Utkarsh Maheshwari | BITS Pilani (original) (raw)

Papers by Utkarsh Maheshwari

Phthalic anhydride is the organic compound whose applications are mainly in the manufacture of ph... more Phthalic anhydride is the organic compound whose applications are mainly in the manufacture of phthalate plasticizers, phthalocyanine dyes, polyester resins and numerous fine chemicals. It is an anhydride of phthalic acid with a colorless nature. This colorless solid is an important industrial chemical, especially for the large scale production of plasticizers for plastics. Its major outlets are phthalate plasticizers, unsaturated polyesters and alkyd resins for surface coatings while its smaller volume applications include polyester polyols, pigments, dyes, sweeteners and flame retardants The present study illustrates a way of producing phthalic anhydride (PA) in a continuous plant, with 99.8 % wt purity, through the oxidation of o-xylene. Maleic anhydride is also obtained as a by-product of the process with 99.5% wt purity. The process was simulated using the process simulator software ASPEN Plus and improving the purity of Phthalic anhydride obtained by introduction of suitable e...

Formaldehyde, the target product of the present work, is an organic compound representing the mos... more Formaldehyde, the target product of the present work, is an organic compound representing the most elementary configuration of the aldehydes. It behaves as a synthesis baseline for many other chemical compounds, including phenol formaldehyde, urea formaldehyde and melamine resin. The aim of the present work is to reach a 98% conversion of methanol by means of taking out the distillation column and replacing it with a higher duty cooler to bring the product to 37 wt. % of formaldehyde. Simulation was carried out for the formaldehyde production process from the methanol using a silver catalyst. Detailed calculations were performed in this report for all equipment and streams in the plant, taking into account the required process conditions to achieve a production capacity of 60000 tons/year of formalin. Plant’s units and operations were simulated by using the chemical simulation software Aspen plus to gain an optimized position of the operation conditions. With a conversion of 98%, th...

In today's times there is a significant boost in the importance of heavy oil resources as the... more In today's times there is a significant boost in the importance of heavy oil resources as the availability of light, sweet crude oil continues to go down. Heavy-oil resources are difficult to extract, transport and refine. Thus, new technologies have to be built up to efficiently upgrade and considerably improve the properties of heavy oil by reducing viscosity, increasing gravity and getting rid of contaminants. One such technology is Vacuum Distillation process. In vacuum distillation, the pressure over a liquid is greatly reduced in order to allow distillation at relatively low temperatures. The products from vacuum distillation like heavy vacuum gas oil and vacuum residue can be further upgraded to obtain light distillates of petroleum. In the present work, a vacuum distillation process is simulated and optimized using Aspen Plus platform to increase the yield of light vacuum gas oil using parameters like pressure drop in the column, number of stages, target temperature of t...

Natural gas has now become a crucial component of world's supply energy. The demand for natur... more Natural gas has now become a crucial component of world's supply energy. The demand for natural gas has risen drastically over the past few years due to its importance in various industries and also for the domestic purposes. Natural gas need to be purified to meet the quality standards since it contains impurities such as carbon dioxide (CO2) and hydrogen sulfide (H2S), which are the main acid gases and can cause corrosion, reduce the heating and sales value of gas. Aqueous amine solutions are proven to be practical solvents for the treatment of natural gas. By simply changing their amine solutions, many inefficient acid gas removal units can be optimized. Tertiary amines like methyl di-ethanol amine (MDEA) are commonly used for the removal of CO2 from gas mixtures or in gas sweetening processes for the extraction of CO2 and H2S. The use of MDEA has been investigated by using a process simulation program called ASPEN Plus. The results show that, at high pressures, amine mixture...

There are currently vast reserves of heavy oil/natural bitumen in the world, offering a potential... more There are currently vast reserves of heavy oil/natural bitumen in the world, offering a potential boost to energy supplies in the next decade as conventional light oil reservoirs run low. However, recovering and upgrading these sources present an immense technological challenge, due primarily to their high viscosity at reservoir conditions. Currently, inefficient and expensive surface mining techniques are the main methods employed which are associated with a high environmental impact. Technologies such as Steam Assisted Gravity Drainage (SAGD) and Cyclic Steam Stimulation (CSS) are in commercial use, however, the oil produced from these technologies needs expensive surface upgrading and steam consumption is particularly high. Toe-to-Heel Air Injection, or THAI, along with CAtalytic upgrading PRocess In-situ, or CAPRI, offers very high recovery rates along with significant upgrading of the produced oil which adds to the value of produced oil. In the present study, the various In-sit...

