Muhammad Wakil Shahzad

• CEng, MIMechE, FHEA, Global Innovation Award 2020, Gold Medalist
• Professor (Associate) at Northumbria University

This study focuses on enhancing the thermal and hydraulic characteristics of a double feedback fluidic oscillator by optimizing the Coanda surface geometry. The primary objectives include augmenting oscillation frequency and jet deflection angle, followed by evaluating and enhancing the thermal performance of the optimized configurations against a...

Zwitterionic hydrogels have attracted intensive attentions for their exceptional hydration and anti‐fouling properties, while the exploration for rational structural designs to achieve multi‐function and superior anti‐freezing capability remains an ongoing mission. Herein, a new multi‐functional zwitterionic monomer (ACHPES) is designed and develop...

U-tubes are an integral part of most compact heat exchange systems. The efficiency of these systems is governed by the thermal and fluid flow characteristics of the U-tubes. Dimpled tubes are widely known for the performance improvement in straight tubes. However in U-tubes, with inherent secondary flow and detachment at bends, dimples add complexi...

An advanced structure capable of hosting large electrochemical activity with desired balance in ion diffusion kinetics, faradic charge storage, and robust stability is the key to developing high-performance fabric-based electrochemical supercapacitors (FSCs). Herein, we develop a hierarchical multimetal oxides@graphene fabric (Cu-MO@GFF) as a super...

The poor mechanical strength and low water retention of biomass adhesives present significant challenges when substituting petrochemical adhesives in practical applications. Inspired by the colloidal gel structure in Tofu, the development of a high‐performance protein‐based adhesive derived from soybean meal (SM) oxidized by glucose oxidase (GOx) a...

Evaporative cooling systems have evolved as highly effective greenhouse-control solutions, particularly in hot and dry places such as Multan, Pakistan. This chapter evaluates the performance of direct (DEC) and indirect evaporative cooling systems (IEC) for an asymmetric greenhouse using TRNSYS software. The performance of the systems was assessed...

Covalent organic frameworks (COFs) have gained considerable attention due to their design possibilities as the molecular organic building blocks that can stack in an atomically precise spatial arrangement. Since the inception of COFs in 2005, there has been a continuous expansion in the product range of COFs and their derivatives. This expansion ha...

Desalination plants play a crucial role in meeting the growing demand for potable water. While they are highly efficient in producing desalinated water, they also generate a significant amount of reject brine, a highly concentrated saline waste stream. Disposing of this brine poses a major challenge for the desalination industry, as traditional met...

An exponential rise in cooling requirements occurred in the last few years because of rising global surface temperatures, population growth, faster urbanization, and income growth. Developing countries are facing major issues because of the larger impact of these cooling drivers. Conventional vapor compression systems are energy-demanding and invol...

The global water supply–demand gap is rising with population growth, urbanization trends, and industrialization. This situation is expected to push 40% of the world’s population below the water scarcity level by 2050. As of 2023, 20,000 desalination plants converting more than 40 bm ³ of water annually in 150 countries. However, the energy-intensiv...

Desalination is among the most feasible solutions to supply sustainable and clean drinking water in water scarcity areas. In this regard, Multi-Effect Desalination (MED) systems are particularly preferred for harsh feeds (high temperature and salinity) because of their robust mode of operation for water production. However, maintaining the efficien...

This study focuses on the thermodynamic performance analysis and optimization of CO2-based binary fluid mixtures in supercritical thermodynamic power cycles exploiting high-temperature waste heat. Response surface method is used to establish relationships between cycle performances and significant cycle parameters. Multi-objective optimization is c...

The practical implementation of aqueous Zn‐ion batteries (ZIBs) for large‐scale energy storage is impeded by the challenges of water‐induced parasitic reactions and uncontrolled dendrite growth. Herein, we propose a strategy to regulate both anions and cations of electrolyte solvation structures to address above challenges, by introducing an electr...

In this era of heightened environmental awareness, the global community faces the critical challenge of climate change. Renewable energy (RE) emerges as a vital contender to mitigate global warming and meet increasing energy needs. Nonetheless, the fluctuating nature of renewable energy sources underscores the necessity for efficient conversion and...

