About Us

The Department of Chemical Engineering, established in the year 1968 along with the inception of the college, is one of the oldest Chemical Engineering Departments in Gujarat. Since then it has made remarkable contributions in the field of Chemical Engineering and its alumni has occupied eminent positions in the industry, academic and research institutions in India as well as abroad. The first batch of Engineers came out in 1973. In 1983, the roots of Chemical Engineering Department became even stronger with the introduction of Post Graduate Programme. In addition to this, department has achieved remarkable milestone of NBA accreditation of five years for both PG and UG programme in 1998 due to its best performance at all stages and currently has 5-year NBA accreditation for the UG program (2008-2012).

Because of its excellent infrastructure, with reference to classrooms, laboratories and pilot plant equipments to help in research and development, the department has made a name for itself in the industrial sector. The curriculum of Chemical Engineering is continuously being modified and upgraded in accordance with the industrial requirements.

The IPCL library at the institute possesses a good collection of Chemical Engineering books, journals and periodicals which enables the students to keep track of the latest technological developments. This in turn has given a great impetus to them, hence leading to higher academic involvement. The support has further encouraged students to undergo rigorous work in the field of research.

In general, the academic pass out rate is 100 %, of which , 76 % are distinction holders and remaining first class holders. On an average, 10 % of the students are successful in GATE examinations. About 20 % of the students go abroad for further studies in prestigious institutions all over the world.

Facilities in the Department

The Department of Chemical Engineering at DDU has a well maintained computer laboratory to aid student’s in their work. The computer laboratory has 20 PCs and 20 terminals connected to two Pentium based servers. The department is one of the few institutes to possess two Sun Workstations along with advance simulation software such as ASPEN PLUS®, MATLAB®, GAMS, Gambit and HTRI. These softwares are used to design and simulate various processes and process equipments like scrubbers, distillation columns, absorbers, reactors & heat exchangers apart from property estimation. MATLAB®, with its toolboxes like Artificial Neural Networks, Optimisation, Simulink, Fuzzy Logic etc., is much needed kit for research. Department also has ME simulation laboratory with 20 computers, 2 printers and servers.

The Fluid Flow Operations laboratory is well equipped to help students understand the fluid flow phenomena. The laboratory has Bernoulli’s apparatus, Reynolds experimental setup, packed bed column, different types of pumps, various flow measuring devices etc.

Heat Transfer Laboratory is equipped to study all forms of heat transfer, namely convention, conduction and radiation. Apart from these, the laboratory has various heat exchangers and equipment for studying the phenomena of boiling and condensation. All these are compatible with the industrial designs and hence give the student’s a first hand experience. Laboratory is also equipped with diesel generated steam boiler to conduct the various experiments.

Mechanical Operation laboratory supplements the theory learnt in classes. It has equipments like pulverisers, grinders, centrifugal separators, crushers, thickeners, filter press etc., all of which are pilot plant scale. The department posesses a sophisticated automatic particle size analyser. A pilot plant for studying sedimentation is also available with the department.

The Mass Transfer laboratory has experimental setup for all the basic mass transfer operations like distillation, drying, absorption, adsorption, leaching etc. This laboratory has extraction and distillation units each of 10 litres capacity. The distillation column can also be used for vacuum distillation studies. The other equipments include packed bed distillation column, tray drier, fluidised bed drier and humidification unit. All of these can be used for pilot plant studies.

The Process Control laboratory is equipped with sophisticated instruments. The department has a pilot plant scale simulation setup, with each equipment attached to a computer and manual control gadgets to study transport phenomena and liquid level fluid flow. The Process Control lab has equipments to study the process behavior in open loop liquid level measurements along with the equipment to measure temperature using thermisters. Thus, the Process Control lab gives students first hand experience in controlling processes using computers which is the need of the hour.

The Chemical Reaction Engineering laboratory is one of the very well equipped laboratories in the department. The laboratory possessses a GLASS LINED REACTOR equipped with an agitator, which can be used for preliminary studies by making necessary modifications. This department has produced two award winning M.Tech. thesis titled ” Steady State Multiplicity of Hydrolysis of Acetic Anhydride in CSTR in Series ” and ” Heat Transfer Studies in Half Coiled Jacket ” under the able guidance of Dr.N.S.Jayakumar.

Transport Phenomena laboratory has an experimental setup for measurement of mass transfer coefficients of solid-liquid systems, efflux time apparatus, heat transfer measurement, pin fin control setup, etc. The laboratory also has a Brook Field Viscometer for direct viscosity measurements.

