Areas of Interest
- Membrane distillation, Forward osmosis, Nanoengineered surface design, Polymeric/nanocomposite membrane fabrication, Membrane biofouling and scaling, Desalination and water/wastewater treatment, Solid waste management, Membrane based air purification
Honors and Awards
| Award | Institute | Year |
|---|---|---|
| Outstanding Academic Performance Award | City University of Hong Kong (48 in QS World Rankings) | 2018 |
| Research Tuition Scholarship (RTS) | City University of Hong Kong | 2018 |
| UGC Research funding | Government of Hong Kong | 2016 |
| Graduate Aptitude Test in Engineering (GATE) qualified | MHRD, Government of India | 2006 |
Educational Details
| Degree | Subject | University | Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ph.D. (2 years 9 months) | Environmental Engineering (Desalination, Membrane distillation) | City University of Hong Kong | 2019 |
| Master of Technology | Water Resources: Utilization & Environmental Management | Indian Institute of Technology Guwahati, India | 2008 |
| Bachelor of Engineering | Civil Engineering | Assam Engineering College, Gauhati University, India | 2006 |
Memberships
- Indian Water Resources Society, (IWRS)
Teaching Engagements
| Title | Course Code | Class Name | Semester |
|---|---|---|---|
| Desalination and Cleaner water production with membrane technologies | HYN-577 | M.Tech (Master) / PhD | Autumn |
| Rural Water Supply and Sanitation | HYN-576 | M.Tech (Master) / PhD | Autumn |
| Surface Water Quality Modeling | HYN-545 | M.Tech (Master) / PhD | Spring |
| Engineering Hydrology | HYN-102 | GT / GPT | Spring |
Visits to outside institutions
| Institute Visited | Purpose of Visit | Date |
|---|---|---|
| City University of Hong Kong | Research | 2016-09-07 |
| Water Desalination and Reuse Center, King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), Saudi Arabia | Research | 2016-11-02 |
| Global Desalination Research Center, Gwangju Institute of Science and Technology, Republic of Korea | Attendee for IDW workshop, Busan | 2017-11-21 |
| International Conference of the Aseanian Membrane Society, Brisbane, Australia | Oral Presentation | 2018-07-03 |
| IWA International Conference on Water Reclamation and Reuse, Berlin, Germany | Oral Presentation | 2019-06-19 |
Multiple post
- Guest Editor for the Special Issue on "Sustainable Technologies for Wastewater Treatment & Soil Remediation", Sustainability (ISSN 2071-1050; CODEN: SUSTDE), MDPI journal. https://www.mdpi.com/journal/sustainability/special_issues/Sustainable_Remediation
- Member - Faculty Search Committee, Department of Hydrology, IIT Roorkee.
- Member - Departmental Research Committee, Department of Hydrology, IIT Roorkee.
- Member - Departmental Academic Programme Committee, Department of Hydrology, IIT Roorkee.
- Member - Departmental Faculty Committee, Department of Hydrology, IIT Roorkee.
- Member - Admission Eligibility Committee, Department of Hydrology, IIT Roorkee.
- Member - OC Library, Department of Hydrology, IIT Roorkee.
Special Lectures Delivered
- Expert talk on “Advanced membrane technologies for desalination” during the five-day online QIP short term course on “Applied Solute Transport Modeling for Management of Polluted Land Sites”, 15-19 March 2021.
- Talk on “Wastewater collection, treatment & disposal” under the training programe on Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene (WASH) organised by the Department of WRD&M, IIT Roorkee and Indian Technical and Economic Cooperation (ITEC), Ministry of External Affairs, Govt. of India, 25th August 2021.
- Talk on “Water treatment processes and disinfectant requirements” organised by the Department of WRD&M, IIT Roorkee and Indian Technical and Economic Cooperation (ITEC), Ministry of External Affairs, Govt. of India, 26th August 2021.
Professional Background
Assistant Professor at the Department of Hydrology, Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Roorkee, India (10th September 2020 to present).