In twentieth century, nations are dealing with several problems related to fresh water availability that needs to be addressed at the earliest. Adsorption desalination by employing inorganic caged silica could be a feasible approach to address this pressing issue. Caged Silica is an inorganic sorbent that is widely employed in a variety of applicat...

Caged Silica is an inorganic sorbent that is widely employed in a variety of applications, including catalysts, thermal insulation, energy storage batteries, and as an adsorbent in the extraction of fresh water. Researchers have devised several techniques to prepare mono-dispersed caged silica with standard morphology. Template synthesis is quite p...

Na2FePO4F, an iron‐based fluorophosphate with facile 2D sodium ion channels, is considered as a promising cathode material for sodium‐ion batteries because of low cost, resource abundance, and nontoxicity. However, its application is considerably restricted by the limited intrinsic electronic conductivity and specific capacity. Herein, a doping str...

High-temperature Kalina cycles are among the efficient approaches to recovering waste heat. However, high-temperature Kalina cycles are characterized by complex layouts, lower efficiency, and higher cost. This work aims at conducting a comparative thermodynamic, economic, and environmental assessment of two different configurations of the high-temp...

Dehumidification is one of the key challenges facing the air conditioning (AC) industry in the treatment of moist air. Over many decades, the dual role of heat exchangers of AC chillers for the sensible and latent cooling of space has hindered the thermal-lift reduction in the refrigeration cycle due to the requirements of water vapor removal at de...

Life is dependent on water. However, in terms of the potential effects, water scarcity is quickly emerging as one of the most critical problems in the world. To access more fresh water for drinking, sanitation, and irrigation, water can be harvested from different forms of water on earth. Atmospheric harvesting is the best alternative for producing...

This paper deals with thermodynamic optimization of supercritical CO 2 recompression and partial cooling cycles operating at cycle maximum temperature of 680 • C and maximum pressure of 250 bar. The primary goal to investigate the effects of variation in heat sink temperature (ambient air temperature), mass split fraction (X), and cycle minimum pre...

The present study explores a hybrid thermal management technology based on air cooling and hybrid composite phase change material (HcPCM) filled finned heat sink for cooling performance of lower to medium heat flux dissipating electronic devices. Two-dimensional numerical simulations are conducted to study the conjugate heat transfer effects of thr...

The study aims to investigate the emerging adsorbents for adsorption desalination cum cooling system (ADCS) from the viewpoints of water production potential (WPP), specific cooling potential (SCP), energy required (ER), and coefficient of performance (COP). In this regard, five kinds of covalent triazine framework (CTF), five kinds of porous organ...

Dehumidification is one of the key challenges facing the air conditioning (AC) industry in the treatment of moist air. Over many decades, the dual role of heat exchangers of AC chillers for the sensible and latent cooling of space has hindered the thermal-lift reduction in the refrigeration cycle due to the requirements of water vapor removal at de...

The global energy consumption is projected to increase from 550 quadrillion British thermal units to 900 quadrillion Btu (580 EJ to 950 EJ) from 2018 to 2050. The growth rate in Non-Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (non-OECD) countries is four times higher than OECD as reported by The International Energy Agency. In Gulf Cooper...

Desiccant evaporative cooling systems pave the path towards energy and environmental sustainability in buildings especially; however, the direct evaporative coolers in such configurations result in high water consumption. The application of modern computational intelligence tools, including artificial intelligence and meta-heuristic optimization al...

Agriculture and agro-based industries consume more energy, mainly derived from fossil fuels. The extensive use of fossil fuels results in greater greenhouse gas emissions, ultimately triggering climate change. For example, Pakistan is an agricultural country and, per capita, emissions are considered extremely low compared to the rest of the world....

Global energy demand is expected to grow 47% by 2050, with oil remaining the number one source of energy. Renewables make up 27% of the global energy mix, as predicted by the International Energy Agency (IEA). To achieve IEA’s 2050 Net Zero targets, the electricity sector needs to reduce global emissions by nearly three-quarters. Even though renewa...

