Dear Colleagues,

At the outset, I wish you all a very happy, prosperous and satisfying new year. The past year, 2007, has been a year of great satisfaction for the laboratory, when several ongoing programmes were satisfactorily completed. The year also marked the beginning of several need-based programmes of national significance. The period of this report saw the forging of important industrial tie-ups for commercialization of laboratory technologies. It has been felt in the past that while the scientists did produce exciting technological breakthroughs they remained confined within the four walls of the laboratory and in the tomes of scientific literature and documents. The past year saw extensive efforts to address this shortcoming. I am grateful to the Research Council for providing directions and for helping us with our tie-ups with pertinent organisations

11^TH PLAN PROJECTS: The period under review saw the formalisation of CSIR 11th Five-year plans. One of the most important initiatives contributing to the development of focal thrust for the laboratory is the Supra-institutional Project on “Development and Forming of Performance Driven Special Steels”. It was accorded CSIR’s approval in August, 2007, and the first year’s grant has been received. On the advice of the Research Council, a thematic meeting on high performance steels was organized at NML Jamshedpur on 22^nd September, 2007. The meeting was attended by experts in steel development, with representatives from the academia (IIT-Kharagpur, IIT-Kanpur, BESU), R&D (NML, BARC, IGCAR, DMRL) and industry (SAIL, Tata Steel, BHEL, Carpenter Steels, MIDHANI). An internal meeting was conducted to introspect over the suggestions by the experts and the course corrections needed. These meetings helped us to fine tune our aims and objectives. It was felt that a state-of-the-art report on the six emphasis areas under the supra-institutional project should be one of the very first deliverables of the project as a whole. A comprehensive state-of-the-art report has been prepared. Exploratory works to verify and validate existing knowledge, process, materials and models have been and are being conducted. The prime focus in the project is on development of indigenous high strength, high formable steels and value additions through complementary processing.

The proposal on a networked project entitled “Technology for Assessment & Refurbishment & Engineering Materials & Technology” (TAREMaC) in the 11^th Five-Year Plan period under NML’s nodal leadership has now been recommended by the sub-committee set up by the Governing Body of CSIR for approval. The sub-committee highly appreciated the structure of the proposal and the plan of implementation for targeted industrial problems. The Governing Body is likely to take the final decision on this project in its meeting which is scheduled to be held on 28^th January, 2008. The project of total value of Rs.30 crore is a sequel to NML’s previous activities in the areas of structural integrity evaluation and engineering critical assessment.

Besides its technological leadership role in the Supra-institutional project and TAREMaC, NML has been entrusted with critical roles, as participating laboratory, in several other network projects of national importance coordinated by other sister laboratories. In the SERC (Chennai) coordinated project “Engineering of Structures against Natural and Other Disasters”, which aims to address engineering issues to mitigate the effects of natural disasters, NML is to provide inputs towards evaluation of the behaviour of materials used in critical installations such as the primary heat transport piping in nuclear power plants subjected to extreme loading. Evaluation of cyclic and dynamic fatigue and fracture behaviour of relevant structural materials form the core of this activity.

To look into adverse effects of mine-water discharge into rivers and the consequent impact on the groundwater table and aquatic lives of mining regions, an interagency project, “Development of Cost-effective Mine Water Reclamation Technology for providing Safe Drinking Water” is being implemented under CSIR’s 11^th Five-Year Plan with CIMFR, Dhanbad, as the nodal laboratory and NML as the major partner. NML has been entrusted with the development of a low cost technology for upgrading the mine water to potable quality. This will not only augment the drinking water needs of the region, but will also lower the pollution of existing water sources of the area.

NML is a major partner in the network project, “Specialty Inorganic Materials for Diverse Applications”, in which CSMCRI, Bhavnagar, is the nodal laboratory. This network programme will look into a wide range of novel inorganic materials covering a broad spectrum of applications, many of which are futuristic in nature. NML will work on chrome free passivator, ultra pure metal powder, ceramic coating on steel surface, organic modified clays and layered double hydroxides as water purifiers and electrochemical sensor materials for As (V)/As(III) field testing in groundwater.

