Our Algae to biocrude and biochemicals effort aims at establishing a green platform that harnesses natural resources, such as freely available sunlight, sea water, carbon dioxide and low cost nutrients (nitrogen, phosphorus) to produce abundant quantities of biomass that can be converted to biocrude and biochemicals. Research efforts on algae are focused on physiology, biochemistry, molecular biology, genomics, and development of process technologies for algae cultivation, harvesting, and water management as well as processing technologies for converting biomass to bio-crude and bio-chemicals. Reliance has achieved significant technical breakthroughs in improving photosynthesis efficiency, developed best-in-the-world genetic engineering capabilities and proprietary catalytic hydrothermal liquefaction (HTL) technology for conversion of wet biomass to biofuel as well recovering water and nutrients. These capabilities will lead Reliance towards developing new business opportunities in synthetic biology area such as next generation agriculture, nutritional food/feed, genomics, healthcare, etc.

Reliance has developed a catalytic hydrothermal liquefaction (RCAT-HTL) process which utilises water available in wet biomass and bio-waste to initiate myriad chemical and physical reactions that convert it into valuable bio-products by recovering water as well as nutrients. Reliance has also developed some of the world’s most innovative algae cultivation systems. The company is exploring multidisciplinary biology and engineering scientific streams to create a safe and sustainable source of biofuels, bio-chemicals and nutritional products as food and feed. Algae bio-crude will help reduce India’s dependence on energy import and also fortify our rural economy by creating a large number of jobs.

Reliance considers carbon dioxide an asset, not a liability. In pursuit of a sustainable and low emission future, Reliance has developed a technology called Energy Integrated Circulating Fluidized Bed Process for CO₂ Capture. This is an adsorption-based process that follows carbonate-bicarbonate chemistry.

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Currently, RIL is engaged with conversion of CO₂ into environmentally benign organic carbonate by non-reductive route and conversion of CO₂ along with other co-reactants like H2S, H2 into chemical products that are industrially useful at significant scale by reductive route.

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The in-house energy integrated capture process has the following excellent attributes:

- improved adsorbent system with good mechanical strength and high adsorption capacity
- circulating fluidized bed reactor system
- lower temperature differential between adsorption-desorption step
- recovery and utilization of flue gas heat to compensate partial heat demand
- heat pump concept for upgradation of low quality waste heat for adsorbent regeneration
- less than one half total energy as compared to conventional monoethanolamine absorption process etc.

Reliance’s Aluminium chloride (AlCl₃) based ionic liquid catalysts are fifty times less expensive than competitive ionic liquid products. These catalysts are more benign, reusable, recyclable and can be made at scale. They are highly effective replacements for toxic hazardous acids such as hydrofluoric acid or sulfuric acid (H₂SO₄). Reliance is developing a breakthrough safer and environmentally friendly process for manufacturing linear alkyl benzenes using these ionic liquid catalysts. This platform technology has the potential to lead Reliance to many other breakthrough processes.

Oxygenates and carbon disulphide are highly undesired contaminants in naphtha feedstock to downstream petrochemicals. Reliance has developed a novel process for processing naphtha in a fixed bed reactor over acidic resin catalyst which converts ether into its respective olefins and methanol. This methanol can then easily be removed by washing with water, thereby reducing the oxygenate concentration in the naphtha to meet any required high specifications. The process technology has been successfully demonstrated and is now on the verge of commercialization.

Multizone Catalytic Cracking (MCC) is an innovative process through which low value refinery streams are cracked in a single riser with a proprietary catalyst to selectively maximize propylene and ethylene yields. Commercialization of this technology is in progress and likely to significantly enhance propylene as well as ethylene production. This process has already received Australian and Singaporean patents; while patents in India, the US and Europe are at various stages of evaluation. This technology has immense potential to create value, and is being considered for worldwide licensing.
 

