Ribhu Gautam, Ph.D.

Postdoctoral Fellows

Postdoctoral Fellow

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Research Interests

As a postdoctoral researcher, I am working on thermal analysis of heavy fuel oil and vacuum residue oil. The main aspect is reactor development for studying kinetics in detail. 

Prior to this, my research intersts during PhD include thermochemical conversion of biomass feedstock to chemical and fuel molecules, interactions between different biochemical constituents of biomass during pyrolysis, catalytic fast pyrolysis, microwave-assisted pyrolysis, fast pyrolysis kinetics and studying reaction pathways during pyrolysis. I have also developed micropyrolysis-GC/MS reactor as a tool to understand the mechanism of aging of the insulation materials such as XLPE, silicone rubber, cellulosic pressboard, epoxy-SiC composites and ester/mineral oils.

The main objective is to utilize the concepts of thermochemical conversion for sustainable development.

Selected Publications

  • Reaction engineering and kinetics of algae conversion to biofuels and chemicals via pyrolysis and hydrothermal liquefaction
    R. Gautam, R. Vinu
    Reaction Chemistry & Engineering 5 (8), 1320-1373 (2020)
  • Microwave-assisted pyrolysis and analytical fast pyrolysis of macroalgae: product analysis and effect of heating mechanism
    R Gautam, S Shyam, BR Reddy, K Govindaraju, R Vinu
    Sustainable Energy & Fuels 3 (11), 3009-3020 (2019).
  • Unraveling the interactions in fast co-pyrolysis of microalgae model compounds via pyrolysis-GC/MS and pyrolysis-FTIR techniques
    R Gautam, R Vinu
    Reaction Chemistry & Engineering 4 (2), 278-297 (2019)
  • Understanding the water droplet initiated discharges on gamma irradiated silicone rubber insulation
    P Mishra, R Gautam, R Vinu, R Sarathi
    Polymer Engineering & Science 59 (1), 182-191 (2019)
  • Application of the distributed activation energy model to the kinetic study of pyrolysis of Nannochloropsis oculata
    D Viju, R Gautam, R Vinu
    Algal research 35, 168-177 (2018).
  • Non-catalytic fast pyrolysis and catalytic fast pyrolysis of Nannochloropsis oculata using Co-Mo/γ-Al2O3 catalyst for valuable chemicals
    R Gautam, R Vinu
    Algal Research 34, 12-24 (2018)
  • Understanding the physico‐chemical and surface discharge properties of epoxy silicon carbide nanocomposites
    A Sahoo, R Gautam, R Vinu, R Jayaganthan, R Sarathi
    Polymer Composites 39 (9), 3268-3279 (2018)
  • Apparent kinetics of fast pyrolysis of four different microalgae and product analyses using pyrolysis-FTIR and pyrolysis-GC/MS
    R Gautam, AK Varma, R Vinu
    Energy & Fuels 31 (11), 12339-12349 (2017)
  • Non-catalytic and catalytic fast pyrolysis of Schizochytrium limacinum microalga
    V Anand, R Gautam, R Vinu
    Fuel 205, 1-10 (2017)
  • Understanding electrical treeing activity in electron beam irradiated XLPE cable insulation
    R Gautam, R Vinu, R Sarathi, S Acharya, M Kumar, A Sharma
    IEEE Transactions on Dielectrics and Electrical Insulation 23 (3), 1652-1662 (2016)

Education

  • Ph.D, Chemical Engineering, Department of Chemical Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Madras, Chennai, India, 2019
  • B.E., Chemical Engineering, Department of Chemical Engineering and Technology, Panjab University, Chandigarh, India, 2012

Professional Profile

  • Jan 2020 - Present: Postdoctoral Fellow, CCRC, KAUST, Saudi Arabia
  • May 2019- Nov 2019: Predoctoral fellow, Department of Chemical Engineering, IIT Madras, Chennai, India

Awards

  • Keshav-Rangnath Excellence in Research Award - 2019
  • Institute Pre-doctoral Fellowship -2019

KAUST Affiliations

  • ​Clean Combustion Research Center (CCRC)
  • Division of Physical Sciences and Engineering (PSE)

Research Interests Keywords

Fast Pyrolysis Kinetics Biofuels Biomass Micro- and Macroalgae Polymers