On April 20, 2010, BP’s Deepwater Horizon oil rig exploded in the Gulf of Mexico. This turned out... more On April 20, 2010, BP’s Deepwater Horizon oil rig exploded in the Gulf of Mexico. This turned out to be one of the worst environmental disasters in recent history. This high-profile blowout at the Macondo well in the Gulf of Mexico brought the challenges and the perils of drilling into high-pressure, high-temperature (HPHT) fields increasingly into focus. High-pressure, high-temperature fields exist in the Gulf of Mexico, North Sea, Southeast Asia, Africa and the Middle East. Almost a quarter of HPHT operations worldwide is expected to pass on the American continent particularly in North America. There are so many factors that need to be addressed and learned in order to safely overcome the challenges of drilling into and producing from HPHT oil and gas wells. Drilling into HPHT wells is a new frontier for the petroleum and gas industry. The growing need for oil and gas throughout the world is driving the exploration and production industry to look for raw resources. Some of these r...

With an addition in the industrialization and urbanization, there is an increase in the metal pol... more With an addition in the industrialization and urbanization, there is an increase in the metal pollution in the flora and fauna. There is an increase in the demand of finding new ways for the removal of these metals from the effluents of the industries. Adsorption is proven to be an efficient method for the same. To take in the adsorption process more efficient, there is a dire need to find an adsorbent which is capable of removal of multiple metal ions from industrial waste water simultaneously. In the present study, a new adsorbent is developed using neem bark by performing a suitable physical and chemical activation process. This developed activated neem bark is tested for the removal of multiple metal ions such as Cr(VI), Cu(II) and Zn(II) by performing equilibrium batch experiments and found suitable for it. The equilibrium experimental results are analyzed using various isotherm models such as Langmuir and Freundlich.

With a decrease in the conventional reserves available for the recovery of oil, the alternative f... more With a decrease in the conventional reserves available for the recovery of oil, the alternative fossil fuel extraction industry is on a growth. As the development of unconventional oil and gas resources has been progressed, the heterogeneity and complexity of shale gas and tight oil reservoirs have become apparent. In the U.S. primarily shale gas and tight oil is expected to continue growing dramatically in coming decades. According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, an assessment of 137 shale formations are identified in 41 countries other than those identified in U.S. At the local level, though the environmental impacts of shale gas and tight oil development may turn out to be significant. Shale gas and tight oil are unconventional sources of petroleum that are found within the reservoirs with a very low permeability. The oil and gas contained within these reservoir rocks typically will not flow to the wellbore at the economic rates without assistance from technologica...

In last few decades, increase in population growth, industrialization and urbanization resulted i... more In last few decades, increase in population growth, industrialization and urbanization resulted in a growing demand for water. This is leading to water crisis and harmful effect on the environment. Chromium (VI) is one of the toxic heavy metal ions present in various effluent streams coming out from the different industries such as metal finishing, tannery, electroplating, etc. This is considered as one of the most important environmental problems. The solution of this problem is a suitable cost effective and eco-friendly treatment technique. Different treatment techniques are available to treat the effluent streams contaminated with chromium (VI) which includes chemical precipitation, ion exchange, membrane separation, electro-coagulation and chemical reduction. These techniques are not eco-friendly and economically viable for the large volume of wastewater treatment rich in chromium (VI). Adsorption is found to be one of the effective techniques for chromium (VI) removal from effl...

In this rapid industrialization along with an increase in population is leading to a water crisis... more In this rapid industrialization along with an increase in population is leading to a water crisis. This is also causing an environmental destruction. Cadmium, zinc, copper, nickel, lead, mercury and chromium are among some of the metal ions which are often detected in the industrial wastewaters. The sources of these heavy metals ranges from the metal plating, battery manufacture, tanneries, paint manufacture, smelting, mining activities, petroleum refining, pesticides, printing and photographic industries, pigment manufacture, etc., Copper (II) is among one of the most toxic metals found in the infected water. There is a dire need to find a cost-effectively feasible method for the Cu (II) elimination. There are several well-known technologies available in the literature for the recovery of Cu (II) from wastewater, which include chemical precipitation, flotation, biosorption, electrolytic recovery, membrane separation, removal by adsorption on minerals and activated carbon adsorption...