In Saudi Arabia, air conditioning is the main consumer of electricity, and increasing its energy efficiency is of great importance for energy conservation and carbon footprint reduction. This study presents the evaluation of a hybrid indirect evaporative cooling-mechanical vapor compression (IEC-MVC) cycle for cooling applications in Saudi Arabia....

Adsorption desalination is prescribed as a promising and eco-friendly solution for mitigating water scarcity, owing to its utilization of low-grade thermal waste and zero liquid brine discharge. The keystones that regulate the performance of the adsorption desalination system (ADS) include nature of adsorbents, system design, and operating conditio...

The hybrid indirect evaporative cooling-mechanical vapor compression (IEC-MVC) process is an emerging cooling technology that combines the advantages of IEC and MVC, i.e., effective temperature and humidity control, high energy efficiency, and low water consumption. This paper presents an experimental study of the hybrid IEC-MVC process. A 1-Rton p...

The canned food market is growing at an annually average rate of 3.6% due to easy access and awareness of dietary requirements, leading to a surge in water withdrawal and an estimated supply-demand gap of 40% by 2030. The conventional desalination processes are not sustainable due to high energy requirements and chemicals injection. The adsorption...

Lithium Metal Batteries In article number 2106352, Fei Chen, Ben Bin Xu, and co‐workers develop a gel polymer electrolyte (GPE) with a supramolecular crosslinked structure and quadruple hydrogen bonding to fulfill a GPE with high thermal stability, good mechanical property and a high ionic conductivity of 3.8 × 10−3 S cm−1 at 25 °C. This work encom...

The hybrid indirect evaporative cooling-mechanical vapor compression (IEC-MVC) process is deemed a promising cooling system for hot and humid areas. It possesses the merits of high energy efficiency and strong capability of temperature and humidity control. Herein, we provide an overview of the state-of-the-art investigations over different aspects...

For a well-developed, efficient and feasible system, it is necessary to produce power generation enormously with a reduction in harmful emissions like Carbon dioxide (CO 2), Carbon monoxide (CO), Nitrogen (N), Nitrogen oxide (NOx), and Sulphur dioxide (SO 2). Waste heat gases emit directly into an environment, it has many adverse effects on the env...

Rising global temperature has triggered the cooling demand in the last three decades with growing predictions for the future. The use of conventional energy-intensive and high global warming chemical-based cooling systems is working in a loop, increasing the global warming rate, emissions, and cooling system inventory. Therefore, the development of...

A large power generation facility is a complex multi-criteria system associated with multivariate couplings, high dependency, and non-linearity among the operating variables which present a major challenge to ensure efficient power production. In this research, an integrated artificial intelligence (AI) and response surface methodology (AI-RSM) fra...

Cooling has a significant share in energy consumption, especially in hot tropical regions. The conventional mechanical vapor compression (MVC) cycle, widely used for air-conditioning needs, has high energy consumption as air is cooled down to a dew point to remove the moisture. Decoupling the latent cooling load through dehumidification from the se...

A major fraction of secondary energy consumed for our daily activities, such as electricity and low-grade heat sources, emanates from the conversion of fossil fuels in power plants. In the seawater desalination processes, the energy efficiency is usually expressed in kWh electricity or kWh of low-grade heat per unit volume of water produced. Althou...

Since the 1970s, commercial-scale thermally-driven seawater desalination plants have been powered by low-grade energy sources, drawn either with low-pressure bled-steam from steam turbines or the solar renewable energy harvested that are supplied at relatively low temperatures. Despite the increasing trend of seawater reverse osmosis plants, the ro...

The present study provides insights into the energy-saving potential of a membrane energy recovery ventilator (ERV) for the management of building air-conditioning loads. This study explores direct (DEC), Maisotsenko cycle (MEC) evaporative cooling, and vapor compression (VAC) systems with ERV. Therefore, this study aims to explore possible air-con...

Atmospheric water harvesting (AWH) has been an appealing prospect for decades to overcome water scarcity in remote areas. Adsorption-based AWH technologies have gained popularity due to their adaptability, and applicability using low-grade heat sources. This study presents up-to-date and future possibilities of adsorbents and systems for adsorption...

