Faculty Profile  

Nishith Verma
 Raj and Neera Singh Chair

Professor and Head - Chemical Engineering
Coordinator - Center for Environmental Science and Engineering
 

B. Tech. (Hons), IIT Kharagpur, 1982-86
Ph.D., University of Arizona, USA, 1991-95
Project Engineer, BOC (India) Ltd, Kolkata, 1986-90
Process Engineer, BOC Gases, New Jersey, USA, 1995-97
Alexander Humboldt Fellow, University of Hannover, Germany, 2004-06
Phone: 91-512-2597704/2596124               email: nishith[AT]iitk.ac.in

Research Interests:

  • Adsorption

  • Environmental Pollution Control

  • Synthesis and Application of Carbon Nanofibres and Nanoparticles

  • Mathematical Modelling and Simulation

  • Transport Phenomena

Brief Overview

 

Our research themes center around development of carbon based adsorbents, especially carbon nanofibers and carbon nanoparticles in the adsorption and catalytic reaction applications. Specifically, the focus is on the synthesis and characterization of the adsorbents and metal catalysts for the removal of common atmospheric air pollutants such as CO2, NOx, and SOx by adsorption and/or catalytic oxidation and that of solutes like arsenic, fluoride, heavy metals, and organics from wastewater by adsorption. We have also undertaken studies on the development of carbon molecular sieves for the sequestration of CO2. We have carried out experimental studies on the development of novel liquid-solid contactors to remove dissolved solutes from wastewater. On the theoretical side, a number of mathematical models based on lattice Boltzmann method have been developed to predict the breakthrough curves in the narrow tubular packed bed adsorber. The recent focus is on the development of lattice Boltzmann models for multi-phase flow.

 

Awards and Honours

  • Alexander von Humboldt Research Fellowship

  • M. H. Shukla Memorial Award for the Best technical paper presented, CHEMCON, Kolkata (December 2000).

  • AICTE career award for the young teacher (1998).

  • University of Arizona Graduate Fellowship (1991-92).

  • S. K. Nandi Memorial merit scholarship, IIT Kharagpur (1985-86)

Patents

  • “Liquid-solid radially cross-flow multi-stage fluidized bed contactor” (IPA No.830/DEL/2007; Inventors: Nishith Verma and Rupesh Verma).

  • “Process for synthesis of sonicated hierarchal web of carbon micro-nano-fiber and applications thereof" (IPA No. 1157/DEL/2009; Inventors: Nishith Verma and Ashutosh Sharma).
     

