Dr. Vineet Examines India’s Bio-Based Future & Green Technologies
In this insightful conversation with Dr. Subramanian Iyer of Neo Science Hub, Dr. Vineet Aniya, Senior Scientist at CSIR-IICT, Hyderabad, shares his journey from a curious engineering student to a pioneering researcher in sustainable chemical technologies. With a strong foundation in process engineering and a Ph.D. on enhanced distillation techniques, Dr. Vineet has contributed significantly to the development of biodegradable plastics, biodiesel, and life-cycle assessment tools. Through his deep understanding of both science and industry, he discusses the critical role of process intensification, renewable feedstocks, and emerging technologies like Spin Basket Reactors in shaping a cleaner, greener future for India and the global chemical engineering landscape.
Can you tell our viewers how did you come here and what was your incursion, how did you manage to come to IICT?
I completed my Bachelor of Technology in Chemical Engineering from Ujjain Engineering College. During my undergraduate studies, my professor, L.S. Thakur, advised me to seek internships in pallet plants. Following his advice, I visited Nagda and Pritampur, areas known for their abundance of pallet plants. There, I visited a plant at Lanxess India Private Limited, specializing in thionyl chloride. Observing the pallet plant firsthand, I was immediately fascinated. While I understood the engineering behind plant operations, I became deeply curious about the fundamental chemistry and the science that underpinned the plant’s operations.
This initial exposure was significant—it occurred during my third year in 2011 and sparked my interest in understanding how chemical reactions could transition from micro-scale experiments in laboratories to kilo-scale, and eventually to bulk production. That moment was pivotal; it marked my first meaningful interaction with applied science and kindled my passion for pursuing a career in scientific research and engineering.
Motivated by this experience, I aspired to find an institution where I could further explore and apply these scientific concepts at an advanced and practical level. Upon reaching my final year, I took the Graduate Aptitude Test in Engineering (GATE) and, by God’s grace, achieved good marks.
Subsequently, I noticed an opportunity when the Council of Scientific & Industrial Research (CSIR) released a notification seeking talented young individuals interested in pursuing M.Tech and Ph.D. programs, with the potential to become future scientists within CSIR institutes. Although I was enrolled at IIT Kharagpur, pursuing my Master’s, the focus there was more academically oriented. The position offered by CSIR promised significant exposure to practical research and development, which strongly resonated with my professional aspirations.
Thus, in 2012, I applied for and joined the Indian Institute of Chemical Technology (IICT), switching from IIT Kharagpur to Hyderabad. This decision marked the beginning of my meaningful journey in research and engineering here at IICT. Since then, I’ve had the privilege to continually expand my knowledge and expertise. Now, as we speak in 2025, it has been nearly 14 enriching years of service and learning. I look forward to continuing this fulfilling journey in scientific research and contributing further to the field of chemical engineering.
From that time to this time, what are the opportunities and challenges you think in process engineering?
Process engineering today acts as a critical bridge between chemistry and industrial-scale production, primarily driven by chemical engineers. This discipline, traditionally robust, has continuously evolved by adopting innovative principles and integrating modern technological advancements. Over the years, significant transformations have been introduced, including process intensification, artificial intelligence integration, and automation, fundamentally changing how processes are designed, executed, and optimized.
Presently, the primary opportunities in process engineering revolve around scaling lab-based technologies effectively to industrial and commercial applications. This scaling requires collaborative efforts across various engineering disciplines—chemical, mechanical, instrumentation, and automation engineering—ensuring processes not only function efficiently at scale but also remain economically viable and environmentally sustainable. With the global shift towards sustainability, especially in the context of India’s ambitious decarbonization goals by 2047, process engineers now face the exciting opportunity to pioneer advanced practices that significantly reduce environmental impact.
Among the key challenges process engineers must address is the transition toward sustainable sources, especially bio-based feedstocks. As fossil fuels gradually deplete, sustainable and renewable raw materials have become imperative. Process engineers today must not only identify and evaluate these alternative resources but also develop technologies that efficiently convert them into commercially viable products such as biofuels, polymers, and specialty chemicals.