Advanced Instrumentation laboratory is also a well equipped laboratory with latest advanced instruments to boost the research conducted by PG and PhD students of department. The laboratory is facilitated with instruments like HPLC, GC, FTIR, BET surface area analyzer, TOC, Spectrofluorometer, UV-NIS Spectrophotometer, Contact Angle, Atomic absorption spectrophotometer.

The Chemistry Department assists the Department of Chemical Engineering. The Chemistry Department has organic, inorganic and physical chemistry laboratories necessary for proper understanding fundamentals of Chemistry. This Department has experienced and qualified faculty members.

With Biotechnology slowly gaining importance, the Biotechnology Laboratory at DDIT offers research facilities like autoclave, automatic computer controlled biofermenter with pH, temperature, and Dissolved oxygen controllers, and incubator, centrifuge, sterilizer, Tissue culture hood, Jar shaker, colony counter, electronic microscope, etc.

The testing laboratory at DDIT has apparatus according to IS/IP/ASTM standards and has been accredited by IDST. The equipments available can be used in evaluation of petroleum and its fractions. This laboratory also possesses pH meters, turbidity meters, T.D.S measuring devices, and COD and BOD testing equipment for the primary and secondary analysis of industrial effluents. The laboratory also has equipment for Gas Chromatography and UV Spectrophotometer.

Research & Development

The faculty members because of their high academic qualifications from reputed Institutions have a great potential for advanced research and development programmes. This was the reason for the introduction of M.E programme as early as 1982. Quality projects have been carried out at the M.E. level by the students with good guidance from faculty members. Many of the projects have got awards and have received acceptance in the industry. Thrust areas of the research for the department are as under

• Surface Science & Nanotechnology

–         Catalysis

–         Polymer nanocomposites

–         Condensed matter

–         Targeted drug delivery

• Computer-aided Design & Control

–         Computational fluid dynamics

–         Scheduling and optimization

–         Process control

• Environmental Engineering

–         Pollution prevention through process modifications

–         Pollution control strategies

–         Solid waste management

Total 38 publications are generated including 26 national and 12 international due to potentional growth of research in department. Five patents are registered at national and international level by the faculty of department. Three book chapters have been written by the faculty of department. Faculty has also presented their research work at seven international and fifteen national conferences in the last five years.

Grants and Funding

Department has got grants and funding from various sources as under

Sr.No.	Agency	Project	Amount	Years
1.	Government of Gujarat	Anchor Institute in the Chemical and Petrochemicals Sector.	Rs.10 Crores	2009-2012
2.	Government of Gujarat	Center for Surface Science and Nanotechnology	Rs.3.5 Crores	2008-2011
3.	Department of Human Resources, Government of India	Developing Community Polytechnic Program.	Rs.71 Lakhs	2010-2013
4.	University Grant Commission	M.Tech. in Chemical Engineering with Specialization in Surface Science and Nanotechnology	Rs.45.5 Lakhs (Rs.31.5 Lakhs for 2010-11)	2010-2015
5.	Gujarat Council for Science & Technology	Center of Excellence in Nano catalysis -Development & Application	Rs.28.5 Lakhs	2009-2012
6.	Department of Science and Technology Govt .of India, New Delhi	Young Scientist Award	Rs.17 Lakhs	2010-2013
7.	GSFC Science Foundation R&D	Nano Technology to Provide Clean Drinking Water in Developing Nations: Poor Mans’s Filter	Rs.10.27 Lakhs	2010-2013
8.	Alps Chemicals	R&D Project	Rs.2 Lakhs	2009-2011
9.	Newraka Chemicals	R&D Project	Rs.5 Lakhs	2010-2011
10.	Reena Chemicals	R&D Project	Rs.1.55 Lakhs	2010-2011
11.	Jani Chemicals	R&D Project	Rs.2.88 Lakhs	2010-2011
12.	Universal Medicare	R&D Project	Rs.1.98 Lakhs	2010-2011
13.	GUJCOST	Separation of Solvents using emulsion liquid membranes	Rs. 4.50 lakhs	2007-2009
14.	TEQIP (World Bank) grant	Technical education quality improvement program	Rs. 1.8 crores	2005-2008

PG Programme

The department has M.Tech Programme in Chemical Engineering with a intake of 18 students specializing in Computer Aided Design and Environmental Engineering.  Seven students are pursuing their PhD from the department.

