R. RAGIPANI | SMART LAB

RESEARCH THEMES/ PROBLEM STATEMENTS

CO2 capture and mineralisation

  • Scaleup of integrated carbon dioxide capture and mineralisation (ICCM)
  • Development of novel hot-stage mineral carbonation process
  • Understanding carbonation mechanism of Ca-rich silicates in alkaline environments
  • Development of novel absorption solvent combinations
  • Direct air capture of CO2

Population balance modelling

  • Analytical solutions for controlled-release drug dissolution kinetics
  • Understanding dissolution regimes of composite solids

Hybrid machine learning models and dynamic optimization

  • Adaptive methods for training physics-informed neural networks
  • Use of trajectory optimization and reinforcement learning for online optimization of dynamic systems

Process intensification

  • Design of continuous slurry reactor for mineral carbonation
  • Hybrid membrane-based separation processes
  • Process intensification in biomanufacturing

Research Facilities and Highlights

© R. Ragipani. Disclaimer: Brightness/contast/cropping of the image was improved using Copilot. Any distortion by AI tool was unintentional.

Integrated Carbon Capture and Mineralization (ICCM) and its pilot testing

Integrated carbon capture and mineralization (ICCM) technology is a two-step process for absorption-based CO2 separation and its storage as carbonates. This process operates at room temperature and atmospheric pressure without any additional heat input. The process utilises industrial wastes such as steel slags for regeneration of CO2-rich solvent via mineralisation reaction. A detailed review on mineral carbonation can be found in this recent review paper [https://doi.org/10.1039/d1re00035g]. This process is suitable for hard-to-abate industries such as iron and steel, and cement industry. Our recent book chapter [https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-96-7295-0_8] provides a succinct review on CO2 capture and ICCM's potential for steel industry.

A 2 kg CO2/day pilot unit was setup for demonstration and scaleup studies. The pilot unit has several in-situ sensors and probes for tracking performance of absorption and mineralization processes. The setup is well automated with digital work flows for ease of operation.

Two pilot campaigns were run for demonstration purposes. Durng the first campaign (2023-24), we carbonated more than 100 kg steel slag as part of USISTEF project for its subsequent utilisation as slag soil. Recently, we conducted another pilot campaign as part of a consultancy project to test multiple industrial slag samples to evaluate their suitability for this process.

Patent applications related to ICCM:

  • Apparatus and method for mineralization of carbon dioxide with alklaine solids
    Inventor: Raghavendra Ragipani; Indian Patent application (202511001072)
  • Process for absorbing carbon dioxide from flue gas and mineralizing it using alkaline industrial wastes
    Inventors: Bu Wang, Raghavendra Ragipani; US Patent application (P250239US01)

Publications related to ICCM:

  • Ragipani, R., Anshika (2026). Carbon Dioxide Capture and Utilisation in Steel Industry. In: Narayanan, S., Chandra, L., Jhajhria, D. (eds) Materials, Devices and Systems for Sustainability. IITK Directions, vol 8. Springer, Singapore.
    https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-96-7295-0_8
  • Ragipani, R., Sreenivasan, K., Anex, R. P., Zhai, H., & Wang, B. (2022). Direct air capture and sequestration of CO2 by accelerated indirect aqueous mineral carbonation under ambient conditions. ACS Sustainable Chemistry & Engineering, 10(24), 7852-7861.
    https://doi.org/10.1021/acssuschemeng.1c07867