Developing a novel bio-adsorbent filtration system derived from agro-forestry residues to capture particulate matter (PM) from industrial emissions, aligning with Canada’s Net-Zero targets.

Carbonizing agricultural and woody biomass (disturbance wood, flax straw, wood chips, etc.) via staged pyrolysis and chemical activation to produce macro-porous activated carbon with high surface area and adsorption capacity.

Synthesizing and optimizing lignin-based phenolic foams reinforced with natural clay fillers (montmorillonite, bentonite) to enhance thermal stability, porosity, and adsorption efficiency in high-temperature flue gas conditions.

Designing and fabricating a prototype bio-adsorbent column by blending/pairing reinforced lignin- based foams with activated carbon and silica to maximize PM capture efficiency.

Performing computational fluid dynamics (CFD) modeling to simulate gas flow, particulate transport, and adsorption kinetics within the column for performance optimization.

Conducting lifecycle assessment (LCA) and techno-economic analysis (TEA) to evaluate scalability, commercialization potential, and environmental benefits of the developed technology.

Research Advisors: Prof. Sonil Nanda (Assistant Prof. and Canada Research Chair  in Clean Agricultural Technology and Energy, Dalhousie University)

The research is focused on the production and optimization of biobased phenol formaldehyde foams for various applications for hydroponic seed germination in a greenhouse, and for environmental remediations (such as for oil-water separation, phosphorus recovery, and dye/heavy metals removal from wastewaters)

 Biomass pre-treatment methods such as de-polymerization reactions must be carried out using pilot-scale autoclave reactors (16 L)

The biomass used for the resin production includes various types of lignin (kraft, organosolv, lignosulfonate) and other agricultural residues

The synthesized bio-foams have to be analyzed using various characterization techniques such as SEM, Universal testing machine for strength applications

Research Advisors: Prof. Chunbao Charles Xu (School of Energy and Environment, City University of Hong Kong); Prof. Madhumita Ray and Prof. Anand Prakash, Chemical and Biochemical Engineering, Western University

This work focused on investigating the hydrodynamic parameters in a bubble column reactor and devising a suitable scale-up mechanism which could be applied to various industrial processes like Fischer-Tropsch synthesis and wastewater treatment plants.

Experimental investigations were carried out in a pilot bubble column reactor (Height and Diameter = 2.5 m and 0.15 m) – Hydrodynamic parameters like gas holdups, dynamic gas disengagement and bubble behavior were analyzed

Computational and numerical investigations were carried out using Ansys package. 

The effect of vertical tube internals and dense tube bundles on the reactor hydrodynamics and turbulence parameters were experimented and validated using computational simulations.

Research Advisors: Dr. Anand Prakash (Chemical and Biochemical Engineering, Western University) and Dr. Chao Zhang (Mechanical and Materials Engineering, Western University)

The work dealt with biodegradation of polythene wastes when subjected to a novel consortium of Aspergillus spp. 

A novel bioreactor was designed and developed (for commercial use) which could effectively degrade polythene in the presence of fungal consortium of Aspergillus spp. 

Research Advisors: Dr. Lingayya Hiremath (Biotechnology Engineering, RVCE) and Prof. Anupama Joshi (Chemical Engineering, RVCE)