Another significant challenge lies in ensuring accuracy and efficiency from the onset—avoiding costly trial-and-error methods. Today, advanced computational tools, including artificial intelligence-driven simulation software, such as Aspen Plus and MATLAB, allow for precise predictions of plant performance, significantly enhancing operational reliability and cost-effectiveness.
Moreover, process engineering now extensively involves life-cycle assessments, a critical tool in understanding the environmental footprints of products and processes from inception through their end-of-life stages. This comprehensive approach is increasingly becoming mandatory for industries, reflecting a deeper commitment to sustainability and environmental stewardship.
Emerging technological advancements, such as flow reactors, represent further opportunities. Historically, batch reactors dominated, especially in the pharmaceutical industry; however, current trends emphasize continuous flow systems, offering significant improvements in safety, efficiency, and environmental performance. Given Hyderabad’s prominence as a pharmaceutical hub, there’s substantial opportunity for integrating these innovative continuous-flow reactor technologies, reducing reaction times, enhancing yield, and improving overall economic feasibility.
So, today’s process engineers must embrace a wide-ranging approach, blending traditional engineering skills with novel technological expertise. This interdisciplinary approach not only addresses contemporary challenges like sustainability and process efficiency but also positions process engineering as a pivotal discipline in shaping India’s industrial future.
You have a very highly cited paper on biodiesel. Can you please tell our viewers about that?
Thank you for mentioning this paper; it holds a special place in my research journey, being the very first publication of my career. When I initially joined IICT, I became part of a significant project funded by the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE), focusing specifically on biodiesel as an alternative fuel to conventional diesel.
The core challenge we addressed was identifying a sustainable feedstock for biodiesel production, preferably one that wouldn’t compete directly with food resources. Globally, particularly in developed countries, used edible cooking oils often serve as feedstock for biodiesel. However, this approach has limited feasibility in India due to distinct consumption practices, where cooking oil is typically used until completely exhausted. Therefore, our research aimed to find an alternative that could be sustainably grown and harvested, yet not enter the human food chain. We identified Karanja oil, derived from the seeds of the Pongamia tree, as an ideal candidate due to its abundant availability and non-edible nature.
The paper extensively detailed our work on producing biodiesel through esterification and transesterification of Karanja oil. A notable highlight of our research was tackling significant engineering challenges, particularly mass transfer limitations encountered during the chemical conversion process. These limitations, inherent in the chemical reaction between oil and alcohol, required careful study and optimization. We thoroughly analyzed parameters such as residence time, mixing patterns, temperature, and pressure, applying rigorous process intensification strategies to significantly enhance reaction efficiency and yield.
Our study not only resolved the inherent mass-transfer barriers but also established a comprehensive engineering model. This model served as a predictive tool, enabling accurate simulation and optimization of reaction conditions for different scenarios. By incorporating this model, it became feasible to reliably upscale biodiesel production from laboratory scale to pilot scale—and eventually to commercial scale—with predictable and consistent results.
Following our research findings, a biodiesel pilot plant was successfully set up at IICT, serving as a practical demonstration of our theoretical and experimental work. However, despite the technological advancements and initial enthusiasm, the practical implementation faced hurdles due to insufficient plantation of Karanja trees across the country. Although the government’s policy initiative was commendable, the plantation scale necessary for commercial viability wasn’t adequately met, causing temporary setbacks.
Currently, researchers, including our team, are continuing to explore additional sustainable feedstocks and innovative process improvements to overcome existing limitations. Overall, this biodiesel project and the resulting publication marked a significant milestone in my professional journey, profoundly influencing my approach toward sustainable chemical engineering and continuing to inform my ongoing research interests.
I also know that you work on tert-butyl alcohol as a fuel. Now is this complementing or is it competing with biodiesel?
That’s an interesting point you’ve raised. Actually, tert-butyl alcohol and biodiesel serve completely different purposes, so they’re neither competing nor directly complementing each other.