Natural Gas is among the latest alternative source discovered to cater the energy demand with a l... more Natural Gas is among the latest alternative source discovered to cater the energy demand with a less environmental impact. There are a number of contaminants which are complex in nature such as CO 2 , CO, H 2 S, mercaptan and available in Natural Gas at its geological conditions. These may constitute an enhanced environmental hazards when it is left in the atmosphere and will also hamper the natural gas process. Natural gas is to be transferred to the consumers and the most popular way is through pipelines, which becomes uneconomical when dealing with a large distance. The Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) is the more viable options in such situation. The liquefaction process is carried out at a very low temperature (-161 o C) and atmospheric pressure. CO 2 can freeze out on exchanger surface at these conditions resulting in the plugging of lines reducing the plant efficiency. This leads to the need for the removal of CO 2 before liquefaction process. The removal will help not only in hel...

CO 2 flooding is considered one of the most effective tertiary recovery processes in light/medium... more CO 2 flooding is considered one of the most effective tertiary recovery processes in light/medium oil reservoirs and has achieved widespread use in the petroleum industry. However, the complicated displacement mechanisms and reservoir performance involved in the CO 2 injection process have not been completely understood. Monitoring reservoir performance and obtaining accurate information regarding reservoir fluid and injected fluid using field data will help understand the mechanisms and manage the CO 2 injection project efficiently. The objective of the present study is to investigate the possibility of Carbon dioxide injection for Enhanced Oil recovery and to calculate the potential of oil recoveries. A number of parameters affect the minimum miscibility conditions, including chemical compositions of the oil and the injection gas, and the reservoir temperature. It is also believed that physical dispersion can locally have some impact on the minimum miscibility conditions. The proc...

An enhanced oil recovery technique in which an alkaline chemical such as sodium hydroxide, sodium... more An enhanced oil recovery technique in which an alkaline chemical such as sodium hydroxide, sodium orthosilicate or sodium carbonate is injected during polymer flooding or water flooding operations. The alkaline chemical reacts with certain types of oils, forming surfactants inside the reservoir. Eventually, the surfactants reduce the interfacial tension between oil and water and trigger an increase in oil production. In the past several years, there has been renewed interest in enhanced oil recovery (EOR) by alkaline injection. The process is complex to design due to the various reactions that take place between the alkaline chemical and the reservoir rock and fluids. An improved method for enhanced oil recovery is used here utilizing caustic or alkaline water flooding which avoids precipitation of hydroxides in the injection water or plugging of the reservoir. A lignosulfonate material is blended with the injection water before the addition of the alkaline chemical, the amount of l...

Phthalic anhydride is the organic compound whose applications are mainly in the manufacture of ph... more Phthalic anhydride is the organic compound whose applications are mainly in the manufacture of phthalate plasticizers, phthalocyanine dyes, polyester resins and numerous fine chemicals. It is an anhydride of phthalic acid with a colorless nature. This colorless solid is an important industrial chemical, especially for the large scale production of plasticizers for plastics. Its major outlets are phthalate plasticizers, unsaturated polyesters and alkyd resins for surface coatings while its smaller volume applications include polyester polyols, pigments, dyes, sweeteners and flame retardants The present study illustrates a way of producing phthalic anhydride (PA) in a continuous plant, with 99.8 % wt purity, through the oxidation of o-xylene. Maleic anhydride is also obtained as a by-product of the process with 99.5% wt purity. The process was simulated using the process simulator software ASPEN Plus and improving the purity of Phthalic anhydride obtained by introduction of suitable e...

Formaldehyde, the target product of the present work, is an organic compound representing the mos... more Formaldehyde, the target product of the present work, is an organic compound representing the most elementary configuration of the aldehydes. It behaves as a synthesis baseline for many other chemical compounds, including phenol formaldehyde, urea formaldehyde and melamine resin. The aim of the present work is to reach a 98% conversion of methanol by means of taking out the distillation column and replacing it with a higher duty cooler to bring the product to 37 wt. % of formaldehyde. Simulation was carried out for the formaldehyde production process from the methanol using a silver catalyst. Detailed calculations were performed in this report for all equipment and streams in the plant, taking into account the required process conditions to achieve a production capacity of 60000 tons/year of formalin. Plant’s units and operations were simulated by using the chemical simulation software Aspen plus to gain an optimized position of the operation conditions. With a conversion of 98%, th...

