Browsing by Author "Dr. Murid Hussain"

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A Study of Mesoporous Ag3 VO4 Photocatalyst with Enhanced Visible-Light-Driven Photocatalytic Degradation of Dyes
(Library Information Services COMSATS University Islamabad Lahore Campus, 2021-02-25) Iqra Mahboob; SP20-R06-008; Dr. Murid Hussain; LHR TP 7562
Presently, the increased rate of pollution has made the preservation of environment a foremost issue worldwide. The visible-light-driven and environment-friendly technique of photocatalysis has marked to be an efficient technology for the resolution of this issue. The technology employs the energy of light photons for the generation of electron-hole pairs at the surface of the semiconductor photocatalyst, which were then employed for the degradation of the toxic compounds. Herein, mesoporous Ag3VO4 photocatalyst has been developed by using the KIT-6 silica hard template. The desired small-sized particles of photocatalysts were produced inside the meso pores of the hard template, which was then removed by the dissolution in the alkaline solution. The obtained material was tested for its superior physicochemical properties by employing a range of characterizations such as FTIR, XRD, Raman, PL, SEM, BET, UV-Vis DRS etc. The obtained material exhibited a very high surface area, high pore volume, possession of monoclinic phase, less recombination of electron-hole pairs, more capability of light harvesting, making the photocatalyst capable enough to generate excellent activity results. The as-synthesized material was employed for the degradation of organic dyes, which were subsequently analyzed by using UV-vis Spectroscopy. The photocatalytic degradation capability of as-synthesized materials was found higher than that of the conventional one, which was attributed to its high surface area, accessibility of a maximized number of active sites, possession of monoclinic phase and less electron-hole recombination characteristic. The kinetic study revealed good compliance with the pseudo-first order reaction mechanism. Similarly, a comprehensive parametric study for the optimization of parameters governing the photocatalytic reaction was conducted. A tentative reaction mechanism was proposed. Furthermore, the recyclability and regeneration tests were carried out to examine the commercial applicability of the anticipated technology.
Bimetallic Nanoparticles on Eggshell-Derived CaO Catalyst for Efficient Biodiesel Production
(Library Information Services, COMSATS University Islamabad, Lahore Campus, 2025) Ali Murad; CIIT/FA23-RCH-001/LHR; LHR TP 10008; Dr. Murid Hussain
The transformation of agricultural waste into an effective catalyst will not only provide clean energy but also help to minimize waste disposal issues. In this study, leftover eggshell powder was calcined at 900 oC to make CaO powder, which is then incorporated with Ag and Cu nanoparticles synthesized through a green route by utilizing polyalthia lonfifolia plant extract. Four catalysts categorized as CaO, Ag/Cao, Cu/CaO, and Ag-Cu/CaO were prepared and utilized in the transesterification reaction separately. Rice bran oil was utilized to make FAMEs by employing these four catalysts separately. The prepared catalysts were characterized by XRD, FTIR, TGA, and SEM, while BET (for Ag-Cu/CaO only) was used to assess the catalysts’ crystalline shape, structural changes upon doping. The bimetallic doped heterogeneous nano-catalyst (Ag-Cu/CaO) provided a maximum biodiesel yield 99% at optimum reaction conditions (oil to methanol 1:9, reaction time 3hr, temperature 65 oC, catalyst loading 3 wt%). The single doped catalyst, such as Ag/CaO, provided 92% apparent biodiesel yield, Cu/CaO provided 93% yield at optimum conditions. The undoped CaO nano-catalyst offered a lower biodiesel yield of only 88% at optimum conditions. The biodiesel prepared by utilizing Ag-Cu/CaO nano-catalyst at optimum conditions was assessed by GC-MS for the confirmation of FAMEs preparation. In addition to this, biodiesel characteristics such as Cloud point, pour point, Flash point, and density were also investigated and compared with ASTM D6751 standards. The apparent biodiesel yield and parametric studies were utilized to evaluate the catalytic effectiveness of CaO, Ag/CaO, Cu/CaO catalysts in the transesterification reaction for biodiesel production.
