University Research Leadership Chair Professor in Upcycling of Waste into Energy, Chemicals, and Materials

Dr. Animesh Dutta is a distinguished Professor of Engineering at the University of Guelph, where he holds the prestigious University Research Leadership Chair in Upcycling of Waste into Energy, Chemicals, and Materials. As the Director of the Bio-Renewable Innovation Lab (BRIL), Dr. Dutta is at the forefront of groundbreaking research in biomass conversion and bio-refinery.

Significant contributions: Dr. Dutta has made groundbreaking contributions to the field, particularly in understanding the interactions between biomass materials and their tunable conversion processes to biochar and hydrochar [Renew. Sustain. Energy Rev. 2015, 45:359-378; Applied Energy 2014, 135:182-191; Energy Convers. Manag. 2015, 105:746-755; Bioresour. Technol. 2008, 99(11):4887-4895, 2016, 200:804-811; ACS Energy & Fuels 2010, 24(4):4638-4645], leading to the development of superior quality activated carbons with increased graphitization, enhanced hetero-atom doping, and more developed porosity [ACS Omega 2021, 6(23):14875-14886; Chem Eng J. 2021, 410:128323; Scientific Reports 2021, 11(1):5387; ACS Sustainable Chem. Eng. 2024, 1(6):1053-1067]. Dutta laid the foundation by explaining how hydrothermal conversion can be integrated with anaerobic digestion to produce biocarbon, biomethane, and biofertilizer from agricultural residue [Resour. Conserv. Recycl. 2018, 130:164-174; Appl. Catal. B Environ. 2016, 189:119-132; Waste Biomass Val. 2018, 9:1181-1189; Energy 2018, 165:370-384]. Dutta pioneered the development of a novel integrated process of in-process CO₂ capture with hydrogen generation from biomass [ACS Energy & Fuels 2009, 23(10):5077-5083; Int. J. Hydro. Energy 2010, 35(4):1582-1589] and subsequently demonstrated calcium looping gasification of biomass and plastic waste processing by designing novel pilot reactor systems [ACS Energy & Fuels 2020, 34(4):4828-4836; Waste Manag. 2018, 80:274-284; J. Environ. Manag. 2017, 197:177-198; US Patent #11,033,869].

Recognitions: University Research Leadership Chair (2024-2027), Henan Distinguished Foreign Scientist (2018-2022), CEPS Excellence in Graduate Supervision Award, University of Guelph (2018), nominated for CAGS Award for Outstanding Graduate Mentorship, University of Guelph (2018/2 - 2019/1). Consistent presence on Stanford University's prestigious list of the top 2% of scientists in the world.

Lifetime publications: 181 peer-reviewed journal articles, cited over 14,000times (h-index: 52; Google Scholar, August 2024).

Research funding: $6.5M as PI ($21M as Co-PI).

HQP: 17 in progress (2 BScs, 3 MScs, 9 PhDs, 1 PDFs, 2 research associates) and 118 completed (26 BScs, 25 MScs, 17 M.Eng. 20 PhDs, 20 PDFs and research associates, 10 visiting scholars).  

Leadership roles: served as the Associate Director Graduate Studies for School of Engineering; Program leader for Mechanical Engineering; NSERC DG Committee (2015-2018); NFRF Review Panel Evaluation Committee (2019-2020); Evaluation Committee member for OMAFRA_UoG Partnership Program (2017-2019).

Editorial roles: Associate Editor, Springer Nature journal of Waste and Biomass Valorization (2024-); Specialty Chief Editor, Frontiers in Fuel (2023-); Guest Editor for the Journal Fuel Communications (2022), ‘Energies’ (2016), editorial board member of Journal of Alternate Energy Sources & Technologies, and Journal of Biomass to biofuel.

Technology transfer: 1 patent granted; 2 disclosures to Canadian companies.

Technical expertise: Bio and plastic waste conversion, fluidization, engineering design and optimization, hydrogen generation and storage, heat integration.