As a part of the R&D initiative undertaken by Numaligarh Refinery (NRL), a Memorandum of Agreement had been entered into with the Indian Institute of Technology, Guwahati. The objective was to develop technology aimed at the production of marketable Grade Green Activated Carbon derived from bamboo dust.

It had been stated that bamboo dust would be generated during the process of preparing bamboo chips, which was in connection to the establishment of the 2nd Generation Bio-Refinery by NRL through its joint venture company, Assam Bio-Refinery. Within the framework of this project, a plant with a capacity of 5 MT per batch was intended to be established. The purpose of this plant was to manufacture green activated carbon by subjecting bamboo dust to pyrolysis. An additional aspect of this R&D project was the pursuit of technology for the creation of a chemically activated carbon of very high quality. This particular grade of activated carbon would find applications within the pharmaceutical, electronics, and mining sectors.

The responsibility of signing the agreement on behalf of NRL had been undertaken by Nikunja Borthakur, Senior Chief General Manager (Corporate Affairs). On the other side, Prof G Krishnamoorthy, Dean of the Indian Institute of Technology, Guwahati (IITG), had represented the institution during the agreement signing.

The event of the signing ceremony had been witnessed by various individuals, including Sanjay Choudhuri, Director (Finance) of NRL; Prof Senthilmurugan Subbiah from IITG, and senior officials from both NRL and IIT Guwahati.

The collaborative project between the industry and academia was set to be carried out, thereby contributing to the enhancement of capabilities for both NRL and IIT Guwahati. This would be achieved through the exchange of pertinent data and information sharing.

Also read: 
SECL signs agreement for maiden open-cast mining
Power Mech Projects wins dual contracts for O&M, Sand Mining Ventures