Ashok Bhaskarwar

Indian Institute of Technology Delhi | IIT Delhi · Department of Chemical Engineering

Plastic pollution is one of the problems of greatest concern of our times. Plastic has been used since around the year 1950. But, the convenience and usefulness of this material did not make the users think twice about its dark side. It is handy, cheap, lightweight, and of a durable nature helping in reaching every corner of the home as well as ind...

Energy is an underlying essential in today’s world. The thriving energy demands are mainly due to increased urbanization. Fossil fuels are becoming increasingly scarce as a result of mankind’s incessant burning of them to satisfy rising energy demands. The use of these nonrenewable energy sources also contributes to climate change by releasing gree...

Conference organized by Association of Chemistry Teachers and GUJCOST

The current research work examines the usability of surfactant-free microemulsion fuels as a substitute in CI engines, with alcohol being used as an amphi-solvent. Studies were carried out on different compositions of microemulsions with 35% volume and 40% volume butanol, named ME35 and ME40, having 57.8–64.4% volume diesel and 0.6–2.2% volume wate...

Microemulsions are preferred over other methods of mixing two immiscible liquids as they are thermodynamically stable, but require a high percentage of surfactant. Surfactant-free microemulsions, on the other hand, use an amphisolvent instead of surfactants, making them an economical alternative. The current experimental investigation focuses on fo...

In the present work investigations on the morphological, structural, optoelectronic, and photoelectrochemical properties of Cu2O were carried out in detail at various deposition pH values. It was observed that Cu2O maintained the polycrystalline nature and exhibited (111) plane dominance irrespective of the deposition pH. Using the Debye-Scherrer e...

The concentration of carbon dioxide gas has accelerated over the last two decades which cause drastic changes in the climatic conditions. In industries, carbon capture plants use a volatile organic solvent which causes many environmental threats. So, a low-cost green absorbent has been formulated with nontoxicity and high selectivity properties for...

Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells (DSSCs) or Grätzel cells have attracted widespread attention due to their low cost, ease of fabrication, and reasonably good photochemical conversion efficiency. The photochemical efficiency of solar cells mainly depends on their design, development, electrodes, and electrolyte used. The use of conducting polymers in sola...

In the current work, butanol-diesel-water microemulsions were formulated to replace up to 40% (v/v) of diesel without the use of any surfactant. These microemulsions had properties such as heating value, density, kinematic viscosity, cloud point, and copper strip corrosion rating within the standard specifications of diesel fuel oil. The microemuls...

Concentration of carbon dioxide gas has accelerated from the last two decades which cause drastic changes in the climatic conditions. In industries, carbon capture plants use volatile organic solvent which causes many environmental threats. So, a low-cost green absorbent has been formulated with nontoxicity and high selectivity properties for absor...

Hydrogen generation through solar-water splitting is expected to address the global energy crisis by providing a source for a safer and sustainable alternative fuel. Herein, we report a facile synthesis of Cu2O nanowires and show that the magnetic field could influence the nanowires’ distribution and alignment. Orientation of nanowires was observed...

Many chemical processes require use of a solvent. Due to the adverse environmental effects of volatile organic compounds (VOCs), there is a need for replacement of traditional volatile solvents and hence a rising interest among researchers in the field of non-volatile solvents. A large number of chemical reactions are carried out in the presence of...

Heterogeneous photocatalysis refers to the series of oxidation and reduction reactions on a semiconductor surface by the electrons and holes generated by absorption of light by the catalyst. This method is widely used for the degradation of dyes and their mixtures present in the textile effluent, and involves two main aspects, viz. a photocatalyst,...

The inaccessibility and poor water quality continue to pose a major threat to human health worldwide. Around billions of people lack access drinkable water. The water contains the pathogenic impurities, which are responsible for water‐borne diseases. The main purpose to write this chapter is to spread knowledge of the quality of the available water...

The development of sustainable sources of energy brings forth the idea of exploration of different renewable sources for the production of biofuels. Globally, the contribution of the biofuel industry in reducing fossil-fuel dependency, mainly in the transportation sector, is rising. With the development of alternative sources of energy, biofuels li...

In the past few years, the researchers have paying attention on the core-shell microspheres due to excellent applications. In essence, core-shell microspheres have unique composition which makes them distinguishable from other particle types. These microparticles exhibit the combined properties of both core and shell materials. In addition, they ex...