In today's times there is a significant boost in the importance of heavy oil resources as the... more In today's times there is a significant boost in the importance of heavy oil resources as the availability of light, sweet crude oil continues to go down. Heavy-oil resources are difficult to extract, transport and refine. Thus, new technologies have to be built up to efficiently upgrade and considerably improve the properties of heavy oil by reducing viscosity, increasing gravity and getting rid of contaminants. One such technology is Vacuum Distillation process. In vacuum distillation, the pressure over a liquid is greatly reduced in order to allow distillation at relatively low temperatures. The products from vacuum distillation like heavy vacuum gas oil and vacuum residue can be further upgraded to obtain light distillates of petroleum. In the present work, a vacuum distillation process is simulated and optimized using Aspen Plus platform to increase the yield of light vacuum gas oil using parameters like pressure drop in the column, number of stages, target temperature of t...

Natural gas has now become a crucial component of world's supply energy. The demand for natur... more Natural gas has now become a crucial component of world's supply energy. The demand for natural gas has risen drastically over the past few years due to its importance in various industries and also for the domestic purposes. Natural gas need to be purified to meet the quality standards since it contains impurities such as carbon dioxide (CO2) and hydrogen sulfide (H2S), which are the main acid gases and can cause corrosion, reduce the heating and sales value of gas. Aqueous amine solutions are proven to be practical solvents for the treatment of natural gas. By simply changing their amine solutions, many inefficient acid gas removal units can be optimized. Tertiary amines like methyl di-ethanol amine (MDEA) are commonly used for the removal of CO2 from gas mixtures or in gas sweetening processes for the extraction of CO2 and H2S. The use of MDEA has been investigated by using a process simulation program called ASPEN Plus. The results show that, at high pressures, amine mixture...

There are currently vast reserves of heavy oil/natural bitumen in the world, offering a potential... more There are currently vast reserves of heavy oil/natural bitumen in the world, offering a potential boost to energy supplies in the next decade as conventional light oil reservoirs run low. However, recovering and upgrading these sources present an immense technological challenge, due primarily to their high viscosity at reservoir conditions. Currently, inefficient and expensive surface mining techniques are the main methods employed which are associated with a high environmental impact. Technologies such as Steam Assisted Gravity Drainage (SAGD) and Cyclic Steam Stimulation (CSS) are in commercial use, however, the oil produced from these technologies needs expensive surface upgrading and steam consumption is particularly high. Toe-to-Heel Air Injection, or THAI, along with CAtalytic upgrading PRocess In-situ, or CAPRI, offers very high recovery rates along with significant upgrading of the produced oil which adds to the value of produced oil. In the present study, the various In-sit...

On April 20, 2010, BP’s Deepwater Horizon oil rig exploded in the Gulf of Mexico. This turned out... more On April 20, 2010, BP’s Deepwater Horizon oil rig exploded in the Gulf of Mexico. This turned out to be one of the worst environmental disasters in recent history. This high-profile blowout at the Macondo well in the Gulf of Mexico brought the challenges and the perils of drilling into high-pressure, high-temperature (HPHT) fields increasingly into focus. High-pressure, high-temperature fields exist in the Gulf of Mexico, North Sea, Southeast Asia, Africa and the Middle East. Almost a quarter of HPHT operations worldwide is expected to pass on the American continent particularly in North America. There are so many factors that need to be addressed and learned in order to safely overcome the challenges of drilling into and producing from HPHT oil and gas wells. Drilling into HPHT wells is a new frontier for the petroleum and gas industry. The growing need for oil and gas throughout the world is driving the exploration and production industry to look for raw resources. Some of these r...

With an addition in the industrialization and urbanization, there is an increase in the metal pol... more With an addition in the industrialization and urbanization, there is an increase in the metal pollution in the flora and fauna. There is an increase in the demand of finding new ways for the removal of these metals from the effluents of the industries. Adsorption is proven to be an efficient method for the same. To take in the adsorption process more efficient, there is a dire need to find an adsorbent which is capable of removal of multiple metal ions from industrial waste water simultaneously. In the present study, a new adsorbent is developed using neem bark by performing a suitable physical and chemical activation process. This developed activated neem bark is tested for the removal of multiple metal ions such as Cr(VI), Cu(II) and Zn(II) by performing equilibrium batch experiments and found suitable for it. The equilibrium experimental results are analyzed using various isotherm models such as Langmuir and Freundlich.

With a decrease in the conventional reserves available for the recovery of oil, the alternative f... more With a decrease in the conventional reserves available for the recovery of oil, the alternative fossil fuel extraction industry is on a growth. As the development of unconventional oil and gas resources has been progressed, the heterogeneity and complexity of shale gas and tight oil reservoirs have become apparent. In the U.S. primarily shale gas and tight oil is expected to continue growing dramatically in coming decades. According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, an assessment of 137 shale formations are identified in 41 countries other than those identified in U.S. At the local level, though the environmental impacts of shale gas and tight oil development may turn out to be significant. Shale gas and tight oil are unconventional sources of petroleum that are found within the reservoirs with a very low permeability. The oil and gas contained within these reservoir rocks typically will not flow to the wellbore at the economic rates without assistance from technologica...