In my Ph.D. work, I focused primarily on tert-butyl alcohol, particularly its dehydration process. This alcohol forms an azeotropic mixture with water, making separation challenging. My goal was to develop effective methods, specifically using enhanced distillation techniques, to achieve high purity tert-butyl alcohol. This purified alcohol then serves as a critical component for producing MTBE, which is an important additive to gasoline. MTBE helps improve the octane number and performance of gasoline engines, making them more efficient and cleaner-burning.
On the other hand, as we’ve discussed earlier, biodiesel is quite distinct. It is derived from renewable sources like Karanja oil, primarily as an eco-friendly alternative to conventional diesel. The aim here is to lower emissions, enhance sustainability, and reduce dependence on fossil fuels.
So, in essence, tert-butyl alcohol and biodiesel occupy entirely different segments of the fuel industry. While biodiesel addresses sustainability concerns in diesel engines, tert-butyl alcohol derivatives like MTBE target gasoline engines. Both play crucial but separate roles in the broader objective of creating cleaner and more efficient fuels.
My next question to you is about sustainability. Can you educate our young viewers about this?
Sustainability has become quite a buzzword today, but understanding its essence is crucial, especially for our younger viewers. If you look back three or four centuries ago, society naturally operated in sustainable ways. But with rapid industrialization and modernization, we drifted away from those practices. Now, with resources becoming increasingly scarce, we’re returning to the basics—relearning how to use our resources wisely.
So, what exactly is sustainability? Simply put, it’s about using resources in a way that they don’t get permanently depleted. Unlike fossil fuels, which once consumed are gone forever, sustainable resources can regenerate naturally, or at least be reused or recycled. At the end of their life cycle, these materials go back to nature harmlessly—completing a full circle.
At IICT, we’ve been particularly active in developing sustainable solutions, especially biodegradable plastics. As an example, India is one of the largest producers of corn starch, and this starch can be transformed into a plastic-like material. We modified this corn starch using nanocellulose—a natural filler—to create a compostable thermoplastic. This was then blended with another compostable polymer to produce everyday products like carry bags. In fact, one of our technologies is now commercially used by Greenworks India, a subsidiary of Apollo Pharmacy. If you visit their stores, you’ll find compostable bags proudly displaying IICT’s logo. So, it’s exciting to see our sustainable practices being implemented on such a significant scale.
Sustainability also has strategic implications for India. Currently, we rely heavily on importing synthetic raw materials—especially from countries like China—for pharmaceuticals and specialty chemicals. While competing directly with these synthetic industries is difficult due to their decades of advancement, India has a unique opportunity to lead by using bio-based, sustainable alternatives. Although these bio-based solutions might seem expensive now, their true value will become clear when traditional resources become scarce in the future. This way, India can position itself strongly in the global market with sustainable, renewable products.
Overall, sustainability is about thoughtful resource management and long-term thinking. It’s not just about protecting our environment—though that is critical—but also about creating opportunities for innovation, economic growth, and ensuring a stable future for generations to come.
Now let’s talk about life cycle. How will a chemical-based product achieve a life cycle?
Yes, life-cycle assessment is indeed becoming increasingly important, especially in chemical engineering. To put it simply, life-cycle assessment is a method of evaluating a product’s environmental impact throughout its entire existence—from the moment raw materials are harvested until the final product reaches its end-of-life stage and is disposed of or recycled.
Let me illustrate this clearly with an example from our own work at IICT. Consider biodegradable plastics derived from corn starch. When we conduct a life-cycle assessment, we start right from the agricultural stage: How was the corn grown? What resources and energy were consumed during cultivation? Did any fertilizers or chemicals affect the soil or air quality? Every step matters.
Next, we look at the industrial processing phase, when the harvested corn is transformed into starch granules. Here, electricity usage comes into play—how was that electricity produced? Was it from coal-fired power plants, renewable sources, or hydroelectric dams? Each method has different environmental impacts, especially regarding carbon emissions.
Following that, the starch granules undergo further processing, becoming thermoplastic granules, and eventually the plastic product itself—say, a compostable bag. During its usage phase, we assess whether there are any additional environmental considerations.
Finally, and importantly, we evaluate the disposal phase. When the plastic bag decomposes, it again releases carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. A thorough life-cycle assessment measures all these factors, creating a comprehensive environmental footprint—often expressed in terms of emissions, energy usage, and waste generation.
