Current Happenings ENVS News

A research paper titled “Robust visible light active PANI/LaFeO3/CoFe2O4 ternary heterojunction for the photo-degradation and mineralization of pharmaceutical effluent: Clozapine” has been published by Dr Lakhveer Singh from the Department of Environmental Science at SRM University – AP, as a co-author, in Journal of Environmental Chemical Engineering, having an Impact Factor of 5.90.

Clozapine (CZP) is a second-generation antipsychotic medicine prescribed for the treatment of resistant schizophrenia. The reported side effects of CZP includes cardiometabolic, orthostatic hypotension, tachycardia, seizures, myocarditis, weight gain and obesity. In this research, a novel magnetic ternary PANI/LaFeO3/CoFe2O4 (PLC) heterojunction photocatalyst was developed for the degradation and mineralization of pharmaceutical effluent: Clozapine. The photocatalysts were found to be re-usable for 5 consecutive cycles.

This work has been in collaboration with Central University Jammu. The present study has a new insight into the development and fabrication of efficient ternary heterojunction towards promising application prospects in wastewater remediation.

Dr Lakhveer Singh is an Editorial Board member of the Journal of Biomass Conversion and Biorefinery – Springer (I.F. 2.60) and a Guest Editor for Bioresource Technology Reports- Elsevier.

Read the full paper here: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jece.2021.106159

Biochar has an enormous potential in addressing global issues and can act as a catalyst in achieving sustainable development goals (SDGs). Dr Lakhveer Singh, Assistant professor in the Department of Environmental Science, SRM University-AP has co-authored and published a paper on the title “Biochar for environmental sustainability in the energy-water-agroecosystem nexus” in the research journal “Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews” with an Impact factor of 14.98.

Global warming, management of soil health, remediation of contaminated wastewater, and sustainable alternate source of energy are the major challenges of the 21st century. Biochar produced from waste biomass (crop residues, algal biomass, municipal waste, etc.) has dual advantages of waste management along with its application in different sectors. Biochar addition to soil improves soil health, porosity and aeration which mitigates greenhouse gas emission from soil.

In this manuscript, Dr Lakhveer Singh discusses the potential of biochar for bioenergy production (biogas and biological hydrogen production), greenhouse gases mitigation, carbon sequestration in soils, and wastewater remediation are discussed in detail along with the challenges and future prospects of biochar. This work has been executed in collaborations with the National Institute of Hydrology, Jal Vigyan Bhawan, Roorkee; J.C. Bose University of Science and Technology; YMCA, Faridabad; and IIT Delhi.

Dr Singh is an Editorial Board member of the Journal of Biomass Conversion and Biorefinery – Springer (I.F. 2.60) and a Guest Editor for Bioresource Technology Reports- Elsevier.

Read the full paper here: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S136403212100664X