NML is also a major partner in the network project co-ordinated by AMPRI, Bhopal, on “Development of Light-weight Metallic Materials for Engineering Applications”. NML’s mandates in the project are to look at downstream processing of light metallic alloys, preparation of speciality alloys, surface engineering of such alloys, and other value addition processing.

In the project “Bio-leaching of low grade uranium” which was initiated as a programme under the 10^th five-year plan, NML has come up with an eco-friendly and energy efficient option to extract uranium from ores containing as low as 0.025% U₃O₈ with the use of native bacteria derived from the mine water. The process developed in laboratory scale column was validated on 100Kg scale with uranium recovery of ~70% in 60days time. Further scale up using large scale heaps are ongoing at UCIL, Jadugoda

OTHER HIGH IMPACT PROGRAMMES: Other than CSIR-driven projects, NML has ventured into a number of interesting programmes on strategic material and alternative processes.

As a part of a national perspective plan for R&D in the power sector, NML is undertaking a project on “The Development of Silt Erosion Resistant Material for Turbines of Hydro-generators” sponsored by CEA. The projected cost of the activity is Rs. 299.79 lakhs over a period of three years. Through discussions with CPRI, NHPC, BHEL and IIT-Roorkee, the project deliverables have been defined as the development of a material with improved performance in terms of mechanical properties and erosive wear resistance as compared to the presently used 13Cr-4Ni stainless steel.

Electronic waste is a major concern and its management requires immediate attention given the rate of obsolescence of electronic components.. In spite of the magnitude of the problem, it has not been addressed in a structured and planned fashion in India. NML’s initiative in the area has resulted in a project on “Development of Processing Technology for Recycling and Re-use of Electronic Waste” sponsored by Department of Information Technology. Such wastes have significant metal values including precious metals and are difficult to recycle in an environmentally friendly manner. An indigenous technology for recovering metal values and reducing health hazards is being attempted through this project.

In  another Department of Information Technology funded project on “Process Simulation for Optimisation of Ferroalloy Production in Submerged Arc Furnace”, worth Rs. 63 lakh, a process simulator has been installed in the Angul Ferro-alloy plant of Nava Bharat Ventures Limited.

Building on our successes and significant achievements in the DOD sponsored programme on extraction of metal values from polymetallic sea-nodules, NML is currently concentrating on extraction of Co through a roast reduction route, recovery of Cu, Ni and Co by bulk sulphide precipitation, followed by chloride leaching, solvent extraction and electrowinning, and recovery of Mn from leached residue and toxicological studies of the waste. The programme has been funded for over Rs. 10 Crores.

As a sequel to the SDF supported project on maximising blast furnace productivity with Indian iron ores, NML is now trying to develop Real-time Process Simulator to reduce coke rate using probing and more comprehensive modelling techniques for blast furnaces of Bhilai steel plant. Following the general philosophy of networking, in this programme we have involved IIT Mumbai and IIT Madras as partners.

Keeping in view the large ilmenite deposits in beach sands in the country, and the increasing thrust on the greater utilization of these resources, a project on “Production of high purity Rutile from Ilmenite by selective reduction and segregation of iron” has been takn up in collaboration with Tata Steel. Obtaining Rutile, (TiO₂), which is extensively used as a pigment, is the ultimate objective in this projct. An alternative process route involving segregation of the iron produced during the reduction of Ilmenite from TiO₂, by carbon ‘in situ’ and subsequent separation of the same through physical means is being tried out.

INTERNATIONAL COLLABORATIONS: NML has embarked upon international collaborations for technological developments and knowledge dissemination. Our collaboration with ALCOA Inc., USA, under the aegis of CSIR-ALCOA Innovation Council, has given us a good opportunity to expand our base in aluminium research on industrially relevant contemporary topics. Intense interaction over the last one year has culminated in finalisation of six specific projects in the areas encompassing mechanical activation, bohemite precipitation, water treatment, geopolymers and pelletisation. We can expect some very exciting outcome from these projects paving the way for several innovative technologies.