These assessments have become critical today. Companies and regulatory bodies increasingly demand this data, making life-cycle assessment almost mandatory, particularly in the pharmaceutical and chemical industries. It helps companies clearly identify and minimize environmental impacts at every stage, ensuring that sustainability becomes central to product development, not just an afterthought.
Ultimately, this approach isn’t just about environmental compliance; it’s about creating genuinely sustainable products that can thrive economically while protecting our planet.
You are using technology, for example, SpinChem Rotating Bed Reactor (RBR). Can you brief us about what are your plans, what applications you will be using it for?
Yes, this SpinChem Rotating Bed Reactor (RBR) technology is indeed quite fascinating, and we’ve been exploring its potential at IICT. We were introduced to it around three or four years ago, and it caught our attention because of its unique capability in process intensification, which is a major focus of our research.
Initially, when we worked on biodiesel production, one of the biggest hurdles was mass-transfer limitations. Essentially, the reaction faced challenges because of the slow movement or transfer of substances at the molecular level, affecting efficiency. The SpinChem Rotating Bed Reactor (RBR) is specifically designed to reduce these mass-transfer resistances, significantly speeding up reactions and improving overall productivity.
While initially intended for applications involving enzymes or bio-transformations, we quickly realized its broader potential. For example, one major project we’re currently working on is the depolymerization of PET plastics—basically converting waste plastic bottles into useful chemical products. Traditionally, this reaction involves two phases, solid and liquid, creating a barrier that slows down the overall reaction speed. Using conventional reactors, we faced long reaction times and higher energy consumption.
When we implemented the SpinChem Rotating Bed Reactor (RBR), we saw remarkable improvements. Not only did the PET depolymerization happen faster, but the subsequent chemical reactions also began simultaneously—something we hadn’t anticipated initially. This dual functionality drastically shortened the total reaction time. Imagine a reaction normally requiring one hour being completed in just 15 to 30 minutes. That’s a significant leap in efficiency.
Moreover, the reactor helps simplify downstream processing. It neatly separates the reaction product from impurities and catalysts, making the purification stage far more straightforward and cost-effective. Because the reactions typically occur at high temperatures—around 220 degrees Celsius—reducing reaction times by even a small amount can significantly cut energy costs. In larger industrial setups, this translates into substantial economic savings.
We believe that while the Spin Basket Reactor is currently effective, it also has immense potential for further innovation and adaptation. Right now, we are fine-tuning this technology to better align with specific industrial needs—particularly in the pharmaceutical and active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) sectors, where similar intensification and efficiency benefits could be realized. Ultimately, our goal is to integrate such advanced technologies broadly, enhancing industrial processes not just in labs but also at commercial scales, making production faster, safer, cleaner, and more economical.
Where do you think the SpinChem Rotating Bed Reactor (RBR). would be applicable apart from the lab?
That’s an important aspect to discuss. While we initially adopted the SpinChem Rotating Bed Reactor (RBR) technology in our laboratory, we’ve quickly realized its potential goes far beyond just experimental applications. The real strength of this technology is its versatility and the way it intensifies reactions—particularly those involving heterogeneous mixtures or two-phase systems.
Take, for instance, industries dealing with plastic recycling or polymer depolymerization. In a traditional reactor, such processes usually encounter mass-transfer issues due to the presence of solid and liquid phases, causing inefficiencies. Here, the Spin Basket Reactor really shines. Its design inherently tackles these challenges by keeping solids or catalysts contained within the spinning basket. As the reaction progresses, the product moves smoothly out of the basket into the surrounding media, effectively overcoming mass-transfer barriers and simplifying subsequent purification and downstream processing steps.
Beyond polymer recycling, we also see promising applications in pharmaceutical manufacturing, especially considering Hyderabad’s status as a pharmaceutical hub. The pharma sector increasingly favors continuous processing methods over traditional batch reactions for their efficiency and reduced environmental footprint. The compact nature and intensified reaction capability of Spin Basket Reactors make them perfect for continuous processing setups. Companies could integrate these reactors directly into production lines, significantly shrinking plant footprints, lowering energy consumption, and speeding up the overall process.
