The company was founded in 1977 in technical collaboration with the Indian Institute of Petroleum (IIP), Dehradun. It was the first used oil refining unit in North India, providing professional, technical, and QC services to its customers. IFP is the first Re-refining unit to be approved by the Ministry of Petroleum (MOP) and the Ministry of Environment (MOE). The technological upgradation has given capabilities IFP to produce refined base oil to meet virgin base oil specifications. IFP has adopted 3 stage vacuum distillation process with solvent extraction to produce 100% pure oils.

The guide during my internship was Mr. Sahil Bhargava, the company's strategy head and an IITB alum. He was very supportive and had a lot of knowledge in this field. He was always open to discussions on any topic, whether its work-related, sporting events, or life advice. I was also guided by Aman sir and Sarthak sir, who were very helpful and explained everything enthusiastically. They allotted small projects, and there was freedom to work on any aspect that interested me. I was in the R & D team and helped design the pilot plant for the new technology, which the company planned to upgrade to. I also worked on many smaller projects.

I was intrigued by the petrochemicals field after going for the Course on Wheels (CoW). We visited many industries that worked on petrochemicals, and I found it fascinating. This company involved used oil recycling and thus was very good from a sustainable point of view.

The company's selection process involved resume filtering, an AI-based interview, and a final interview. The AI round was conducted on Babblebots, where specific basic questions were asked about interests and motivation and certain MCQs. The final round was the technical round which tested chemical engineering knowledge.

During induction, I had to meet all the employees and get a brief overview of all the company's departments. It went on for 2 days. There were some introductory presentations about the company and its work. Particular reading material was shared to understand the circular economy and oil refining processes and concepts.

I had some friends who were also doing internships in Noida or Gurgaon. We used to meet on weekends and explore the capital city. We would visit monuments or explore street foods at various places. We even had a 2-day trip to Mussoorie, which was a perfect experience for all of us. Overall, there are a lot of activities to do on weekends, and you will surely not get bored.

I learned a lot about circular economy in used oil refining and Extended producer responsibility (EPR). All the textbook knowledge we gain in the 3 years can be finally tested, and it is interesting to apply the skills practically. I also learned about the supply chain of this field, from mapping the collection of used oils to refining them and distributing them to various centers for reuse.