Porous adsorbent materials (silica gel, zeolite, and metal‐organic framework, etc.) have a high affinity to water molecules, which provides a strong driving force for desalination and water treatment. An adsorption desalination cycle is based on the interaction between adsorbents and water vapor. Compared with other water treatment technologies, ad...

A direct-contact heat and mass exchanger (DCHME) has many advantages over a traditional surface-type heat exchanger, including a high heat transfer coefficient, simplicity of design, and low OPEX and CAPEX. DCHME has a capability to exchange of both heat and mass between the two fluids in the same process. Hence, DCHMEs are widely used in numerous...

Energy recovery in conventional thermal systems like power plants, refrigeration systems, and air conditioning systems has enhanced their thermodynamic and economic performance. In this regard, compact heat exchangers are the most employed for gas to gas energy recovery because of their better thermal performance. This paper presents an economic op...

Polymer‐based solid electrolytes (PSEs) offer great promise in developing lithium metal batteries due to their attractive features such as safety, light weight, low cost, and high processability. However, a PSE‐based lithium battery usually requires a relatively high temperature (60 °C or above) to complete charge and discharge due to the poor ioni...

Exergoeconomic analysis, a simultaneous investigation of exergetic and monetary performance has attained significant attention to analyze and improve the performance of energy conversion systems. This combined analysis allows an individual audit of all the components in the system. The research is particularly useful for multi-component systems to...

The pursuit for high‐energy and intrinsically safe energy storage is significantly driving the development of solid‐state alkali metal batteries. The interfacial contact between the metal anode and the solid electrolyte plays a key role in enabling stable cycling of solid batteries. However, the sluggish alkali atom replenishment rate during stripp...

The energy efficiency of seawater desalination processes is usually expressed in terms of kWh electricity or low-grade heat per cubic meter of water produced. This energy efficiency evaluation criteria unfortunately omitted the embedded quality of derived energy input. To have fair comparison of assorted desalination processes, it is important to c...

The creation of drag-reducing surfaces in deformed tubes is of vital importance to thermal management, energy, and environmental applications. However, it remains a great challenge to tailor the surface structure and wettability inside the deformed tubes of slim and complicated feature. Here, we describe an electrochemical anodization strategy to a...

Geothermal energy attracts many scientists' attention because of its availability throughout the year and its low carbon emissions, making it a suitable replacement for fossil fuels. The Earth's thermal energy can be extracted via boreholes drilled into the subsurface, and utilized as a reliable heat source for industrial, commercial, and residenti...

Heat exchangers serve as a linchpin for chemical-and-process industries and enhance system performance through energy recovery from waste heat streams. This beneficial reuse of energy reduces thermal loads and offers several benefits from economic and environmental viewpoints. The current paper presents a systematic numerical framework for the prel...

Adsorption-based desalination (AD) is an emerging concept to co-generate distilled fresh water and cooling applications. The present study is aimed to provide a comprehensive review of the adsorption desalination systems and subsequent hybridization with known conventional cycles such as the multiple-effect AD (MED), solar regenerable, integrated e...

The indirect evaporative cooler (IEC) is deemed an effective and sustainable alternative to existing mechanical vapor compression (MVC) chillers in cooling applications. However, IEC is a passive cooler that has no effective control over the supply air temperature and humidity. Also, the performance of IEC degrades severely when the humidity of the...

Thermal design and analysis of heat exchangers are predominantly conducted considering constant heat transfer coefficients. However, these vary along the length and affect the calculations of heat transfer rates and area allocations. The current paper investigates the variations in the heat transfer coefficients in plate heat exchangers (PHX), usin...

Heat exchangers are the mainstay of thermal systems and have been extensively used in desalination systems, heating, cooling units, power plants, and energy recovery systems. This chapter demonstrates a robust theoretical framework for heat exchangers investigation based on two advanced tools, i.e., exergoeconomic analysis and Normalized Sensitivit...

Owing to its high energy efficiency without using greenhouse gases, dew point evaporative cooling offers a desired solution for thermal management of electronic and electrical devices. This paper elucidates the transient behavior of a dew point evaporative cooler and its significant influence on the dynamic cooling performance. A large time constan...