Catalytic Supercritical Water Gasification of Biomass for Hydrogen Production
(Library Information Services, COMSATS University Islamabad, Lahore Campus, 2024) Ali Ahsan; FA22-RNE-003; Dr. Murid Hussain; LHR TP 9306
With a focus on rice husk, this study explores the possibilities of supercritical water gasification (SCWG) for the effective synthesis of hydrogen from biomass. Compared to conventional fossil fuels, biomass is a possible substitute, and SCWG provides an energy- and environmentally friendly method of producing hydrogen. The need to maximize catalytic efficiency and reduce this process's environmental impact is what motivates the study. The main focus is on Ni/eggshell catalysts, with the goal of filling up important information gaps about catalytic activity, stability, and the generation of clean hydrogen from biomass sources that are renewable. This research assesses the performance of Ni/eggshell catalysts in biomass SCWG and seeks to establish the suitable working conditions that would yield the highest levels of hydrogen with negligible levels of by-products. The catalyst synthesized with three loadings (5 wt%, 10 wt%, and 20 wt%) in the production of hydrogen in SCW at three different temperatures (370°C, 450°C, and 500°C) and two residence time (60 minutes and 80 minutes) Also, it reviews the Ni/eggshell catalysts in the aspects of activity, stability, and impact on the environment in SCWG. Ni/eggshell proved to be very active in SCWG of rice husk biomass especially with moderate loading of Ni, (10 wt% provided adequate active sites with least chance of particle sintering). According to the experiments, the best conditions for hydrogen production were the temperature 500°C; the residence time of 80 minutes, and the catalyst loading of 10 wt%. These conditions gave the highest gas yields and hydrogen content, and the least solid residues implied that the biomass was almost fully converted. The SEM and XRD studies revealed that there are no morphological changes, and the Ni particles were effectively dispersed and uniformly distributed on the CaO support, thus the catalytic activity was constant. According to the obtained FTIR and XRD results, the catalyst was stable in the course of the reaction.
Removal of Dyes from Industrial Wastewater using N/S Co-doped TiO2 Nanostructures
(Library Information Services COMSATS University Islamabad Lahore Campus, 2020-02-19) Ruhma Rashid; SP19-R06-011; Dr. Murid Hussain; LHR TP 6514
With the development of mankind, society, science and technology, our sphere is approaching to a new horizon, but to meet the emerging stress in the current situation the cost level is going to be too high. Among these penalties of rapid growth, pollution in our ecosystem has become the major delinquent. In addition to all other requirements, the request for pure water has increased exponentially with agricultural, industrial and domestic sectors utilizing 70, 22 and 8% of the prevailing freshwater, respectively, hence resulted in the liberation of a significant amount of wastewater taking a number of toxic ‘pollutants’. Wastewater treatment now has become a major attention-seeking issue to researchers. In different manufacturing industries, commercial dyes are used in plastic, textiles, paper, leather, foodstuffs and pharmaceuticals. Synthetic dyestuffs that are extensively used in various industries, responsible for contamination of wastewater due to which approximately 10,000 synthetic dyes (e.g. triphenylmethane, anthraquinone, dichlorobenzidin and azo dyes) are increasing year after year. It is more or less investigated that the loss of reactive dyes (more than 10%) in textile processing resulted in the liberation of a significant amount of dye wastes that have a damaging effect on human health and environment. Thus the removal of hazardous dyes from wastes demands utmost attention because most of the dyes are not biodegradable easily. Adsorption has been recognized as a promising dye treatment technique due to its simplicity, substantial productivity, low cost and fast adsorbent/adsorbate interaction time. The removal efficiency of the adsorption process may reach up to 99.9%. The United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) categorized adsorption as one of the most efficient wastewater treatment approaches. Titanium dioxide (TiO2) or Titania is known as an excellent adsorbent for environmental applications. Titania films possess high adsorption capacity for a large variety of dyes such as basic red 46, basic blue 41. TiO2 based nanocomposite materials have drawn the attention of investigators, due to the wide possibilities of properties modification in the field of material sciences. TiO2 doping with other materials is considered an effective strategy, in order to improve its adsorbent character and enhancing the efficiency to separate the dyes.