Four research projects were jointly undertaken by NML and Korea Institute of Geoscience and Mineral Resources (KIGAM) covering the areas of mutual interest:

Development of a process for the removal of hazardous metal elements from leach liquor of electronic scraps following solvent extraction and recovery of valuables

Development of technology for recovering heavy minerals from sea sand

Further studies on beneficiation of Korean sea sand and synthesis of rutile from ilmenite

Studies on recovery of manganese as Fe-Si-Mn from low manganese containing materials

Three different process routes were studied for the concentration and separation of sea sand samples involving physical and physico-chemical separation techniques and flow-sheets were developed. Modal analysis of the ilmenite concentrate showed the presence of over 98% ilmenite grains. Garnet, zircon and sillimanite concentrates also showed appreciable enrichment. 

Five academic staff from Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology, Kenya visited NML during 07.10.2007 – 13.10.2007 for training in the area of Mining and Mineral Processing Engineering and also to explore possibilities of further collaborations with NML.

IN-HOUSE PROJECTS: During the reporting period various in-house research activities have matured into scientifically stimulating, high impact projects. Our Research Appraisal and Monitoring Committee (RAMC) encourages the scientists to take up such projects and monitors them to ensure that they result in meaningful conclusions. Many such projects have resulted in revenue earning externally funded projects. The in-house projects have been the fountainhead for innovative and novel concepts and I would like to discuss a few of the interesting outputs emanating from such in-house activities in the recent past:

In the project “Studies on The Behavior of Fluxed Iron Oxide Pellets in Representative Basic Oxygen Steel Making Process”, a new concept for replacing lump lime as flux material in LD converter, lime-added iron oxide pellets, having sufficient cold crushing strength have  been examined.  This proposes an innovative way for utilizing iron oxides (iron ore fines, blue dust, mill scale etc) and lime fines. The novelty lies in the hardening of the pellets at room temperature without using any binder ensuring compatibility with basic oxygen steel making. This concept is expected to lead to an eco-friendly process for utilization of wastes.

Scientists have tried out fractal based quantification of microstructure for correlation with mechanical properties. The relevance of the scale invariant fractal characteristics has been explained in the light of the structural evolution of micro constituents in materials.

FEW OTHER IMPORTANT ACTIVITIES:

NML obtained NABL accreditation for its calibration centre

NML released two spectrographic standards of Plain Carbon Steel, the first of its kind in India

NML has applied for a project worth over 20 crores to establish a coal core analysis centre which has been agreed in principle by the Ministry of coal

FACILITATING TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER: We have made concerted efforts to facilitate the transfer and subsequent commercialization of the NML developed technologies, processes and products. Realising our shortcomings, we have ventured into tie-ups, partnerships and collaborations with industries, technology facilitators and engineering consultants. NML has entered into an agreement with M/s McNally Bharat Engineering to commercialize NML developed technologies in mineral processing and metal extraction.  As an upshot of this, NML’s technologies on column flotation and magnesium extraction are being widely promoted. The know-how for biphasic calcium phosphate nano-bio-ceramic for dental and orthopaedic applications, has been transferred to Eucare Pharmaceuticals, Chennai. The same company had earlier purchased NML know-how on production of nanosized hydroxyapatite powder which is now being marketed as “EUGRAF”. The automated ball indentation technique developed under our nodal 10^th Five-year Plan Project, has now been licensed to Ducom Instruments Private Limited, Bangalore, for manufacture and an unit is now being fabricated for use by BARC. Three More MoUs were also signed with VSSC, Thiruvanathpuram;; Indian Rare Earths, Ltd, Chavara, Kerala,  and IGCAR, Kalpakkam.  Tank Bottom integrity testing using Acoustic Emission for IOC, Panipat refinery is being planned in collaboration with TISEC.

INFRASTRUCTURE DEVELOPMENT: A large number of equipment have been purchased and installed during the period to facilitate the ongoing R&D activities of the laboratory. Some of the prominent ones are: Computer controlled magnetic Barkhausen Emission Analyzer, Pulverisette 6 - Planetary Mono Mill, Reflectance mode UV-VIS Computer, Reflectance mode UV-VIS Computer controlled Spectrophotometer, Inductively Coupled Plasma-MS Spectrometer, Ultrasonic system with time of Flight Diffraction, Low Pressure Glass Reactor PARR Autoclave, Hitatchi Table top microscope, Portable XRF Spectrometer, Portable Electrochemical system, MATLAB Software with modules

FOREIGN DEPUTATION: I am very pleased to inform that a large number of scientists went for foreign deputations and I am sure that their trips abroad will be very useful for the future activities of NML.

