Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Guwahati has taken a significant step towards addressing environmental concerns by establishing the NRL - Centre of Excellence (CoE) for Sustainable Materials Translational Facility on Bioplastics.

The facility, located on the institute's campus, aims to focus on the development of sustainable plastics that are environmentally friendly. With growing awareness about the negative impact of conventional plastics, there is an increasing need for alternatives that possess similar performance properties while maintaining cost-effectiveness. IIT Guwahati's initiative seeks to meet this demand and contribute to the development of eco-friendly solutions.

Prof. Parameswar K. Iyer, Officiating Director, IIT Guwahati, said, “Such holistic technological advancement in the area of biodegradable plastics through industry support is a one-of-its-kind initiative in the country. We are hopeful that the industries will use the available knowledge base to speed up further commercial activities in the compostable plastics sector, as the current plastic problem needs to be addressed without further delay.”

The collaboration between IIT Guwahati and NRL to establish the CoE for Sustainable Materials Translational Facility on Bioplastics marks a groundbreaking academic-industrial partnership. This unique venture aims to facilitate research and development activities while also enabling the production of biodegradable plastics using waste and intermediate materials. By bringing together academia and industry, the initiative seeks to promote innovation and contribute to the development of sustainable solutions in the field of bioplastics.

Prof. Vimal Katiyar, Coordinator, NRL-Center of Excellence for Sustainable Materials, and, Dean, Research and Development, IIT Guwahati, said, “We, at IIT Guwahati, are targeting to utilize bamboo as the main raw material for the production of biodegradable plastics and related products, and once adopted, it will lead to significant industrialisation in the region.”

“We have worked on various technologies related to compostable plastics and these technologies are open for the industries,” added Prof. Katiyar.

IIT Guwahati's new Bioplastics Translational Facility houses the first pilot plant for biodegradable plastic production. It offers advanced processing capabilities for various eco-friendly plastic products.

Dr. Amit Kumar, Head, Centre for Sustainable Polymers, IIT Guwahati, said, “IIT Guwahati aims to develop a highly technical workforce in the field of biodegradable plastics and has proposed multiple industry-academic collaboration ideas for the same. The newly established Translational Facility on Bioplastics will give potential industry partners an opportunity to work on targeted projects with the researchers at IIT Guwahati.

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