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| Prof. Dr. Bassim H. Hameed (Right) and Patrick U. Okoye, PhD student (Left) |
Adsorption and catalysis: the READ group view
Patrick U. Okoye, PhD student
Although, the threat to our planet by man’s social and economic
activities could sometimes get “overblown” by pro-green groups, however, the
reality remains that the earth temperature is rising steadily and glacial in
the arctic is melting faster, which inadvertently disrupts the ecosystem. The
observable rise in earth temperatures also
called global warming, is mainly caused by increased “poisonous gas (CO2,
NOX, and SOX, CFC) emission because of the industrial revolution and man’s technological
advancement.
Pollution is not always limited to air but also the aqua bodies
(water) of which biodiversity has been seriously affected. Water pollution is
primarily due to effluent discharge from vast industrial processes such as dye
and textile production, petroleum refining, food industries and
pharmaceuticals. The disposal and/or containment of these effluent most times
are problematic and they end up in the underground water or surface water
wreaking more damage. Degradation or
total suppression at point source would be the only ideal means to mitigate the
devastating effect of these industrial discharges and this is where the ReactionEngineering & Adsorption (READ) research group, School of Chemical Engineering, Universiti Sains Malaysia take
the lead.
The group mandate is to key into clean and greener research using
set priorities and principles of basic adsorption and reaction engineering
(READ) techniques. The READ group success is drawn from efficient utilization
of abundant natural/industrial sources of wastes. These wastes are treated
using state-of-the art laboratory equipment that are designed by the READ group
and locally fabricated to cut cost.
Modern scientific research emphasizes on achieving excellence
through interdisciplinary research to propagate wider research scope. Lead by a
reputable Prof. Dr. Bassim H. Hameed, the group has achieved excellence in
various research areas ranging from pyrolysis, glycerol-free biodiesel
synthesis, fine chemical synthesis utilizing crude glycerol, adsorption of
heavy metals and dyes from industrial waste water, photocatalytic reaction,
suppression of antibiotics from pharmaceuticals discharge, CO2, NOx
and SOx adsorption etc. Over 240 publications in high impact factor
journals with about seventeen thousand citations are credited to the READ group’s
leader.