The development of renewable and sustainable energy sources along with efficient storing strategies has been the focus of utmost importance within the community to address the current energy crisis and rising energy demands. In this respect, solar hydrogen production through the route of photoelectrochemical (PEC) water-splitting is considered as a...

This work demonstrates a detailed case study on the electrodeposition of p-Cu2O onto FTO substrates. Cu2O thin films were prepared at different potentials ranging from −0.2 to −0.6 V versus Ag/AgCl. Structural, morphological, optical, and photoelectrochemical properties were investigated by X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscope, UV-Vis sp...

This paper discusses acoustic properties of aerated concrete aerated by colloidal gas aphrons.. The dependence of acoustic resistance on density of light weight material has been discussed. Two different sound levels at source have been used to study the change in sound resistance with density, and surface density. Sound absorption coefficients hav...

Kinetics of solvent extraction of zirconium, from raffinate generated in zirconium purification plant, have been studied, using tributyl phosphate as the extractant solvent. The system being a liquid-liquid dispersive system, it is chemical reaction kinetics controlled. The order of reaction, pre-exponential factor, and activation energy were deter...

Potassium‐ion batteries (KIBs) are promising alternatives to the currently used lithium‐ion batteries (LIBs). The lower redox potential of K⁺/K and its weak Lewis acidity results in the high energy density to KIBs compared to the sodium‐ion batteries (SIBs) and LIBs. However, a large ionic size of the K⁺ ion hinders the facile intercalation/de‐inte...

Microemulsions are thermodynamically stable alternatives to diesel, which could be directly used in the engine, without any modification. Surfactant‐free water‐in‐diesel microemulsions with 60.0–70.0% (vol/vol) diesel, 29.0–39.5% (vol/vol) butanol, and 0.5–2.0% (vol/vol) water were formulated, and their properties were compared against standard spe...

Possibilities of energy storage through the electrochemical capacitors (ECs) using carbon materials are discussed. Main types of ECs based on the energy storage mechanisms and their advantages and shortcomings are considered. Moreover, it is discussed that activated-carbons (ACs) have promising potential for better capacitance and high energy-densi...

Fossil fuels are currently the world’s primary source of energy. Their limited reserves and increasing emissions have, however, generated an interest in the development of renewable and cleaner alternative sources of energy. Compression ignition (CI) engine is an extensively used internal combustion engine, with a better fuel economy and efficiency...

The present disclosure relates to a microemulsion for alternative fuels. Specifically, the present disclosure focuses on a cleaner, efficient and economical diesel based alternative fuel with compatibility in existing engines and generators. The microemulsion of the disclosure has four components water, alcohol, diesel and surfactant in the specifi...

The present disclosure relates to a microemulsion fuel composition comprising a fuel, mixed-alcohols and water. The invention also discloses a method for preparing microemulsion fuel comprising a fuel in the range of 11%-93% (v/v) mixed with mixed-alcohols in the range of 5%-87% (v/v) to form a first mixture. Water in the range of 5%-87% (v/v) is a...

The main objective of this study is treatment and characterization of phosphorus from synthetic wastewater using aluminum electrodes in the electrocoagulation process. EC experimental setups were designed and different parameters were optimized. The maximum amounts of phosphorus removal efficiencies were observed at pH 7. The phosphorus removal eff...

With the advancement in technology since their discovery, newer methods of generating liposomes have been developed. Needless to say, over the time, liposomes have been modified to a large extent and engineered to suit many of our growing needs in all walks of life. This book throws light on the various methods of preparation and characterization o...

The elevated demand and limited sources of fossil fuels, along with the increasing levels of pollution, have generated intense interest in the development of renewable and cleaner sources of energy. A number of alternative-energy technologies are emerging worldwide, but most of these are still in the early stages of development and are uneconomical...

In order to address the challenges in sustainable global development, considerable efforts have been made to replace the conventional fossil fuels with the renewable resources of energy, using photocatalysts and photo-electrochemical cells (PECs) by harvesting solar energy. Here, we propose a thorough study on the electrodeposition of Cu2O and infl...

NiO/ZrO2 xerogel was synthesized by single-step epoxide driven sol-gel method for the decomposition of hydrogen iodide (HI) to produce hydrogen in thermochemical sulfur-iodine (SI) cycle. The catalytic decomposition of HI was carried out in the temperature range of 400oC-550oC in a vertical fixed-bed reactor. The catalyst was characterized by powde...