PERFORMANCE INDICATOR:  The performance indicators of the laboratory are indicated below for the appraisal of the members:

NEW PROJECTS: Forty one new projects were obtained during the period under review. Out of the forty one projects generating Rs.4.9 crore, twenty four projects are from private sponsors generating an ECF of Rs.1.92 crore and seventeen from government sectors. I take this opportunity to congratulate all the project leaders and wish that they successfully deliver the objectives desired by the sponsors.

WORKSHOPS/SEMINARS/TRAINING: A large number of seminars and workshops were conducted during the period to share the expertise with the peer members. Some of the prominent ones are:

Workshop on Metal Testing Standards (3^rd  Dec, 2007)

Advanced Gravity Separation (30^th  Aug – 1^st  Sept, 2007)

Industrial Corrosion : Evaluation and Mitigation (5^th  – 7^th Dec, 2007)

Short Term Course On Processing Of Iron Ores (28^th  Nov – 1^st  Dec, 2007)

Metallurgy for Engineers (10^th  -14^th  Dec, 2007)

VISITORS TO NML: A number of visitors came to NML and shared their expertise with our scientists. Some of the prominent visitors included: Dr. H.K. Park, distinguished Principal Investigator, Dr. C. W. Nam, Principal researcher, Korea Institute of Geo Science & Mineral Resources (KIGAM), South Korea; Prof. K.A. Padmanabhan, Professor of Eminence, Anna University, Dr. Somnath Bhattacharyya, Leibniz –Institut fur Oberflachenmodifizierung Leipzig, Germany; Dr. K. Hamunantha Rao, Professor, Dept. of Chem. & Met. Engg., Lulea University of Technology, Sweden; Dr. Kiptanui Jonah Arap Too.and Mr. Michael Kamau Njuguna from Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology , Kenya; Dr. Ashok Naik (ALCOA, USA), Dr. Dave Olney (ALCOA Alcoa World Alumina, Australia), Dr. Matthew F. Cesario (ALCOA, USA) ; Prof. Nick Gatheru Wanjohi – Vice Chancellor JKUAT, Dr. Suleman Okech - Registrar, Dr. Stephen Phares Ng’ang’a - Lecturer, Dr. Perminus Karanja Kibicho - Lecturer and Dr. Kiptanui Jonah Arap Too – Lecturer, Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology , Kenya; Professor Gordon M.Parkinson, Manager, Transformational Technology, Alcoa World Alumina Technology Delivery Group, Western Australia and Dr  Ian Harrison, Director of Research & Development, Global Refining, Alcoa World Alumina, Technology Delivery Group, Western Australia; Mr. Horacoi Belenguezr, Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Mineral resources, Mr. Obete Francisco Matine, Director, Nacional Adjundo, Republic of Mozambique.

AWARD AND ACHIEVEMENTS: The period under consideration saw a number of awards coming to NML. I take this opportunity to congratulate them all for their contribution.

Dr. D.D.N. Singh: Metallurgist of the year (2007)  Award of IIM in the Ferrous group

Dr. V.C. Srivastava:  Young Metallurgist of the year (2007)of IIM

Prof. S.P. Mehrotra: Tata Gold Medal (2007), National Metallurgist Day Award of IIM

Dr. Ashok Kumar Ray: MRSI Medal Lecture Award of MRSI – 2008

Dr. A.K. Vaish: Distinguished Engineers Award of Institution of Engineers (India) for the year 2007

Dr. S. Prabhakar & Dr. G. Bhaskar Raju: National Mineral Award of Ministry of Mines, Govt. of India

Dr. T. Mishra: Young Chemist Award -2007 by Orissa Chemical Society

Dr. Ratnakar Singh & Mr. K.K. Bhattacharyya: Best Paper Award – International Conference on Beneficiation of Fines & It’s Technology-2007, Org. by Tata Steel & IIME JSR Chapter