Postdoctoral Fellow at Membrane and Water Technology Laboratory, City University of Hong Kong (CityU), Tat Avenue, Kowloon, Hong Kong SAR (1st January 2020 to 2nd September 2020).
Senior Research Associate at Membrane and Water Technology Laboratory, CityU, Tat Avenue, Kowloon, Hong Kong SAR (2nd September 2019 to 31st December 2019).
Senior Research Associate (P/T) at Membrane and Water Technology Laboratory, CityU, Tat Avenue, Kowloon, Hong Kong SAR (7th August 2019 to 31st August 2019).
Visiting Research Fellow at Water Desalination and Reuse Center (WDRC), King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), Saudi Arabia (November 2016 to April 2017).
Management and Consultancy work experiences (July 2008 to August 2016) Perform roles as Assistant Manager, Design Engineer (water), Engineer (Hydraulics) at various reputed national and multinational organizations which includes Reliance, AECOM, Mott MacDonald etc.
Role in consultancy projects during PhD/Post-PhD
- Chemical pre-treatment studies for seawater to prevent scaling and fouling on reverse osmosis membrane and maintaining stable operation under the project “First Stage of Desalination Plant at Tseung Kwan O, Hong Kong SAR (Black & Veatch Hong Kong)”.
- Delineate the pre-treatment efficiency of coagulation and dissolved air flotation (DAF) for the removal of dissolved organic, inorganic, colloidal particles etc. from wastewater (Mott MacDonald Hong Kong Limited).
Supervision
Ph.D. supervision
| Name of student | Role | Title | Year |
| Gaurav Vaghela | Supervisor | Fabrication of membranes for desalination | 2021 (Ongoing) |
P.G. (Masters) supervision
| Name of student | Role | Title | Year |
| Akshit Pushkar | Supervisor | - | 2021-22 (Ongoing) |
| Kunal Singh Daspa | Co-Supervisor | Remediation of fluoride contaminated groundwater using memberane distillation | 2021 (Ongoing) |
Refereed Journal Papers
Corresponding author*, First author1
Guo, J.1, Deka, B. J.1, Wong, P. W., Sun, J., & An, A. K. (2021). Fabrication of robust green superhydrophobic hybrid nanofiber-nanosphere membrane for membrane distillation (accepted), Desalination (Q1, Impact factor: 9.501).
Deka, B. J.1, Guo, J., & An, A. K. (2021). Robust dual-layered omniphobic electrospun membrane with anti-wetting and anti-scaling functionalised for membrane distillation application, Journal of Membrane Science, 624, 119089, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.memsci.2021.119089 (Q1, Impact factor: 8.742).
Deka, B. J.1, Guo, J., Wong, P. W., Khanzada, N.K., Kharraz, J., Tsang, C. W., & An, A. K. (2021). A Conductive Hydrophobic Polyaniline Sandwiched Polyvinylidene Fluoride Membrane for Early Detection of Surfactant-Induced Wetting in Membrane Distillation Using Impedance. ACS Applied Polymer Materials, 3, 2, 679–690, https://doi.org/10.1021/acsapm.0c00991 (Q1, Impact factor: 4.089).
Deka, B. J.1, Guo, J., Jeong, S., Kumar, M., & An, A. K. (2020). Control of membrane fouling by dissolved algal organic matter using pre-oxidation with coagulation as seawater pretreatment. RSC Environmental Science: Water Research & Technology, 6, 935–944, https://doi.org/10.1039/C9EW00955H (Q1, Impact factor: 4.251).
Deka, B. J.1, Guo, J., Khanzada, N.K., & An, A. K. (2019). Omniphobic re-entrant PVDF membrane with ZnO nanoparticles composite for desalination of low surface tension oily seawater. Water Research, 165, 114982, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.watres.2019.114982 (Q1, Impact factor: 11.236).
Deka, B. J.1, Lee, E., Guo, J., Kharraz, J., & An, A. K. (2019). Electrospun nanofiber membranes incorporating PDMS- aerogel superhydrophobic coating with enhanced flux and improved anti-wettability in membrane distillation. Environmental Science and Technology, 53(9), 4948–4958. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.est.8b07254 (Q1, Impact factor: 9.028).