Industry Institute Interaction

One of the remarkable features after autonomy is that the students have to undergo training / project work in industry as partial fulfillment of the degree. The training period extends to 16 weeks. During this time, the students get an opportunity to learn about the practical aspects of Chemical Engineering. The faculty members regularly visit the industry to raise and maintain high standard of education through interaction. Campus recruitment takes place every year by reputed industries like Reliance Industries Ltd., GSFC, GACL, IPCL, United Phosphorus Ltd., Tata Chemicals, GHCL, etc as well as the telecom giant MBT. A GSFC Science Foundation Chair has been established in our institute. Every year, this chair is awarded to an outstanding Chemical Engineer of international repute. In 1996, a new separate building for library was built with a generous donation from IPCL. The Institute conducts workshops and seminars for the benefit of industrial personnels. It is good example of industry-institute relationship. As a part of this activity, department has got various projects from different industries like GSFC, Alps Chemicals, Newraka Chemicals, Universal Medicaps and Jani Clays, Rina Chemicals.

The department has established a center for Surface Science and Nano Technology in which ten industries like Asian Paints, Sun Pharma, Galaxy Surfactants etc are paying Rs 15 lakhs each to become founding members of the center. Environmental audit cell conducts environmental audit in 41 process industries in state of Gujarat under Gujarat Pollution Control Board and doing consulting activity up to Rs 80 Lakhs per year as a result of good Industry Institute Interaction activity. In addition to this, several industries come forward to solve their technical problems, process modifications and get clearance certificates from the departmental faculty. Industrial experts are also invited to deliver lectures, conduct practical exams, vivas and give their input on course curricula and syllabus.

Student Activities

Various extracurricular activities are carried out at the Institute and a large number of students participate in the events. Every year, Cultural week is observed which includes talent evenings, quiz competition, dumb charades, skits, antakshari, etc. In addition to this, a technical paper presentation event named ‘Turbulence’ is also organized where students get a platform to present their research and review works. Other non-technical symposia are also organized occasionally.

To bring out the physical talents of students, extensive sports facilities are provided. Students take part in various sports like cricket, basketball, badminton, table tennis, hockey, football, volleyball, etc. All such activities give an impetus to the all round progress of the students which will be helpful to them in their future endeavors.

ISTE Chapter, DDIT

The Indian Society for Technical Education (ISTE), Chapter at DDIT, Nadiad was started in 1985 and every year special lecture series and seminars are arranged under its aegis. These seminars and lecture series are delivered by eminent personalities from academic institutions and the industry. These events, in general, enrich the knowledge of students and make them more confident and interested in their area of specialization.

IIChE Nadiad Regional Center

Indian Institute of Chemical Engineers (IIChE), Nadiad Regional Center, was incepted on the 26th September 1999. It was a day to remember for all those Chemical Engineering fraternity at DDIT and the whole Nadiad region. A new Regional center of Indian Institute of Chemical Engineers was inaugurated by then President of the very professional body, Prof. (Dr.) N.Subrahmanyam, in the presence of Dr. H.M.Desai, Director, DDIT and other dignitaries. Since then, attempts have been made to boost up industry-institute interaction by way of conduction expert lectures, workshops and industrial visits.

IIChE Students’ Chapter Activities

The Indian Institute of Chemical Engineers Student’s Chapter at DDIT, Nadiad was started in the Department of Chemical Engineering in 1996. Under its aegis, 17 lectures like Distributed Control System, Role of Chemical Engineers and Emerging Trends in Biotechnology, etc. were arranged. These lectures were delivered by eminent personalities from industry and academic institutions, such as Prof. (Dr.) A.P.Kudchadkar, former Dy. Director, Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay, Prof. (Dr.) J.B.Joshi, UDCT, Bombay and Prof. (Dr.) N.Subrahmanyam, President, IIChE. At present, 85 % of the Chemical Engineering students of DDIT are members of IIChE.

For the past nine years in succession, COLLISION ’1998, COLLISION ’1999, COLLISION ’2000, COLLISION ’2001 , COLLISION ’2002 , COLLISION ’2003 , COLLISION ’2004 , COLLISION ’2005 and COLLISION ’2006 an international Chemical Engineering Student’s meet, were held at DDIT, Nadiad. These meets, jointly organized by the IIChE Student’s Chapter and the Department of Chemical Engineering, DDIT, Nadiad, were a grand success.

Seeing the overwhelming response from the industry as well as the academia, this year too, the Department of Chemical Engineering, DDIT, Nadiad takes pride to organize a national level Chemical Engineering Student’s meet named ‘COLLISION 2007′.