Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay in Collaboration with Monash University, Australia Accolades Student for Research!

Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay awarded Vikram Vishal, a PhD for his research in investigation of carbon dioxide sequestration and recovery of methane from seams, under the IITB-Monash Research Academy. This is a joint venture if IIT, Bombay and Monash University , Australia.

Being the first candidate ro appear for the academy’s first pibliv viva voce and be awarded for it. His thesis centres around capturing carbon dioxide that is released when coal is burnt and injected back into rock deep underground, so that it is not released into the atmosphere.

Apart from being awarded a gold medal from the University of Calcutta in geology and winning the ‘young scientist of 2011’ award, Vishal has identified sustainable methods to prevent the release of carbon emissions in the atmosphere.

Emphasising about the environmental research of his research, Vishal says, “The universal concern of this century is to analyse issues surrounding greenhouse gas emissions . The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change has identified that the average global atmospheric temperature is on a rise, primarily due to huge emission of carbon dioxide."

Vishal mimicked the underground coal environment to verify the passage and storageod carbon dioxide over space and in time. He advanced experimental methodology, under the supervision of TN Singh from IIT-B and PG Ranjith, associate professor of Monash university, to inspect the flow of injected carbon dioxide in liquid and supercritical states in coal. Explaining the benefits, he says, "This will not only help contribute to a sustainable earth but also lead to enhanced recovery of methane. We can also benefit from trapping cleaner fuel - natural gas. My vision is to apply this research towards India's commitment to mitigate our contributions in global warming while we are still developing ," he adds.

However, the assessment of storage potential of CO2 in Indian rocks is very little, especially coal. "Hence, this research is directed to understand the response of coal under scenarios of CO2 injection." Vishal established that nearly three volumes of CO2 can be stored for every volume of methane tapped from the Indian coal fields in Jharkhand and West Bengal, in his research.

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