Selected Recent Publications

  • Saraswat, R., Talreja, N., Deva, D., Ramakrisnan, N., Sharma, A., Verma, N. “Development of novel in-situ nickel-doped, phenolic resin-based micro-nano-activated carbon adsorbents for the removal of vitamin B-12”, Chemical Eng. J. Accepted (2012).
  • Mishra, P., Verma, N., “A CFD study of a vertical chemical vapor deposition reactor for growing carbon nanofibers”, Chemical Engineering Research and Design. Accepted (2012).
  • Mekala Bikshapathi, Shiv Singh, Bhaskar Bhaduri, Gyanesh N. Mathur, Ashutosh Sharma, Nishith Verma., “Fe-nanoparticles dispersed carbon micro and nanofibers: Surfactant-mediated preparation and application to the removal of gaseous VOCs”, Colloids and Surfaces A: Physicochem. Eng. Aspects 399 (2012) 46– 55.
  • Agrahari, G. Shukla, S.K., Verma, N. Bhattacharya, P.K., “Model prediction and experimental studies on the removal of dissolved NH3 from water applying hollow fiber membrane contactor ”, J. Membrane Science, 390-391, 164-174 (2012).
  • Mekala, B., Mathur, G.N., Sharma, A., Verma, N., “Surfactant enhanced multiscale carbon webs of nanofibers and nickel nanoparticles for the removal of gaseous persistent organic pollutants ”, Ind. Eng. Chem. Res., 51 (4), 2104–2112 (2012).
  • Katepalli, H., Mekala B., Sharma, C. S., Verma, N., Sharma, A., “Synthesis of hierarchical fabrics by electrospinning of PAN nanofibers on activated carbon microfibers for environmental remediation applications ”, Chemical Eng. J., 171(3) 1194-1200 (2011).
  • Kumar, V., Talreja, N., Deva, D., Sankararamakrishnan, N., Sharma, A., Verma, N., “Development of bi-metals doped micro- and nano multi-functional polymeric adsorbents for the removal of fluoride and arsenic(V) in wastewater ”, Desalination, 282(1) 27-38 (2011).
  • Naik, J., Mekala B., Singh, R.K., Sharma, A., Verma, N., Joshi, H.C., Srivastava, A., “Preparation, surface functionalization and characterization of carbon micro fibers for adsorption applications ”, Environmental Eng Sci., 28(10) 725-733 (2011).
  • Agrahari, G., Verma, N., Bhattacharya, P.K., “Application of hollow fiber membrane contactor for the removal of carbon dioxide from water”, J. Membrane Sci., 375(1-2) 323-333 (2011).
  • Chakraborty, A., Deva, D., Sharma, A., Verma, N., “Adsorbents based on carbon microfibers and carbon nanofibers for the removal of phenol and lead from water ”, J. Colloid and Interface Sci, 359(1) 228-239 (2011).
  • Mekala B., Mandal, S., Mathur, G.N., Sharma, A., Verma, N., “Modification of activated carbon fiber by metal dispersion and surface functionalization for the removal of 2-chloroethanol”, Ind. Eng. Chem. Res., 50 (23), 13092–13104 (2011)
  • Mekala B., Sharma, A., Sharma, A., Verma, N., " Preparation of carbon molecular sieves from carbon micro and nanofibers for sequestration of CO2", ", Chem Eng Res Design, 89(9) 1736-1746 (2011).
  • Mekala B., Verma, N., Singh, R.K., Joshi, H. C., Srivastava, A., " Preparation of Activated Carbon Fibers from Cost Effective Commercial Textile Grade Acrylic Fibers", Carbon Letters, 12 (1) 44-47 (2011).
  • Verma, R., Kumar, R., Pandey, Devesh M.,and Verma, N., "Hydrodynamic study on multi-staged radially cross-flow fluidized bed ion-exchange column". Chem Engg Processing and Intensification, 49 (11) 1199-1204, (2010).
  • Gupta, A., Deva, D., Sharma, A, Verma, N., "Fe-grown carbon nanofibers for the removal of As (V) in wastewater", I&EC Research , 49 (15) 7074-7084, (2010).

  • Sharma, A. K., Verma, N., Sharma, A., Deva, D., Sankararamakrishnan, N., "Iron Doped Phenolic Resin Based Activated Carbon Micro and Nanoparticles by Milling: Synthesis, Characterization and Application in Arsenic Removal", Chemical Eng Sci, 65 (11) 3591-3601, 2010.

  • Verma, N., Mewes, D., Luke, A.,"Lattice Boltzmann study of velocity, temperature, and concentration in micro-reactors", International J. Heat and Mass Transf. 53 (15-16) 3175-3185, 2010.

  • Rathore, R., Srivastava, D., Agarwal, A., Verma, N., "Development of Surface Functionalized Activated Carbon Fiber for Control of NO and Particulate Matter", Journal of Hazardous Materials 173 (1-3), 211-222 (2010)

  • Gupta, A., Deva, D., Sharma, A, Verma, N., 'Adsorptive Removal of Fluoride by Micro-Nano Hierarchal Web of Activated Carbon Fibers', I&EC Research 48 (21) 9697-9707 (2009).

  • Verma, N and D. Mewes, 'Lattice Boltzmann methods for simulation ofmicro and macro transport in a packed bed of porous adsorbents under non-isothermal condition', Computers and Mathematics with Applications 58 (2009) 1003-1014.

  • Verma, R., Srivastava, G., Verma, N., 'Novel Multi-staged radially cross-flow fluidized bed ion-exchange column', Chemical Engineering and Processing 48, 396-407 (2009).

 
 
 

 

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