Biography

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Dr. Neelkanth Nirmalkar is an Associate Professor of Chemical Engineering at the Indian Institute of Technology Ropar (IIT Ropar), India, where he leads research on sustainable technologies for energy and environmental applications. He earned his Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur (IIT Kanpur) and was a Research Fellow at the University of Birmingham, UK.

His work combines chemical engineering fundamentals with scalable nanobubble processes for water, energy, and environmental applications. It spans three streams: (1) energy and climate change, (2) bioengineering, and (3) membrane technologies.
A major focus of Dr. Nirmalkar’s research is nanobubble technology, including generation, characterization, interfacial and mass-transfer behavior, existence, stability, colloidal interactions, nucleation, and dynamics. His group develops applications in water and wastewater treatment, advanced oxidation, disinfection, pollutant degradation, particle flotation, crystallization, CO₂ utilization, fuel combustion, and industrial processes. Recent studies explore ozone and electrochemically reactive nanobubbles, nanobubble-assisted crystallization, enhanced CO₂ conversion and absorption, and effects on fuel combustion.

Dr. Nirmalkar has published extensively in leading international journals and built a strong program linking fundamental nanobubble phenomena with technology development and industrial applications. His broader interests include hydrogen production and water electrolysis, electrochemical CO₂ reduction, fuel additives and combustion, critical mineral extraction, environmental biotechnology, water and wastewater treatment, and advanced membrane technologies. He has also invented several technologies, including a patented nanobubble-generation device transferred to Nanokriti Pvt. Limited, reflecting his commitment to commercialization.

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Education

• Postdoctoral Fellow, Department of Chemical Engineering, University of Birmingham, UK

• Ph. D in Chemical Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur

• B. Tech in Chemical Engineering, National Institute of Technology, Raipur

 

Awards

• DST INSPIRE faculty fellowship

• Visiting faculty at West Pomeranian University of Technology, Poland