GAIL India Limited funded this project of IIT Madras research team. The environmental impact of extracting fossil fuels combined with the volatility in oil prices and the political unrest across the world have led to the urgency in search of renewable fuels.

Amidst this situation the work done by IIT Madras research team is likely to have lot of significance. IIT Madras research team was led by Dr. R. Vinu, Associate Professor, Department of Chemical Engineering, IIT Madras.

The results of the work done by IIT Madras research team have been published recently in the reputed peer-reviewed journal Bioresource Technology and Fuel Processing Technology.

Speaking about the work by IIT Madras research team Dr Vinu said biomass is the only renewable source of carbon on earth with immense potential for the production of energy, chemicals and materials with zero carbon footprint on the environment.

Agricultural waste products such as rice straw, sugarcane bagasse and wood chips, among others, can potentially serve as bio-oil producing biomass, he said.

However, bio-oil produced by the pyrolysis of biomass contains large amounts of oxygenated groups or ‘oxygenates,’ far greater than in fossil fuels.

These ‘oxygenates’ result in lower heating value of bio-oils, compared to fossil fuels and in addition, increase their acidity and corrosiveness.

The leader of IIT Madras research team further said in order to make bio-oils competitive with fossil fuels, their oxygenate content must be reduced and hydrogen content increased.

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Mixing biomass with hydrogen-rich materials during pyrolysis can conceivably make biomass derived bio-oil comparable to fossil-derived fuels in calorific value and chemical/physical properties, said Dr. Vinu.

Plastics that are rich in hydrogen, can serve as the hydrogen supplier to biomass in its conversion to low-oxygenate bio-oils.

The use of plastics as a supporting material in the pyrolysis of biomass would ultimately serve two purposes, it would produce bio-oils with better properties and also help in repurposing used plastic.

The co-pyrolysis of biomass and plastics, in addition to increasing the calorific value of the fuel, also reduces char formation, thereby increasing efficiency of the process and yield of fuel.

The bio-oils produced by co-pyrolysing the biomasses with the plastics had higher energy yields than those of bio-oils produced by pyrolysis of pure biomass, without the plastics.

They used a microwave oven to co-pyrolyse a variety of biomass including rice straw, sugarcane bagasse, groundnut shell, wood sawdust and wood from the tree called ‘Seemai Karuvelam’ in Tamil (‘Angaraji Babul’ in Hindi, scientific name Prosopis juliflora) with two synthetic plastics, polypropylene and polystyrene.

In the case of rice straw and bagasse, the team also used a zeolite catalyst to upgrade the quality of the bio-oil to light fuel oil (LFO) and heavy fuel oil (HFO).

The use of catalyst resulted in better yields of the bio-oil, in addition to conferring better properties to it – the properties of bio-oil made from biomass-polypropylene mixtures were similar to that of light fuel oil and had high calorific value (43 MJ/kg), low viscosity (1 cP), optimum density (0.850 g/cc) and flash point (70 °C).

This was because the oils had very little oxygenates, much like fossil-derived fuel oils. The findings of the team provide the much-needed incentive for development of such a technology that could take us closer to self-sufficiency in the energy sector.

‘We believe that microwave-assisted pyrolysis process is a sustainable and energy efficient approach for resource recovery from a wide variety of wastes such as biomass agri residues, plastic wastes including disposed single-use plastics and non-reusable face masks, and a mixture of these,’ said Dr. Vinu who led the IIT Madras research team.

The schedule to submit applications for JEE Advanced 2025 has been announced along with that of AAT 2025 registration,

Application process for AAT starts after result declaration of JEE Advanced. This year too, the trend is no different.

Who will conduct AAT 2025?

AAT 2025 will be conducted by IIT Kanpur and is expected to see a participation in impressive numbers. The same institution is conducting JEE Advanced 2025.

Details about the exam are available on the official website mentioned above. Students who pass AAT 2025 will be able to study BArch in IIT Roorkee, IIT Kharagpur and IIT (BHU) Varnasi.

Who can take up AAT 2025 registration?

Students who have passed JEE Advanced 2025 with required qualifying marks can take up AAT 2025 registration. Applying for JEE Advanced requires a pass in JEE Mains.

Candidates who have passed plus two with maths, physics and chemistry as subjects will be able to take up JEE Mains registration. The process to take up JEE Advanced AAT 2025 registration is online.

1. The URL has to be typed into the browser and the webpage has to be allowed to download.

2. Once the website is available, students should click the link for JEE Advanced AAT 2025 registration and enter JEE Advanced 2025 registration number, their date of birth, mobile number and email address.

3. Post providing the above details, applicants will be asked if they are interested in AAT. Students have to answer ‘Yes’ to take up JEE Advanced AAT 2025 registration.

4. Candidates have to provide the required information and choose the centers where they wish to write the exam and submit the form.

5. They will receive message indicating successful completion of JEE Advanced AAT 2025 registration.

The message has to be downloaded and a printout of it has to be taken and preserved for use in future. This could be of use during the admission process.

Website for JEE Advanced 2025/AAT 2025 Registration is Here

Exam pattern

Candidates who have completed JEE Advanced AAT 2025 registration must also know the exam pattern if they are to score good marks.

Those who have taken up AAT 2025 registration can take up the exam which will be held in offline mode, as a pen and paper mode test.

Candidates will have three hours time to answer all the questions. The medium of the test is English.

The sections in the question paper are – Imagination and aesthetic sensitivity, three dimensional perception, Geometrical drawing, Freehand drawing and Architectural Awareness.

Syllabus for AAT 2025

The next thing to do after completing AAT 2025 registration is focus on preparing for the test.

The subjects to be studied while preparing for AAT 2025 are mentioned below. Candidates can also refer the official website for more information on syllabus when the registration for the exam begins:

Geometrical Drawing

Exercises in geometrical drawing containing lines, angles, triangles, quadrilaterals, polygons, circles, etc. Study of plan (top view), elevation (front or side views) of simple solid objects like prisms, cones, cylinders, cubes, splayed surface holders, etc.

Freehand Drawing

This would comprise of simple drawing depicting the total object in its right form and proportion, surface texture, relative location and details of its component parts in appropriate scale.

Common domestic or day-to-day life usable objects like furniture, equipment, etc., from memory.

Three dimension perception

Understanding and appreciation of three-dimensional forms with building elements, colour, volume and orientation. Visualization through structuring objects in memory.

Architectural Awareness

General interest and awareness of famous architectural creations – both national and international, places and personalities (architects, designers, etc.) in the related domain.

Imagination and Aesthetic Sensitivity

Composition exercise with given elements. Context mapping.

Creativity check through innovative uncommon test with familiar objects. Sense of colour grouping or application.

The medium of the test is English. The sections in the question paper are – Imagination and aesthetic sensitivity, three dimensional perception, Geometrical drawing, Freehand drawing and Architectural Awareness.

The admit cards obtained for JEE Advanced 2025 can also be used to gain entry into the test centers for AAT 2024.

Point to remember

Candidates can visit the official website of JEE Advanced exam for more information on JEE Advanced AAT 2025 registration and other related topics.

The students have to quickly take up the AAT 2025 registration as the time left would be very short.

Like JEE Advanced exam where the registration is open for a longer duration, that of AAT 2025 registration is open for only a short period.

The details about AAT 2025 registration provided above are for general understanding purpose of the students.

There could be some changes in the exam, students can visit the official website of the exam at regular intervals to receive updates.

More information could be provided as the time for AAT 2025 registration would commence, till that time, students can refer other sources also.

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