The present invention relates to a method for preparing reduced graphene oxide (rGO) nanoparticles. The method comprises combustion of a source of carbon under high pressure in the presence of oxygen. The method disclosed in the present invention is a single-step cost effective method of preparation of reduced graphene oxide (rGO) nanoparticles as...

Microemulsions are sustainable alternatives to fossil fuels, which could possibly be used without any modifications in current engines and storage-transportation-supply infrastructure. Our current work attempts to examine the usability of butanol-diesel-water microemulsion fuels in a diesel engine. A small percentage of water is desirable, as it re...

There is an urgent need for sustainable alternative fuels due to the limited stocks of and increasing demand for fossil fuels, as well as evermore increasingly-stringent environmental regulations. Microemulsions are thermodynamically stable alternatives which could be directly used in the engine without any modification. Our current work attempts t...

Solar-power driven photoelectrochemical (PEC) water splitting using semiconductor photoelectrodes is one of the most promising approaches for energy conversion, in terms of production of renewable hydrogen with a minimum carbon footprint. There are, however, enormous challenges to be overcome to obtain sufficient solar water-splitting efficiency, s...

In this work, Pt/TiO2 catalysts were synthesized by a simple sol-gel method at different calcination temperatures. TEM study revealed 5 nm particles of Pt/TiO2 calcined at 400 °C. BET surface area decreased with an increase in the calcination temperature of Pt/TiO2 catalysts. The catalytic order for the hydrogen-iodide decomposition reaction was as...

Multiple research areas have emerged in view of the deleterious impacts of oil-spills on the environment and the relative intractability of the problem per se. The dimensions mostly explored thus far, relate to the prediction of the fate of oil-spill and development of effective counter-measures. Among the counter measures, development of effective...

Lake Ziway is shallow freshwater located in Northern part of Ethiopian Rift Valley. Expansions of the flower industry, fisheries, intensive agricultural activities, fast population growth lead to deterioration of water quality and depletion of aquatic biota. The objectives of the present study are to evaluate the spatial and temporal variations in...

Ceria (CeO2) and Ir-doped CeO2 nanoparticles are tested for catalytic hydrogen-iodide decomposition in a thermochemical sulfur-iodine (SI) cycle. Ir-doped CeO2 strongly increases the hydrogen-iodide conversion as compared to pure CeO2 and also shows good stability for a time period of 5 h. The solution combustion method allows the incorporation of...

Solar-power driven photoelectrochemical (PEC) water splitting using semiconductor photoelectrodes is one of the most promising approaches for energy conversion, in terms of production of renewable hydrogen with a minimum carbon footprint. There are, however, enormous challenges to be overcome to obtain sufficient solar water-splitting efficiency, s...

The kinetically stable oil-in-water emulsions are widely used in steel industries for cooling and lubrication of contacting metal surfaces, like of rollers and steel plates. Such types of emulsions have high specific heats and heat transfer coefficients, which make them operable under high temperature and pressure conditions. Besides enhancing the...

Solar-power driven photoelectrochemical (PEC) water splitting using semiconductor photoelectrodes is one of the most promising approaches for energy conversion, in terms of production of renewable hydrogen with a minimum carbon footprint. There are, however, enormous challenges to be overcome to obtain sufficient solar water-splitting efficiency, s...

Aeration of cement and cement mortars is a critical step in the manufacture of aerated concrete. Presently, metallic powders and foams are used for air entrainment. This paper explores a new method of air entrainment. Aerated concrete has been prepared in the laboratory with separate systems of cement-sand, cement-fly ash, and cement-GBFS (granulat...

In this study, CeO2, and CeO2-M (M=Fe, Co, and Ni) catalysts were prepared by sol–gel method for catalytic decomposition of hydrogen-iodide in sulfur–iodine (SI) cycle. These catalysts sample were characterized by Brunauer–Emmett–Teller (BET), X-ray diffraction (XRD), inductively coupled plasma-atomic emission spectroscopy (ICP-AES), transmission e...

ABSTRACT Globally, mass incineration is the most commonly used waste-to-energy (WtE) technology for processing of Municipal Solid Waste (MSW). In such plants, the MSW, as received, is kept in a bunker for approximately 7 days for reduction of moisture, and homogenization. The waste is then subjected to controlled combustion in a mass-burn incinerat...

There is a need for sustainable alternative fuels which can address and alleviate both economical and environmental issues. The current work is based on alcohol–diesel–water microemulsion fuels. Microemulsions are thermodynamically stable and isotropic dispersions of oil, water, and an amphiphile. Diesel is used as the oil phase in microemulsion wh...