Mr. S.A. Akbar, Dr. D. Bandopadhyay, Dr. S. Das, Dr. R.P. Goel:  Alteker Award- 2007

Dr. S.K. Sahu, Dr. K.K. Sahu and Dr. B.D. Pandey and Dr. R.K. Sahu, Dr. A. K. Ray, Dr. S.K. Das, Dr. A.J. Kailath and Dr. L.C. Pathak: Nijhawan Award

Dr. A. Mitra, Mr. P.K. De and Dr. S. Gorai: Best In-house Project Award (Completed in 2005)

Ajoy Kumar Ray, K. Venkateswarlu, Sarmistha Sagar Palit and Abhijit Kar: Best Poster; International Workshop on Porous Ceramics and 71th Annual Session of  Indian Ceramic Soc

S/ Shri Ajoy K. Acharya, Tej Bahadur Singh, Dharmendra Kumar & Shridhar Khiste (Cat. I ); S/Shri B. Mahto, Ravinder Thakur, R. Raju, & H.N. Singh (Cat. II); S/shri S.K. Roy, M. Mondal, S.K. Saksena & A.K. Sumbroi (Cat. III): CSIR Outstanding Performance Awards -2007

Dr. Himadri Nandan Bar: Boyscast 2007-08

Dr. Satadal Ghorai: Boyscast 2007-08

APPOINTMENTS: Fifteen appointments were made during the period in various categories and the appointees are :  Gr. IV (1): Shri Sudip Kundu, Shri Abhishek Kumar Gupta, Shri Abhilash, Shri Avijit Kumar Metya, Ms. Mamta Sharma, Shri Sukumar Kundu, Shri Deepak Chandhra Sau, Shri C.B. Jugsenia. Gr. III (1): Shri Sanjay Kumar, Shri Nimai Halder. Gr. II (2): Shri Ujyal Mukherjee. Gr. I (1): Ms. Seema Kumari, Smt Rani Lohra. Watchman: Shri K.N. Singh, Shri Tushar Saha. I take this opportunity to wish all of them a very meaningful and fruitful professional life.

RETIREMENTS: Twelve staff members of this laboratory superannuated during the period. I take this opportunity to wish all of them A VERY HAPPY & HEALTHY RETIRED LIFE.

EXTRA CURRICULAR ACTIVITIES: In addition to a number of R&D related activities, members of NML staff members along with their spouses and children have very actively participated in various cultural and sporting activities.

As a part of the NML Foundation Day Celebrations, under the able guidance of  Smt. Archana Mehrotra, Chairperson, NML Foundation Day Celebrations Committee- 2007, the following events were organized:

QUIZ PROGRAMME

NML Family Quiz programme was organized on 20 Nov. 2007. This hugely popular Annual Event set the tone for the Celebrations to follow

CULTURAL EVENING

NML Staff and their spouses gave a wonderful display of their talents in a Cultural programme organized on 26 November, 2007 at NML Residential Complex. Agrico. The audience were treated to wonderful renditions of popular Ghazals, folk music, Rajasthani folk and popular dances.

NML SPORTS DAY

NML Sports Day – 2007 was conducted at NML Flats, Agrico on 2 Dec. 2007 Some of the most popular and revered personalities of the NML family were chosen as the torchbearers for the inauguration. More than 250 athletes aged between 4 years to 60 years, representing a wide spectrum of the NML family participated in various sporting events.

‘Prayog Prayashi, a cultural organization of NML staff members staged a Bengali drama ‘Jate Otthar Panchali’ directed and enacted by NML staff members and their spouses. The play was jointly organized by NML Staff Club and NML Ladies Club and was witnessed and hugely appreciated by one and all present.

Before, I close this presentation; I would like to express my sincere thanks and gratitude to our RC Chairman, Dr. Baldev Raj, and all other RC members for their keen interest in NML’s activities, their continuing guidance, support and encouragement. I also take this opportunity to thank all my scientist colleagues, technical staff members, all my colleagues and staff members of various sections of administration for their continuous support and cooperation. It is only through their unending love, commitment and untiring efforts that NML can live up to the expectations the Nation bestows upon it.

28 January, 2008                                                                                                                                                                             (S. P. Mehrotra)

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