Deka, B. J.1, Jeong, S., AlizadehTabatabai, S. A., & An, A. K. (2018). Mitigation of algal organic matter released from Chaetoceros affinis and Hymenomonas by in situ generated ferrate. Chemosphere, 206, 718–727. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chemosphere.2018.05.052 (Q1, Impact factor: 7.086).
Deka, B. J.1, Sahariah, B. P., & Chakraborty, S. (2008). Anaerobic-Anoxic-Aerobic Three Stage Attached Growth System for Removal of Ammonia–Nitrogen and High Concentration of Phenol. Journal of Environmental Research And Development, 3(2), 442–448 (Impact factor: 4.301).
Lee, E. J., Deka, B. J., Guo, J., Woo, Y. C., Shon, H. K., & An, A. K. (2017). Engineering the Re-Entrant Hierarchy and Surface Energy of PDMS-PVDF Membrane for Membrane Distillation Using a Facile and Benign Microsphere Coating. Environmental Science and Technology, 51(17), 10117–10126. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.est.7b01108 (Q1, Impact factor: 9.028).
Lee, E. J., Deka, B. J., & An, A. K. (2018). Reinforced superhydrophobic membrane coated with aerogel-assisted polymeric microspheres for membrane distillation. Journal of Membrane Science, 573, 570–578. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.memsci.2018.12.019 (Q1, Impact factor: 8.742).
Guo, J., Deka, B. J., Kim, K.J. & An, A. K. (2019). Regeneration of Superhydrophobic TiO2 Electrospun Membranes in Seawater Desalination by Water Flushing in Membrane Distillation. Desalination, 468, 114054. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.desal.2019.06.020 (Q1, Impact factor: 9.501).
Yim, V. M. W., Lo, S. W., Deka, B. J.#, Guo, J., Kharraz, J., Wong, P. W., Horváth, I. T., & An, A. K. (2020). Molecular engineering low-surface energy membranes by grafting perfluoro-tert-butoxy chains containing fluorous silica aerogels, RSC Green Chemistry, 22, 3283–3295, https://doi.org/10.1039/D0GC00593B (Q1, Impact factor: 10.182, # 2nd author).
Guo, J., Fortunato, L., Deka, B. J., Jeong, S., & An, A. K. (2020). Elucidating the fouling mechanism in pharmaceutical wastewater treatment by membrane distillation. Desalination, Volume 475, 114148, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.desal.2019.114148 (Q1, Impact factor: 9.501).
Guo, J., Yan, D. Y. S., Lam, F. L.-Y., Deka, B. J., Lyu, X., Hau Ng, Y., & An, A. K. (2019). Self-Cleaning BiOBr/Ag Photocatalytic Membrane for Membrane Regeneration under Visible Light in Membrane Distillation. Chemical Engineering Journal, Volume 378, 122137. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cej.2019.122137 (Q1, Impact factor: 13.273).
Guo, J., Hanif, A., Shang, J., Deka, B. J., Ning, Z., & An, A. K. (2021). PAA@ZIF-8 incorporated nanofibrous membrane for high-efficiency PM2.5 capture. Chemical Engineering Journal, 405, 126584, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cej.2020.126584 (Q1, Impact factor: 13.273).
Jia, W., Kharraz, J., Choi, P. J., Guo, J., Deka, B. J., & An, A. K. (2020). Superhydrophobic Membrane by Hierarchically Structured PDMS-POSS Electrospray Coating with Cauliflower-Shaped Beads for Enhanced MD Performance. Journal of Membrane Science, 597, 117638, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.memsci.2019.117638 (Q1, Impact factor: 8.742).
Kharraz, J., Farid, M. U., Khanzada, N.K., Deka, B. J., Arafat, H. A., & An, A. K. (2020). Macro-corrugated and nano-patterned hierarchically structured superomniphobic membrane for treatment of low surface tension oily wastewater by membrane distillation. Water Research, 174, 115600, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.watres.2020.115600 (Q1, Impact factor: 11.236).