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Our path breaking Enhanced Propylene Recovery (EPR) technology enhances the recovery of propylene and LPG from FCC Fuel gas to more than 99 mole %. This technology has been granted patents in India and the US. Considering many new FCC units being planned in different regions especially in India, China and the Middle East, deployment of this technology will help enhance the recovery of high value propylene and LPG from low value fuel gas. EPR technology is being considered for worldwide licensing.Another path breaking technology developed in FCC is olefinic feed cocracking (OFC2). This allows to upgrade low value olefinic naphtha (e.g. coker naphtha) to high value propylene and gasoline in existing FCC in co-cracking mode with VGO feed. This technology has also been granted patents in India and the US.

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Reliance Maximum Propylene (RMP-5) ZSM-5 additive is a novel product which incorporates innovations for improved activity and stability of additives for fluid catalytic cracking applications. Our R&D teams overcame major challenges of developing a new product to improve the ZSM-5 activity and stability while maintaining sufficient mechanical strength at lower costs. The RMP-5 technology maximizes propylene yield compared to the best commercial alternative. The technology has won patents in India, the US and the EU. 

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To meet the stringent benzene specification of gasoline, RIL & CSIR IIP-Dehradun has jointly developed an efficient/cost effective aromatic selective solvent based extractive distillation process. This patented indigenous technology can handle gasoline containing olefins without any issues related to solvent performance. The simple & intensified process configuration adopted for this novel technology is the first of its kind to minimize solvent loss and maximize product recoveries with high purity.

Fruits and vegetables are perishables that often decompose during storage or transportation. This is due to the release of ethylene which accelerates ripening and decomposition. Reliance has developed an innovative polyester fabric called HAVFRESH™ which removes ethylene at room temperature as well as in cold storage and also helps prevent fungal growth. This fabric has the potential to disrupt packaging of fruits and vegetables in farms, during transport, and at retail outlets.

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Reliance Disentangled Polyethylene (DPE) is an ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene synthesized with significantly high crystallinity compared to conventional polyethylene.  The high polymer crystallinity is made possible by a new, proprietary single site catalyst that produces polymer chains in a highly regular fashion.  DPE exhibits superior processing characteristics such as increased flow, lower power consumption and higher stretchability compared to conventional polyethylene. The product also exhibits improved mechanical strength. When used in high strength fiber applications DPE fibers show strength superior to poly-aramid at lower specific gravity and lower cost.  High strength DPE fibers have application in many fields including automotive composites, defense and aerospace applications.

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Reliance has developed a cutting edge chlorination technology for producing chlorinated polyvinyl chloride (CPVC). This process does not require a special grade of PVC feedstock. The technology has been successful in producing both pipe and fitting grade CPVC resin at both laboratory and pilot scale. The resulting resin is of premium quality with high thermal stability, inherent viscosity and whiteness. The final product also has superior properties compared to commercially available alternatives.

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3D printing or additive manufacturing is a process of making a three-dimensional solid object of virtually any shape from a digital model. This techniques can use to make rapid prototyping to full-scale production with almost any shape or geometry, which is difficult through conventional mould or machining method. Reliance is developing unique material with desired characteristics and better performance required in 3D printing. This material is game changer for RIL with potential numbers of application such as architecture, construction industrial design, automotive, aerospace, military, engineering, dental and medical, biotech, fashion, footwear, jewellery, eyewear, education, geographic information systems, food, and many other fields.

Reliance developed First Generation RELCAT^TM10X for homo, random and ICP grades for gas phase polymerization process. This is followed by further improvement in product performance and operational efficiency by commercializing proprietary 2^nd Gen RELCAT^TM10X/RELD^TM and 3^rd Gen morphological RELCAT^TM100Y/RELD^TM Catalyst technologies. Current commercialization efforts are in progress to shift to 4^th generation shape and size controlled RELCAT^TM200Y/RELD^TM and RELCAT^TM300Y/RELD^TM technology for high performance polypropylene grades. Successful commercialization of high performance Reliance polypropylene catalyst technologies is made possible by morphological controlled proprietary RELSTM catalyst precursor technology.