Additionally, industries involved in bio-based conversions—like biofuels, enzymatic reactions, or biotransformations—could greatly benefit from this technology. It offers a clean, controlled environment for sensitive reactions that require precise conditions to yield high-purity products.
Overall, while initial applications are promising, the SpinChem Rotating Bed Reactor (RBR) real impact lies in scaling up from lab to industrial-scale production. Its flexibility allows customization and adaptation to various industrial requirements, helping companies achieve greater efficiency, sustainability, and economic viability in real-world settings.
India is a developing economy, and a lot of plastics are being used, creating significant pollution. What is your opinion on single-use plastics and how to handle them?
That’s indeed one of the most pressing issues of our time, especially for a developing country like India where plastic consumption is enormous. The problem becomes particularly serious when we talk about single-use plastics—those items that are used once and then discarded, like plastic bags, cutlery, or packaging films. These products often end up in landfills or as litter because they’re not recyclable or are difficult to segregate and reuse. This creates a significant environmental burden.
The Government of India has taken this seriously and introduced legislation in recent years—particularly in 2019 and 2021—to ban around 30 types of single-use plastic items. That’s a strong step in the right direction. But policy alone isn’t enough. We need technological solutions that are scalable, economically viable, and environmentally safe.
At IICT, we’ve been actively working on exactly that. One major effort is the development of biodegradable and compostable plastics. For instance, using thermoplastic starch, which is derived from corn starch—a crop abundantly grown in India—we’ve created a plastic-like material. We reinforce it with nanocellulose, a natural filler, and then blend it with compostable polymers like PBAT to make carry bags. These bags are not just theoretical innovations—they’re already in use. The technology has been transferred to Greenworks India, a subsidiary of Apollo Pharmacy, and if you visit their outlets in Hyderabad, you’ll see bags labeled with IICT’s logo. These bags decompose completely within 150 to 180 days under industrial composting conditions.
But we’re not stopping there. We’re also looking at textile waste, particularly polyester fabrics, which are commonly used in everyday clothing. Most of these end up in garbage once they’ve outlived their use. We’re developing compostable polyesters that can degrade naturally after disposal, offering an eco-friendly alternative to conventional synthetic fibers.
The challenge, however, lies in raw material availability. Many biodegradable polymer precursors like PLA still need to be imported. But things are changing—plants are coming up within India, for example in Uttar Pradesh, to manufacture PLA domestically. Once the ecosystem is in place, we can scale up these biodegradable alternatives and make a real dent in plastic pollution.
At the same time, public awareness is growing, thanks in part to initiatives like Swachh Bharat. People are becoming more conscious of the impact of plastics and are showing interest in sustainable alternatives. It’s a good sign. I strongly believe that by 2050, with continuous research, strong policies, and public participation, India can drastically reduce its plastic pollution and transition toward a cleaner, greener future.
Just for the benefit of viewers, when you say compostable, does it mean it will degrade into soil? Can you explain this clearly?
Yes, that’s a great question—and an important one, especially when we talk about sustainable materials. When we say a material is compostable, we mean that under specific environmental conditions—like the right temperature, moisture, and microbial activity—it will naturally break down into simpler, harmless components.
In more technical terms, compostable materials degrade back into their original carbon-based building blocks—mainly carbon dioxide, water, and biomass—without leaving behind any toxic residue. For example, many of the biodegradable plastics we develop are made from hydrocarbons, just like conventional plastics. But the key difference is that these are designed to decompose under composting conditions.
Let me give you a practical picture. Suppose you have a compostable carry bag made from thermoplastic starch. If you place it in a controlled composting environment—say, an industrial composter that maintains around 50°C with adequate microbial presence—it will break down completely within 150 to 180 days. What remains at the end is not microplastic or waste, but organic matter that can enrich the soil, like a natural fertilizer.
So yes, compostable essentially means the product goes back to the soil, completing a natural cycle. It doesn’t pollute, doesn’t leave fragments behind, and certainly doesn’t clog up landfills. It’s nature-friendly by design.