Book Chapters Authored
Corresponding author*, First author1
Bohra, V., Ahamad, K. U., Kela, A., Vaghela, G., Sharma, A., Deka, B. J.* (2021). Energy and resources recovery from wastewater treatment systems. In Vinay Kumar Tyagi, Manish Kumar, Alicia K.J. An & Zeynep Cetecioglu (Eds.), Clean Energy & Resource Recovery: Wastewater Treatment Plants are Biorefineries. Elsevier (In press).
Deka, B. J.1, Bohra, V., Alam, W., Sanasam, S., Guo, J., Borana, L., & An, A. K. (2020). Environment impact assessment of COVID-19. In Manish Kumar Goyal & Anil Kumar Gupta (Eds.), Integrated Risk of Pandemic: Covid-19 Impacts, Resilience and Recommendations, Disaster Resilience and Green Growth (pp. 169-195). Singapore: Springer Nature. ISBN: 978-981-15-7678-2. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-15-7679-9_8
Borana, L., Deka, B. J., Guo, J., & An, A. K. (2020). Environment Modeling for Sustainable Development. In Rao Y. Surampalli, Tian C. Zhang, Manish Kumar Goyal, Satinder K. Brar & R. D. Tyagi (Eds.), Sustainability: Fundamentals and Applications (pp. 229-254). US: Wiley. ISBN: 978-1-119-43396-5. https://doi.org/10.1002/9781119434016.ch11
Guo, J., Deka, B. J., & An, A. K. (2019). Electrospun Nanofiber Membranes for Membrane Distillation. In Kang-Jia Lu & Tai-Shung Chung (Eds.), Membrane distillation: membranes, hybrid systems and pilot studies (pp. 107-140). CRC Press, US: Taylor & Francis. ISBN: 9780429287879. https://doi.org/10.1201/9780429287879
Conference presentations
Corresponding author*, First author1
Deka, B. J.1; Guo, J.; Jeong, S.; Kumar, M.; An, A. K. Performance of oxidation-coagulation on mitigation of membrane fouling for microfiltration by in situ generated ferrate. 11th Conference of the Aseanian Membrane Society AMS11, 3 - 6 July 2018, Rydges Southbank Hotel, Brisbane, Australia, Oral Presentation.
Deka, B. J.1; Guo, J.; An, A. K. Electrospun nanofiber membranes incorporating PDMS-aerogel superhydrophobic coating with enhanced flux and improved selectively for membrane distillation. 12th IWA International Conference on Water Reclamation and Reuse, 16 - 20 June 2019, Mercure Hotel MOA Berlin, Germany, Oral Presentation.
Deka, B. J.1; Guo, J.; Jeong, S.; An, A. K. Optical coherence tomography (OCT) for the MF fouling investigation under different pretreatment scenarios. 12th IWA International Conference on Water Reclamation and Reuse, 16 - 20 June 2019, Mercure Hotel MOA Berlin, Germany, Oral Presentation.
Deka, B. J.1; Sahariah, B. P.; Chakraborty, S., Treatment of synthetic wastewater containing phenol and ammonia-nitrogen in a three-stage attached growth system, Indo-Italian International Conference on Green & Clean Environment (GCE-2008) organized and sponsored by Embassy of Italy, New Delhi in association with MAEER's College of Engineering, Pune, India during 20 - 21 March 2008 in Pune, India (International conference publication and oral presentation).
Guo, J.; Deka, B. J.; K, Kim; An, A. K. Fouling and ultrasonic cleaning in membrane distillation for treatment of industrial textile wastewater. The 10th China Congress On membranes and Membrane processes (CCOM 2019), 26th to 29th October 2019, Beijing, China, Oral Presentation.
Xu, X.; Guo, J.; Deka, B. J.; An, A. K.; Chopra, S., Dynamic Life Cycle Assessment (dLCA) of Nano-enabled Membranes-based Membrane Distillation Technologies, Actionable Science for Urban Sustainability 2020 (AScUS-2020), during 3 - 5 June 2020 in Segovia, Spain (International conference publication and presentation).