The magnetite (Fe3O4) nanoparticles are superparamagnetic in nature. These can be synthesized by several methods such as co-precipitation, sol-gel, and thermal decomposition. Among these, co-precipitation method is the best method if Fe3O4 nanoparticles are required in bulk amount. The present work is based on co-precipitation method for the synthe...

The magnetite (Fe3O4) nanoparticles are superparamagnetic in nature. These can be synthesized by several methods such as co-precipitation, sol-gel, and thermal decomposition. Among these, co-precipitation method is the best method if Fe3O4 nanoparticles are required in bulk amount. The present work is based on co-precipitation method for the synthe...

Abstract Oil-in-water emulsions are used in large amounts in hot-rolling mills of steel industries for cooling and lubrication of contacting metal surfaces. These emulsions are comparatively stable kinetically, and have high specific heats and heat transfer coefficients, and therefore can be used under high temperature and pressure conditions in h...

In this work, high surface area rare earth (RE = La, Pr, and Nd) metal-doped ceria (CeO2) nanocatalysts have been synthesized by the citric-aided sol-gel method for hydrogen-iodide decomposition in thermochemical water-splitting sulfur-iodine (SI) cycle for hydrogen production. This sol-gel method allows the insertion of rare earth metal M³⁺ ions i...

Sulfur-iodine (SI) cycle is a promising technology to produce large quantities of carbon-free hydrogen from hydrogen iodide. This cycle was first developed by General Atomics, USA in 1971. Till then, it is used various researchers for production of hydrogen [1-3]. Hydrogen is considered as a clean, cheap, renewable and environment friendly energy c...

In this chapter, we thoroughly explore core–shell nanostructures as a platform for various sensing applications. We cover both fundamental science and the current progress achieved in this field. The first part of the paper focuses on the types, properties, and applications of diverse core–shell-nanostructure-(CSN)-based materials (nanoparticles, q...

There is a need for sustainable alternative fuels that can address and alleviate both economical and environmental issues. The current work is based on alcohol-diesel-water microemulsion fuels. Microemulsions are thermodynamically stable and isotropic dispersions of oil, water, and an amphiphile. Diesel is used as oil phase while water in microemul...

The demand for green buildings is growing amongst rising global-level environmental concerns. Traditionally, lime was used in India as a binder. It is more durable than cement, but the strength is less. In order to improve the strength of lime based binder, many combinations of additives such as jaggery, molasses, curd, and egg yolk were used in th...

Autoclaved Aerated Concrete (AAC) has been the only globally-leading major sector in aerated concrete for over eight decades. After World War II, only a few leading suppliers of autoclaved aerated concrete were left. But today, as the demands for and requirements of green buildings are increasing, there are more than 3000 manufacturing facilities p...

Aerated concrete is produced by incorporating air or an inert gas in cement or cement-mortar matrix. It does not have coarse aggregates. The physical properties of aerated concrete are density dependent and those in turn depend upon the total number of voids and their size and spatial distribution in it. One of the most desired properties of aerate...

Hydrogen iodide (HI) decomposition is an important part of thermo-chemical water-splitting sulfur-iodine (SI) cycle which can generate large amount of hydrogen without releasing green-house carbon dioxide gas. HI-decomposition is a very slow reaction even at a high temperature of 500°C. The use of catalyst in this reaction increases the reaction ra...

This paper deals with a cerium based redox chemical process which is employed to remove fixed radioactive contaminants from alpha bearing metallic surfaces, worldwide. Oxidation of cerium to its fourth valence state is a crucial step of this process. We present a bench scale study to obtain the effect of various process parameters on conversion of...

Increasing demand and shortage of clean water sources, due to the population growth and rapid industrialization, are issues of concern worldwide. Currently available water-treatment technologies, such as adsorption, coagulation, filtration, and sedimentation, either involve high operating costs or generate secondary toxic pollutants. Heterogeneous...

In the 21st century, the biggest challenge is to replace fossil fuels with renewable-energy sources. With increasing population, the demand for energy is also steeply increasing. Solar energy is one of the best alternatives to meet this increasing energy demand. While fossil fuels emit CO2, thereby causing the greenhouse effect, solar energy has th...

In the 21st century, the biggest challenge is to replace fossil fuels with renewable-energy sources. With increasing population, the demand for energy is also steeply increasing. Solar energy is one of the best alternatives to meet this increasing energy demand. While fossil fuels emit CO2, thereby causing the greenhouse effect, solar energy has th...

