Biochar-Based Catalysts: Preparation, Characterization and Applications

This book reviews comprehensively the field and development of biochar-based catalyst by summarizing fundamental approaches and principles to prepare biochar and biochar-based catalysts and focusing on the main applications of biochar-based catalysts in environmental remediation. Biochar is a low-cost carbonaceous material produced from biomass and is regarded as an economical substitute to the activated carbon. The coverage of book highlights the most exciting applications of biochar-based catalysts in different reactions such as oxidation, reduction, hydrolysis, isomerization, dehydration, etc. The book is useful for the academics and researchers who are interested in the development biochar-based catalysts with background in material science, chemical engineering, environmental engineering and environmental chemistry.

Dr. Showkat Ahmad Bhawani is presently working as an associate professor at Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Resource Science and Technology, UNIMAS Malaysia. In addition to this, he has a teaching experience of two years from King Abdul Aziz University―North Jeddah and a post-doctoral experience of three years from the Universiti Sains Malaysia, Malaysia. He has received his M Sc. in Analytical Chemistry and Ph.D. in Applied Analytical Chemistry from Aligarh Muslim University, Aligarh, India. He is working on the synthesis of molecular imprinting polymers for the removal/extraction of dyes, fungicides and various natural products from environmental and biological samples. In addition to this, he is also working on the development of new test methods and determining standard conditions for analysis (separation, isolation and determination) of various analytes from environmental and biological samples.

Dr. Khalid Umar is currently working as a senior lecturer, at School of Chemical Sciences, University Sains Malaysia (USM), Penang, Malaysia. Previously, he has served at Institute of Technology & Management Aligarh (India) as an assistant professor (2016–2018). During that period, he was also engaged as a visiting faculty in the Department of Chemistry, AMU, Aligarh (India) and Women's Polytechnic, AMU, Aligarh (India). He has also worked as a postdoctoral fellow at School of Chemical Sciences, Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM), Penang, Malaysia (2018–2020), and at Department of Environmental Engineering, University Technology Malaysia (UTM), Johor Bahru, Malaysia (2014–2016). His research interests include the synthesis of nanoparticles and their potential applications (photo-catalysis under UV as well as visible light), removal of environmental pollutants, water and wastewater treatment, advance materials: graphene/metal oxide and their applications.

Mohamad Nasir Mohamad Ibrahim obtained his B.Sc. (1994), M.Sc. (1997) and Ph.D. (1999) from Missouri S&T (formerly known as the University of Missouri-Rolla, USA). He is currently serving as an associate professor in the School of Chemical Sciences, Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM). He had published more than 120 journal articles, 17 book chapters and 4 academic books throughout his twenty-year career in USM. Currently, his Scopus h-index is 21, and he had been granted with nine patents for his R&D products/processes where five of them are at an international level. More than thirty research grants (1 international grant and 5 industry grants) were secured and utilized to support his team’s research activities. He had received fourteen international awards for his research outputs and currently serves as a guest editor for Frontiers in Chemistry. He had supervised more than 20 graduate students.

Dr. Khalid M. Alotaibi is currently working as an associate professor at Chemistry Department, King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. He is also holding position of the deputy dean for Research Affairs at King Abdullah Institute for Nanotechnology. He has completed his Bachelor degree in Chemistry from King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, in 2007. In 2010, he has completed his master degree in analytical chemistry from the University of Loughborough, UK. He received his Ph.D. degree in Nanotechnology from the University of Strathclyde, UK, in 2015. His research interests are designing and developing novel materials at the nanoscale level for on-demand application technologies, mainly those that can address current problems in the field of healthcare, environment and energy.