(3bx) Sustainable Carbon Materials from Wastes

With a rapidly growing world population already over 7.7 billion, two significant challenges the world is facing are a limited supply of viable energy sources and sustainable use of wastes. In my research, I seek to apply fundamental Chemical Engineering concepts and advanced physicochemical, and thermochemical processes to recover energy from unwanted wastes. Specifically, my research focuses on developing engineered processes for the production of sustainable and cost-competitive renewable energy and carbon-based materials by integrating the process safety. My goal is to carry out hypothesis-driven research based on scientifically sound experimental design and implementation.

I have been involved in several projects working as a PhD student where, mainly focusing on the behavior of surface functionality of biomasses under different thermochemical treatments (i.e., Hydrothermal Carbonization, Pyrolysis). Surface functionality is one of the key parameters of carbon materials to use them for multi-purposes such as adsorbent, supercapacitor, catalyst, etc. For this project, I am working with a model compound (cellulose) and a real biomass (wood). The primary goal of this project is to maximize the surface functionality. In addition to this, some of the other major projects are hydrothermally degradation of emerging pollutants from water, supercritical water up-gradation of bio-crude, etc. So far, my research has yielded 7 peer-reviewed publications in highly reputed journals, such as ACS Sustainable Chemistry & Engineering, Journal of Analytical and Applied Pyrolysis, Process Safety and Environmental Protection, etc. Currently, 5 of my articles are under review in various high impact factor journals (e.g., ACS Environmental Science & Technology) and 5 more are in preparation. In addition, I have delivered 11 oral and 5 poster presentations at various national and international conferences, such as AIChE Annual Meeting, ASABE Annual International Meeting, etc.

My future research will continue to build upon my current research projects with the theme of thermochemical conversion processes, biowaste treatment, bioenergy and biomaterial production, and techno-economic analysis of the thermochemical processes. The research topics I am thinking as my future projects are: i) biomass-derived carbon materials for hydrogen gas storage, and ii) solvothermal degradation of plastic to feed into a refinery. If successful, both of these projects will answer the United States Department of Energy’s (DOE) current concern about the use of hydrogen as an energy source and recycle or reuse the plastic wastes.

Teaching Interests:

In the modern age, information can be easily accessed. This is especially true at a university, where lifetimes of knowledge can be available in the forms of scientific reports, books, and research journals. However, without the experience to handle this information it is of little use. My focus on teaching will be on how to make use of the information that is available. I will encourage students to seek out, analyze, and employ the resources that they have available to them. I will be a resource myself to students as they learn engineering fundamentals, as I will ensure they have real world context to apply their engineering knowledge.

I am comfortable teaching the Chemical Engineering core courses offered within the department at both the undergraduate and graduate levels. I appreciate the need for faculty flexibility and embrace the opportunity to cover a broad spectrum of courses. Based on my academic background, I will enjoy teaching Introduction to Chemical Engineering, Chemical Unit Operation, Fluid Mechanics, Heat Transfer, Mass Transfer, and Reactor Design. Based on my research, I also have a strong interest in the water-energy-environment nexus and process safety. As a well-trained chemical engineer, I am more than capable and willing to teach other courses based on the department’s needs.