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Olefins generated in hydrocarbons being facile coke precursors are undesirable in many processes in aromatics plant and need to be removed to protect expensive adsorbents or catalysts in downstream of aromatic plants. Due to its low cost acid activated clay is commonly used for olefins removal form aromatic hydrocarbon streams.  However, clay treaters have operational issues such as shorter cycle life, longer replacement period, and difficulty in disposal. Reliance has developed a patented catalytic process which uses a catalyst that is regenerable and eco-friendly, provides higher cycle life, and is competitive to existing commercial alternatives in the longer run.

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Para-diethyl benzene (PDEB) is a high value low volume chemical, and is used as a desorbent in adsorptive separation of para-xylene from C8 aromatic mixture. Reliance has developed, scaled-up and commercialized a super selective catalyst and a unique process for production of PDEB using a non-conventional feed (by-product from naphtha cracker unit). Reliance has the Intellectual Property rights for both the catalyst and the process through a number of national and international patents.

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Catalytic reforming process is used in refining for production of aromatics such as, benzene, toluene and xylene. Reliance has adopted a novel approach to developing reforming catalyst for Continuous Catalytic Regeneration (CCR) process. The catalyst is prepared by coating a promoter on spherical shaped chloride-free alumina as support. This catalyst – which is first of its kind in the world – is an optimized high-performance catalyst that enhances stability and increases C5+ and aromatic yields.

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Hexene-1 is an important co-monomer used in the manufacture of LLDPE. Reliance has developed an in-house homogeneous catalyst and process for the selective trimerization of ethylene to Hexene-1 with high purity (>99+%). Currently efforts are directed towards developing  next generation homogeneous catalysts with improved activity.

Sulphur is a by-product generated from the refinery. The potential of sulphur extended bitumen for improving road pavement is well recognized; however, commercial use was limited due to H₂S evolution. A refinery sulphur based formulation called as Reliance bitumen sulphur (RelBitS™) has been developed for road pavement through an innovative approach which prevents H₂S emission during hot mixing of sulphur with bitumen. The unique environment friendly formulation of sulphur not only prevents H₂S odor but also significantly improves road life and its performance. The product is safe to handle for road construction workers and this technology helps reduce the quantity of bitumen required for road pavement.

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Reliance has developed Reliance Farm Sulphur (RelFarmS™), a refinery sulphur based fertilizer suitable for agricultural applications. Unlike conventional refinery sulphur based products, this product has unique properties like faster dispersion in the soil and enhanced rate of conversion to the desired sulphate form resulting into better agronomic performance. The field trials have proved the potential of RelFarmS in improving the yield five times for crops like onions, groundnut, sunflower, sugarcane, cotton, soybeans, mangoes etc. The developed RelFarmS™ technology provides flexibility in tailoring multiple grades for specific types of soil, especially dry soil found in different regions of the country.  RelFarmS™ can also be tailored with additional functionality by incorporating crop-specific plant growth hormones to enhance crop yield.

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Reliance has developed Sulphur based intercalating networks, and working on its application development in various fields. Polysulfide based sealants and coatings are having applications in construction, industrial, marine and households due to its water resistance, good adhesion strengths and superior chemical resistance properties. Sulphur based waterless concrete is another application in construction sector. It is a binder that completely replaces the cement and water in concrete. It can be tailored to the specific needs of different concrete applications, enabling to produce high strength, durable products with a lower environmental footprint than conventional cement.

Reliance will be the largest producer of syngas from the coal gasification units at Jamnagar.  Besides being used as energy feedstock, additional valorisation of syngas is possible by converting it to chemicals / bio-chemicals via chemistry and fermentation route. Using synthetic biology approaches, novel biochemical pathways have been designed to produce various chemicals in syngas utilizing bacteria at Reliance.  Novel state of the art capabilities have been built in the metabolic engineering area.  Reliance is also developing various catalysts and processes to convert syngas into value added products using chemical route.