Indian Oil Corporation’s (IndianOil) Research & Development Centre at Faridabad crossed a major milestone this week by filing its 1,001st patent, the first among Indian oil & gas PSUs to do so. The R&D Centre’s IP (Intellectual Property) portfolio comprises 794 active patents, of which 542 patents were granted abroad and 252 in India. The Centre has also registered a healthy commercialisation rate for its patents, higher than the global average.

 

 

Sanjiv Singh, Chairman, Indian Oil, said several quality upgradation projects implemented at Indian Oil refineries for production of BS-VI fuels are based on deep desulphurisation, isomerisation and dimerisation technology patents developed in-house by Indian Oil’s R&D centre. Indian Oil’s internationally awarded INDMAX technology patent, successfully commercialised at Paradip Refinery, improves LPG yields by 40% besides ensuring the highest propylene yields in its class.

 

Similarly, the Centre’s bio-methanation technology is best-in-class in methane yields and is being implemented at the Namakkal (Tamil Nadu) plant for production of compressed bio-gas (CBG). Established in 1972, the Centre is pioneer in downstream petroleum sector R&D and has received wide acclaim for indigenising lubricants technology by launching the SERVO brand. With over 5,000 formulations and over 800 active grades covering all conceivable applications, including rail-road and marine oils, SERVO has grown to be the largest selling lubricant brand in India.

According to Dr SSV. Ramakumar, Director (R&D), Indian Oil, the Centre has been focussing on developing high-quality, environment-friendly products and innovative refinery processes that boost resource efficiency, enhance refinery-petrochemicals integration, and offer flexibility in product pattern and yields in line with market demand.

With 50% of its active patents in the refining category, followed by 16% in bio-technology, the R&D team has made considerable progress even in the highly IP-crowded field of Ziegler-Natta catalysts, used in production of polymers (plastics). “We have not only created white space here but succeeded in earning a rich haul of patent grants that are well recognised by global majors,”adds Dr Ramakumar.

 

In line with IndianOil’s business agenda, the R&D Centre has expanded its research domain to cover petrochemicals, nano-technology, alternative fuels, energy storage solutions and Hydrogen-based fuel cell research, among others.