Guo, J.; D.Y.S, Yan; F.L, Lam; Deka, B. J.; X, Lv; Y, Hau; An, A. K., Self-cleaning BiOBr / Ag photocatalytic membrane for membrane regeneration under visible light in membrane distillation. 12th IWA International Conference on Water Reclamation and Reus, 16 - 20 June 2019, Mercure Hotel MOA Berlin, Germany, Oral Presentation.
Best paper award:
Vaghela, G.; Guo, J.; Deka, B. J.* Green chemical pretreatment of dissolved algal organic matters for efficient seawater desalination. International Conference on “Ecosystem Restoration for Resilience and Sustainability: Living with nature” (World Environment Day-Launch of UN decade for Ecosystem Restoration), 5-7 June 2021.
Participation in Short Term Courses
| Couse Name | Sponsored By | Date |
| IDW-DEEP (Desal-Pro) | 10th International Desalination Workshop (IDW), Busan, Korea (Republic of) | 21st ~ 22nd November, 2017 |
| Hazardous Waste Training; Laboratory Safety Training; and Emergency Incident Preparedness Training | Health, Safety & Environment (HSE), King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), Saudi Arabia | 17th November 2016 |
| Bentley’s Sanitary SewerGEMS, SewerCAD & WaterGEMS | AECOM India | 10th May 2010 |
Sponsored National and International Research Projects
| Project title | Funding Agency | Start Date | Period |
| Development of superhydrophobic and superomniphobic membranes for energy-efficient membrane distillation application with zero liquid discharge (as PI) | SRIC, IIT Roorkee, India | 29-12-2020 | Ongoing |
| "Investigation of nanobubble flotation to remove micro/nano plastic from Sewage Treatment Works (STWs) in Hong Kong" (as Co-PI) with the joint team of City University of Hong Kong (CityU). | Environment and Conservation Fund, Govt of Hong Kong | Feb 2021 | Ongoing |
| "Capacity development programme on-site suitability mapping for managed aquifer recharge (MAR) under varying climatic conditions using remote sensing and machine learning-based hydrological modelling tools", (as Co-PI) with the joint team of IIT Roorkee, NIH India, Kindai University Japan, and Pusan National University (PNU) South Korea. |
APN Capacity Development Programme (CAPaBLE) programme |
July 2021 | Ongoing |
Opportunities for research
Motivated applicants fulfilling the institute's admission requirements can apply for research position (PhD, Master project) in the following areas:
- Nanoengineered Surface Design
- Membrane Science
- Desalination
- Water-Energy-Environment Nexus
- Water and Wastewater Treatment
Passionate applicants are encouraged to send CV to bhaskar.deka@hy.iitr.ac.in
Advanced Membrane and Desalination Lab
Current research emphasizes in the development and practical applications of advanced organic, inorganic, and nano-enabled polymeric membranes for water treatment, wastewater reclamation and desalination applications. Different fabrication techniques are used to develop membranes for microfiltration, ultrafiltration, nanofiltration, reverse/forward osmosis, and membrane distillation.
Major equipment comprises of *Electrospinner, Contact Angle Analyzer, Hollow-fiber and Flat sheet membrane fabricator, Membrane Distillation set up (*: PO placed).
News
1. Introduction of new course "HYN-577: Desalination and Cleaner Water Production with Membrane Technologies".
2. PhD research scholar "Gaurav Vaghela" has been selected for "Indo-German Summer School on Sustainable Water Management at the Saltwater – Freshwater Interface".
3. Congratulation to "Gaurav Vaghela" for achieving "Best Paper Presentation Award" at International Conference on “Ecosystem Restoration for Resilience and Sustainability: Living with nature” (World Environment Day-Launch of UN decade for Ecosystem Restoration), 5-7 June 2021.
Contact Information
Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee (IITR),
Uttarakhand, India - 247667
Email: bhaskar.deka@hy.iitr.ac.in, bhaskar.jyoti.deka@outlook.com