In last few decades, increase in population growth, industrialization and urbanization resulted i... more In last few decades, increase in population growth, industrialization and urbanization resulted in a growing demand for water. This is leading to water crisis and harmful effect on the environment. Chromium (VI) is one of the toxic heavy metal ions present in various effluent streams coming out from the different industries such as metal finishing, tannery, electroplating, etc. This is considered as one of the most important environmental problems. The solution of this problem is a suitable cost effective and eco-friendly treatment technique. Different treatment techniques are available to treat the effluent streams contaminated with chromium (VI) which includes chemical precipitation, ion exchange, membrane separation, electro-coagulation and chemical reduction. These techniques are not eco-friendly and economically viable for the large volume of wastewater treatment rich in chromium (VI). Adsorption is found to be one of the effective techniques for chromium (VI) removal from effl...

In this rapid industrialization along with an increase in population is leading to a water crisis... more In this rapid industrialization along with an increase in population is leading to a water crisis. This is also causing an environmental destruction. Cadmium, zinc, copper, nickel, lead, mercury and chromium are among some of the metal ions which are often detected in the industrial wastewaters. The sources of these heavy metals ranges from the metal plating, battery manufacture, tanneries, paint manufacture, smelting, mining activities, petroleum refining, pesticides, printing and photographic industries, pigment manufacture, etc., Copper (II) is among one of the most toxic metals found in the infected water. There is a dire need to find a cost-effectively feasible method for the Cu (II) elimination. There are several well-known technologies available in the literature for the recovery of Cu (II) from wastewater, which include chemical precipitation, flotation, biosorption, electrolytic recovery, membrane separation, removal by adsorption on minerals and activated carbon adsorption...

Natural Gas is among the latest alternative source discovered to cater the energy demand with a l... more Natural Gas is among the latest alternative source discovered to cater the energy demand with a less environmental impact. There are a number of contaminants which are complex in nature such as CO 2 , CO, H 2 S, mercaptan and available in Natural Gas at its geological conditions. These may constitute an enhanced environmental hazards when it is left in the atmosphere and will also hamper the natural gas process. Natural gas is to be transferred to the consumers and the most popular way is through pipelines, which becomes uneconomical when dealing with a large distance. The Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) is the more viable options in such situation. The liquefaction process is carried out at a very low temperature (-161 o C) and atmospheric pressure. CO 2 can freeze out on exchanger surface at these conditions resulting in the plugging of lines reducing the plant efficiency. This leads to the need for the removal of CO 2 before liquefaction process. The removal will help not only in hel...

CO 2 flooding is considered one of the most effective tertiary recovery processes in light/medium... more CO 2 flooding is considered one of the most effective tertiary recovery processes in light/medium oil reservoirs and has achieved widespread use in the petroleum industry. However, the complicated displacement mechanisms and reservoir performance involved in the CO 2 injection process have not been completely understood. Monitoring reservoir performance and obtaining accurate information regarding reservoir fluid and injected fluid using field data will help understand the mechanisms and manage the CO 2 injection project efficiently. The objective of the present study is to investigate the possibility of Carbon dioxide injection for Enhanced Oil recovery and to calculate the potential of oil recoveries. A number of parameters affect the minimum miscibility conditions, including chemical compositions of the oil and the injection gas, and the reservoir temperature. It is also believed that physical dispersion can locally have some impact on the minimum miscibility conditions. The proc...

An enhanced oil recovery technique in which an alkaline chemical such as sodium hydroxide, sodium... more An enhanced oil recovery technique in which an alkaline chemical such as sodium hydroxide, sodium orthosilicate or sodium carbonate is injected during polymer flooding or water flooding operations. The alkaline chemical reacts with certain types of oils, forming surfactants inside the reservoir. Eventually, the surfactants reduce the interfacial tension between oil and water and trigger an increase in oil production. In the past several years, there has been renewed interest in enhanced oil recovery (EOR) by alkaline injection. The process is complex to design due to the various reactions that take place between the alkaline chemical and the reservoir rock and fluids. An improved method for enhanced oil recovery is used here utilizing caustic or alkaline water flooding which avoids precipitation of hydroxides in the injection water or plugging of the reservoir. A lignosulfonate material is blended with the injection water before the addition of the alkaline chemical, the amount of l...