Specialization

Heterogeneous Catalysis, Biofuels and Biorefinery

Email

vivek.pawar@thapar.edu

Biography 

Dr. Vivek Pawar is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Chemical Engineering, at Thapar Institute of Engineering Technology, Patiala, Punjab, India. He obtained his Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering from IIT Hyderabad in 2020. He did his Master’s from IIT(ISM) Dhanbad and Bachelors’s from Osmaina University in Chemical Engineering.

Academic Qualification: 

• Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Hyderabad Hyderabad-  Ph.D, Chemical Engineering,  2020
• Indian Institute of Technology (Indian School of Mines), Dhanbad Dhanbad M.Tech, Petroleum Engineering, 1st Class, 2013
• Osmania University Hyderabad B.Tech, Chemical Engineering, 1st class, 2011

Research Interests:

Heterogeneous Catalysis, Bio-fuels and Bio-refinery

Projects:

1. Techno-commercial feasibility analysis of torrefied pellet production for NEERPATI Biofuels Private Limited (ongoing).
2. Biofuel Production via Hydroxyalkylation-Alkylation of Furfural with 2- Methylfuran and Hydrodeoxygenation of C15 Fuel Precursor over a Ni-Based Catalyst. Funded by TIET, Patiala    2022-2024

SCI Publications:

1. Mhalshekar, K., Krishan, A., Gaydhane, M., Sontakke, S., & Pawar, V. (2026). Advanced Electrospun Nanofibers for Photocatalytic Degradation: Sustainable Solutions for Wastewater Remediation. ACS Omega.
2. K Mhalshekar, Vivek Pawar, M Gaydhane, S Sontakke. Ni-Co doped TiO2 catalyst for efficient photocatalytic degradation of Malachite Green under UV and direct sunlight. Environmental Science and Pollution Research 1-16, 2025.
3. Ankit Agrawal, Omvir Singh, Ashok Kumar Yadav, Shailendra Tripathi, Anjan Ray, Vivek Pawar, and Bipul Sarkar. Low-temperature nonoxidative dehydrogenation of propane over sn-promoted mo-y zeolite: Catalytic performance and nature of the active sites. Fuel, 323:124350, 2022.
4. Vivek Pawar, Prakash V. Ponugoti, Vinod M. Janardhanan, and Srinivas Appari. Experimental studies of catalyst deactivation due to carbon and sulphur during co2 reforming of ch4 over ni washcoated monolith in the presence of h2s. The Canadian Journal of Chemical Engineering, 2021.
5. Vivek Pawar, Srinivas Appari, Dayadeep S. Monder, and Vinod M. Janardhanan. Study of the combined deactivation due to sulfur poisoning and carbon deposition during biogas dry reforming on supported ni catalyst. Industrial & Engineering Chemistry Research, 56(30):8448–8455, 2017.
6. Vivek Pawar, Debjyoti Ray, Ch Subrahmanyam, and Vinod M Janardhanan. Study of short-term catalyst deactivation due to carbon deposition during biogas dry reforming on supported ni catalyst. Energy & Fuels, 29(12):8047–8052, 2015.

Book Chapters:

1. Pawar, V., Mhalshekar, K. K., Gaydhane, M. K., & Chandra, A. (2024). Bio-nanofillers in Catalysis Applications. In Handbook of Nanofillers (pp. 1–35). Singapore: Springer Nature Singapore.

Work Experience:

• Assistant Professor | Thapar Institute of Engineering and Technology, Patiala  2022 - Present
• Research Associate-II | Institute of Chemical Technology (ICT), Mumbai  2021 - 2022
• Senior Project Associate | CSIR IIP, Dehradun    2020 - 2021
• Research Scholar | IIT Hyderabad, Hyderabad
• Research Intern | ONGC Ankleshwar, Gujarat    2 months

International Conference attended: 

1. Oral presentation: Mitigating Foul Odour in Biomass Pellets through Control of Ash and Sulphur Content” at the 5th International Symposium on Carbon & Functional Materials for Energy & Environment (5th CMEE),  2026, at Bangkok, Thailand.
2. Oral presentation: Role of sulfur in catalyst poisoning and regeneration during biogas dry reforming, Global Congress on advancements in catalysis and Chemical Engineering Process (Catalysis 2018), 2018, Madrid, Spain.