In the 21st century, the biggest challenge is to replace fossil fuels with renewable-energy sources. With increasing population, the demand for energy is also steeply increasing. Solar energy is one of the best alternatives to meet this increasing energy demand. While fossil fuels emit CO2, thereby causing the greenhouse effect, solar energy has th...

Abstract The interactions among polymeric materials and penetrating molecules can be understood in terms of various processes resulting in mass transport of sorbate molecules within the sorbent. The knowledge of forces governing the transport of aqueous and organic liquids has applications in diverse areas such as oil-spill control, protective coat...

A highly active and stable catalyst for hydrogen-iodide decomposition reaction in sulfur-iodine (SI) cycle has been prepared in the form of PdCeO2 nanocatalyst by sol-gel method with different calcination temperatures (300 °C, 500 °C, and 700 °C). XRD and TEM confirmed a size around 6–8 nm for PdCeO2 particles calcined at 300 °C. Raman study reveal...

This research demonstrates the development of a novel low-cost protic ionic liquid (PIL) for carbon-dioxide (CO2) absorption from a post-combustion system at high temperature. The IL was synthesized by proton transfer from Bronsted acid to Bronsted base. The structures of the synthesized protic ionic liquids were elucidated using FT-IR, 1H NMR, 13C...

ABSTRACT Oil in water emulsions are used for lubrication and cooling of roller’s surfaces in large number of metal working industries. These are specially designed to work under high pressure and high temperature conditions. The direct discharge of these effluents would cause a serious environmental threats. Here we could break such emulsion efflu...

An invited talk on treatment of industrial wastes focusing on (a) carbon capture in a foam-bed reactor using a recently synthesised novel ionic liquid , (b) oil recovery from tough emulsion effluents of steel-rolling mills, and (c) utilisation of solid wastes from construction industry including autoclaved aerated concrete (AAC) waste with patented...

A semiconductor (Cu2O) - metal (Ni) based photo-cathode was successfully fabricated and showed an effective photo-catalytic activity. Ten times increase in current density under illumination was observed. The photo-current density was observed to be 1.18 µA/cm2 at 0.551 V.

Oil-in-water emulsions which are tough to break have been destabilised using magnetic nano-particles (MNPs) of iron oxide. The MNPs can be reused.

ABSTRACT Hydrogen is widely regarded as a next generation energy carrier, and viable alternative to fossil fuels as it is clean, cheap and renewable source of energy. Sulfur-iodine (SI) cycle is one such technology which can generate hydrogen in large quantities using thermo-chemical water-splitting reaction. It is well studied by the researchers s...

The need for printed media, particularly offset printing, continues to grow consistently in spite of the exponential increase in the usage of electronic media. But the very amount of toxic chemicals released to the environment by the printing industry –more than 41 million pounds in the year 1995 in US alone – presses the need for environment frien...

Offset lithographic printing inks based on vegetable oils have been reported to be zero VOC inks. They are absolutely zero pollution inks as they eliminate any harmful chemicals and /or VOCs in their formulation, printing as well as cleaning processes. A recent study of washing kinetics of these inks which are microemulsions of water-in-oil type, r...

NiO/ZrO2 prepared by solution-combustion method (SCM) showed near equilibrium conversions of hydrogen-iodide to hydrogen and iodine, at 500°C-550°C, at space velocities of 12.9 h-1, without any performance degradation over 50 h. XRD data of the catalyst after 10 h of reaction were compared with the same after a TPR step in H2/Ar on another catalyst...

Hydrogen is widely regarded as a next generation energy carrier, and viable alternative to fossil fuels as it is clean, cheap and renewable source of energy. Sulfur-iodine (SI) cycle is one such technology which can generate hydrogen in large quantities using thermo-chemical water-splitting reaction. It is well studied by the researchers since its...

Abstract Cerium redox decontamination process is employed to remove the fixed contamination from the metallic waste (mainly stainless steel) generated from nuclear facilities. This process involves the contacting of contaminated metallic components with a solution of Ce4+ in HNO3. Ce4+ oxidizes the metal surface, thereby releasing the radio nucleot...

Abstract Zirconium is a valuable metal, extensively used in the nuclear industry. Raffinate generated in zirconium-purification plant contains about 1 g/L of zirconium in 2M nitric-acid solution.Recovery of zirconium from the acidic raffinate is essential. This study deals withtheextraction of zirconium from simulated acid raffinate, using tributyl...