Nikhil Kumar Singh
PhD scholar (Research Scholar)
Department of Chemical Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Delhi
- Email chz248458@iitd.ac.in
- Entry number 2024CHZ8458
- Joined 2024
- Supervisor Prof. Abhijeet Raj
- Laboratory INOX Laboratory, Block I, Department of Chemical Engineering
Profile
I am a PhD scholar in the Department of Chemical Engineering, IIT Delhi, working with Prof. Abhijeet Raj on carbon capture and its downstream utilization. My experimental work concerns amine-based absorption–desorption processes for CO2 capture, focusing on solvent stability: thermal and oxidative degradation of amines, degradation kinetics, and the behaviour of blended amine formulations.
In parallel, I develop an integrated process concept that recovers carbon-free hydrogen from waste H2S through sulfur-recovery-coupled thermal cracking and routes it, together with captured CO2, into methanol synthesis. This strand combines Aspen Plus and Aspen HYSYS flowsheet modelling, reaction kinetics, MATLAB-based multi-objective optimization, and techno-economic assessment of capital and operating costs, with the aim of designing sulfur- and carbon-closed industrial processes.
Research Interests
- Amine-based CO2 capture
- Absorption–desorption process design
- Thermal and oxidative amine degradation
- Degradation kinetics of blended amines
- Carbon capture and utilization
- Sulfur recovery (Claus / SRU)
- H2S thermal cracking to hydrogen
- CO2-to-methanol synthesis
- Process modelling and simulation
- Multi-objective optimization
- Techno-economic analysis (CAPEX / OPEX)
Research Themes
Amine-based CO2 capture and solvent stability
- Absorption–desorption process design and operation for post-combustion CO2 capture
- Thermal and oxidative degradation of amine solvents under process conditions
- Degradation kinetics of single and blended amine formulations
- Linking solvent stability to regeneration energy and operating cost
Sulfur recovery, hydrogen from H2S, and CO2 utilization
- Claus / sulfur recovery unit modelling and thermal cracking of H2S to H2 and elemental sulfur
- Integration of recovered carbon-free hydrogen with captured CO2 for methanol synthesis
- Kinetic modelling of the methanol converter and of the acid-gas reaction network
- Multi-objective process optimization and techno-economic analysis (CAPEX / OPEX)
Technical Skills
- Process simulation: Aspen Plus, Aspen HYSYS
- Modelling and optimization: MATLAB (including Aspen–MATLAB integration), multi-objective optimization, reaction kinetics and parameter estimation
- Experimental: Amine absorption–desorption set-ups; thermal and oxidative degradation studies
- Analysis: Techno-economic assessment; capital and operating cost estimation
Academic Profile
- Program: PhD, Chemical Engineering
- Institute: Indian Institute of Technology Delhi, Hauz Khas, New Delhi 110016
