentor: Appa Rao Chintha, E-Mail: apparao@tatasteel.com)

The estimation of dislocation density becomes very important for theoretical modelling to understand the plastic behaviour of material. The practical measurement of dislocation density through experiments is difficult and it is highly depending on the instrument and sample condition. There are few techniques such as transmission electron microscope (TEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), chemical etching, ultrasound, resistivity measurement etc., However, each technique has its own limitation and specific requirement of samples. There is a significant variation in estimating the volume of dislocation using different techniques. Among all the techniques, TEM analysis is found to be the most reliable method for estimating dislocation density on various material. However, TEM technique is tedious and requires very thin sample. Defect analysis in TEM is difficult when the dislocation density is very high, and the microstructure is very complex. It is necessary to develop new experimental method or standard procedure for authentic measurement of dislocation density.  We are looking for a standard experimental method/procedure with less complexity and more reliable process for estimating the dislocation density.
( Mentor: Bhagyaraj Jayabalan, E-Mail: bhagyaraj.jayabalan@tatasteel.com)

Metallurgical calculations for Ultra High Strength Low Alloyed (UHSLA) steel can be realised in simplified way. Conventional micro-alloying elements like Nb, Ti, V, Mo along with C, Mn, Al, Si, Cr, Ni, Cu, Co, B etc. are added to the steel for achieving desired micro-structure and properties after suitable thermo-mechanical processing for specific applications. A methodology is needed for thermodynamic analysis of Zr addition in steel to improve its functional properties. This can help in future new steel product developments.
( Mentor: Nemai Chandra Gorain, E-Mail: nemai@tatasteel.com)