Faculty Research Profile

College of Design and Built Environment

Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering

 

Faculty Research Profile Bulletin

 

Name:

Muhammad S. Vohra

 

Rank:

Professor

 

Specialization:

☐Structural Engineering ☐ Transportation Engineering
☐Construction Materials ☐ Water Resources Engineering
☐Geotechnical Engineering ☒ Environmental Engineering

 

 

PhD:

Institution: University of Maryland at College Park, U.S.A.
Year: 1998
Dissertation Title: Adsorption and photocatalysis of Pb(II)-Ligand complexes in TiO2 Suspensions

 

Selected Research Projects:

Sponsored Research Projects
KACST Funded

1. ENVIRONMENTAL EFFECTS OF WASTEWATER TREATMENT PLANTS: EVALUATION & GUIDELINES, KACST, Project # AR 25-78, Principal Investigator, 2007-2009.

 2. Production of granular activated carbon from date palm tree branches, KACST, Project # AR 26-23, Principal Investigator, 2007-2009.

 3. Removal of Hazardous Air Pollutants Using Granular Activated Carbon (GAC) Produced from Saudi Date Fruit Pits, KACST, Project # NSTIP 11-ENV1654-04, Principal Investigator, 2012-2014.

 4. Use of Solar Radiation Energized ‘TiO2-Photocatalysis and Photo-Fenton’ Advanced Oxidation Processes for the Removal of Some Critical Industrial Wastewater Pollutants: A Case Study for Dhahran, Kingdom of Saudi ArabiA, KACST, Project # NSTIP 11-WAT1624-04, Principal Investigator, 2012-2014.

 5. FROM WASTE TO WEALTH: Production of activated carbon from heavy Oil Fly Ash waste byproduct FROM SAUDI ELECTRIC POWER PLANTS, KACST, Project # NSTIP 11-ENV2142-04, Principal Investigator, 2013-2015.

 

KFUPM & SABIC Funded

1. TREATMENT OF PRETREATED PETROLEUM REFINERY WASTEWATER USING TiO2 ASSISTED ADVANCED REDOX TECHNOLOGY, SABIC, Project # SAB 050022, Principal Investigator, 2005-2007.

2. REMOVAL OF THIOCYANATE FROM SIMULATED INDUSTRIAL WASTEWATER USING PHOTOTALYSIS: EFFECT OF CO-POLLUTANTS, KFUPM, Project # FT 090009, Principal Investigator, 2009-2011.

3. CompetitIve TiO2 mediated photocatalytic treatment of wastewater contaminated with selenite, selenate, and thiocyanate,   Project # SAB 111005, Principal Investigator, KFUPM, 2012-2013.

4. Competitive Removal of Selenocyanate (SeCN-) from Synthetic Wastewater Using UV Lamp and Solar Radiation Energized TiO2 Photocatalysis: Effect of Co-pollutants Thiocyanate, Cyanide, and Ammonia, Project # SAB 141004, Principal Investigator, KFUPM, 2014-2016.

5. Removal of toxic gaseous pollutants using activated carbon from date-palm agricultural waste, Project # SP 161012, Principal Investigator, KFUPM, 2017- 2020.

6. production of activated carbon from olive tree branches and its application for adsorption based water treatment, Project # SB 191028, Principal Investigator, KFUPM, 2020-2022.

 

 

Selected Patents: T

P1] Patent Issued by USPTO: Serial # US 8,992,670 B1, Inventor – Vohra, M.S., Title: USE OF GRANULAR ACTIVATED CARBON (GAC) PRODUCED FROM DATE PALM PITS FOR THE REMOVAL OF GAS PHASE VOLATILE ORGANIC COMPOUND (VOC) BENZENE AS A MODEL VOC POLLUTANT FROM CONTINUOUS FLOW GAS STREAMS. March 31st, 2015.
 
[P2] Patent Issued by USPTO: Serial # US 9,162,902 B2, Inventors – Vohra, M.S., and Labaran, B.A., Title: REMOVAL OF AQUEOUS PHASE SELENITE AND SELENATE USING ARTIFICIAL AND SOLAR RADIATION ENERGIZED PHOTOCATALYSIS. October 20th, 2015.
 
[P3] Patent Issued by USPTO: Serial # US 9,499,414 B1, Inventor – Vohra, M.S., Title: METHOD OF DYE REMOVAL FROM WASTEWATER. Nov. 22nd, 2016.
 
[P4] Patent Issued by USPTO: Serial # US 9,833,735 B2, Inventors – Vohra, M.S., and Labaran, B.A., Title: METHOD FOR REMOVAL OF SULFUR-BASED GAS.  Dec. 5th, 2017.
 
[P5] Patent Issued by USPTO: Serial # US 9,873,624 B2, Inventor – Vohra, M.S., Title: METHODS AND SYSTEMS FOR SELENOCYANATE REMOVAL FROM CONTAMINATED AQUEOUS MEDIA. Jan 23rd, 2018.
 

 

Research Publications:

Scopus Link: Vohra, Muhammad Shariq - Author details - Scopus Preview
Google Scholar Link: ‪Muhammad Shariq Vohra - ‪Google Scholar

 

Selected Graduate Thesis Supervised: 

Ph.D. Dissertation Supervision

A.       As Advisor

[1] “Treatment of Mixed Synthetic Wastewater Streams Containing Selenium Based Species and Co-pollutants: Degradation Mechanisms, Reaction Pathways, and Kinetic & Mechanistic Modeling”, Bashir A. Labaran, 2015-2017 (Completed, May 2017).
 
[2] “Hybrid Electrocoagulation/Adsorption System for the Treatment of Synthetic Industrial Wastewater”, Waleed K. Al-Nowaiser, April 2021-to date [In progress].

 

     

    Research Interests (as per CEE Strategic Research Goals):

     

    ☐Develop Structural Health Monitoring Systems ☐ Renewable Energy
    ☐Rehabilitation Materials and Techniques ☒ Sustainable Environment
    ☐Carbon Utilization ☐ Climate Change Adaptation
     Cycling of Waste Materials  Automation / Process Intensification
     Develop Smart and Sustainable Materials  Novel Physical-Chemical Processes
     Novel Modeling / Testing Methods  Exposure and Risk Analysis
     Natural Resources Management  Smart Mobility Systems
     Other(s) : Novel Adsorbents, Electrocoagulation, Photocatalysis, Air Pollution Control, etc.