Cogeneration of power-and-water is one of the potential solutions for ever-rising energy and freshwater demand. These systems have shown superior thermodynamic and economic performance compared to their standalone counterparts because of processes synergy and shared utilities resources. The current study investigates a multi-effect distillation sys...

This paper describes an ejector model for the prediction of on-design performance under available conditions. This is a direct method of calculating the optimal ejector performance (entrainment ratio or ER) without the need for iterative methods, which have been conventionally used. The values of three ejector efficiencies used to account for losse...

Indirect evaporative cooling technology has emerged as an energy-efficient, low-cost, and sustainable alternative to conventional air conditioning systems for space cooling. This is because of its significant (40-50%) energy-saving potential compared to ventilation, vapor compression cooling, and desiccant cooling systems. The current paper present...

Adsorption-based heat transformation systems are studied from the twentieth century; however, their performance is low to replace conventional systems. Metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) are providing a new class of micro- and nano-porous organic adsorbents. These have adjustable geometry/topology with a large surface area and pore volume. A compariso...

Cogeneration of electricity and freshwater by integrating photovoltaic/thermal collectors and desalination systems is one of the most promising methods to tackle the challenges of water and energy shortage in remote areas. This study investigates a decentralized water/electricity cogeneration system combining concentrated photovoltaic/thermal colle...

Pakistan is among the countries that have already crossed the water scarcity line, and the situation is worsened due to the recent pandemic. This is because the major budget of the country is shifted to primary healthcare activities from other development projects that included water treatment and transportation infrastructure. Consequently, water-...

With growing global desalination capacity, brine from desalination plants has become an environmental threat to the ecosystems. One sustainable method for brine treatment is to develop zero liquid discharge systems that completely convert seawater into freshwater and salts. This paper presents a zero liquid discharge system, which consists of multi...

Owing to its great energy efficiency, dew point evaporative cooling is an ideal solution for cooling of electronics, data centers and electric vehicles, where a large amount of sensible heat is generated. To promote the application of dew point evaporative coolers, a common research gap between theoretical and experimental studies is addressed, i.e...

In seawater desalination, the energy efficiency of practical processes is expressed in kWh_electricity or low-grade-heat per m3 of water produced, omitting the embedded energy quality underlying their generation processes. To avoid thermodynamic misconceptions, it is important to recognize both quality and quantity of energy consumed. An unmerited...

Integration of energy recovery section with thermal desalination systems improves their performance from thermodynamics, economics, and environmental viewpoints. This is because it significantly reduces input energy, heat transfer area, and capital cost requirements. Above all, the system outlet streams can achieve thermal equilibrium with the envi...

The building sector consumes around half of the global energy produced and air-conditioning processes guzzle over 55% of building sector energy. The conventional refrigerant-based chillers, covering over 90% of the current cooling market, are not only energy-intensive but also have high ozone depletion and global warming potentials. Indirect evapor...

Genetic Algorithm is applied for the first time for desalination systems performance improvement. • Energy recovery in MED system can improve GOR to 17.9% and reduce SHC by 13.8%. • Genetic Algorithm further improve the GOR by 9.26% for FF-MED configuration. • Exergoeconomic analysis provide overall evaluation of desalination systems. • Improved hy...

Understanding adsorption phenomena is essential to optimize and customize the energy transformation in numerous industrial and environmental processes. The complex and heterogeneous structure of the adsorbent surface and the distinct interaction of adsorbent-adsorbate pairs are attributed to the diverse response of adsorption phenomena, measured by...

Maisotsenko cycle (M-cycle) is a promising air-cooling technique that can reduce the temperature of airflow to approaching dew-point condition, which was not possible either with direct contact techniques or indirect evaporative methods. M-cycle systems have been employed previously on gas turbines, air-conditioning systems, cooling towers, electro...

This chapter specifically focuses on the development of the adsorbent coated heat and mass exchanger as a promising energy-efficient alternative for the dehumidification and cooling of air using the low-grade waste heat. A comprehensive and compact overview is conducted on the adsorption and desorption characteristics of different high-performance...