Research Projects

Lignocellulosic biomass, including agricultural crop residues, forest residues, and grass, is rapidly growing in India, used as a feedstock for biofuels and bioproducts. However, many agricultural crop residues are prone to "stubble burning," causing air pollution. This has led to the search for novel and cheap ways to utilize these biomass into value-added products. Pyrolysis process offers an attractive way to convert solid biomass into liquid biofuel (bio-oil), but the Bio-oil Aqueous Phase (BOAP) collected during pyrolysis is under-utilized. BOAP, consisting of water-soluble organic acids, aldehydes, sugars, phenolics, furans, ketones, alcohols, esters, and other aromatics, has not been extensively explored as disinfectants against healthcare-associated infections (HAIs). The proposed work aims to investigate the effectiveness of BOAP collected during pyrolysis of lignocellulosic biomass and marine seaweed for developing novel disinfectants against emerging HAIs. The project will assess the BOAP collected during pyrolysis for disrupting pathogen biofilms, which will then be formulated into a disinfectant. The successful completion of this project will result in the identification of environmentally friendly and cheap disinfectants, as it involves the exploitation of agricultural biomass residues. This aligns with the national policy of "swatch Bharath Abhiyan," as environmentally friendly and cheap disinfectants will help accelerate and maintain efforts for sanitation and hygienic conditions in hospitals and public places.