2024

December 2024 

• Dr. Anqi Mou joined the group as a postdoctoral fellow. She finished her PhD in Environmental Engineering at the University of Alberta. Welcome, Anqi!
• Calvin has been awarded the John and Patricia Schlosser Environment Scholarship for the second time as part of this year’s inter-departmental awards. Congratulations, Calvin!

November 2024 

• The Faculty of Engineering at the University of Alberta recently recognized three graduate students for their work in sustainability, including Calvin. Calvin is working on improving the microbial electrosynthesis system. This system converts CO2 in biogas into biomethane, producing upgraded biogas or renewable natural gas (RNG), which could be a cleaner alternative to fossil fuels. The full story can be found here.

• Monisha received the Alberta Innovates Graduate Student Scholarship and the Alberta Graduate Excellence Scholarship. Congratulations, Monisha!
• Romana received the Alberta Graduate Excellence Scholarship. Congratulations, Romana!
• Monisha’s second experimental paper on the application of biochar and granular activated carbon to mitigate polystyrene nanoplastics inhibition in dark biohydrogen fermentation of sludge has been accepted for publication in ACS ES&T Engineering. Congratulations, Monisha!

• Romana’s second paper from her PhD work has been accepted for publication in Science of the Total Environment. The manuscript focuses on the impact of aging polystyrene nanoplastics on the transmission of antibiotic resistance in anaerobic sludge fermentation. Congratulations, Romana!

• Calvin’s review article on microbial electrosynthesis (MES) for CO2 conversion to methane and biogas upgrading has been accepted for publication in Biotechnology Advances. It’s one of the most comprehensive review articles published on the fundamental and applied aspects of MES to date. Congratulations, Calvin!

• Monisha’s paper on the Impact of petroleum versus bio-based nano/microplastics on fermentative biohydrogen production from sludge has been accepted for publication in the International Journal of Hydrogen Energy. Congratulations, Monsiha!

October 2024 

• Calvin has been selected to be featured in the Faculty of Engineering’s gradduate student booklet. Congratulations, Calvin!

• Harveen’s paper on comparing two schemes for coupling anaerobic digestion and hydrothermal liquefaction processes has been accepted for publication in Energy Conversion and Management. This is a collaboration between Dr. Dhar’s team and Drs. Khan and Gupta from Chemical and Materials Engineering. Congratulations, Harveen et al.!

• Romana has been awarded the Westmoreland Coal Company Graduate Scholarship in Environmental Engineering. Congratulations, Romana!
• Monisha has been awarded the Westmoreland Coal Company Graduate Scholarship in Environmental Engineering. Congratulations, Monisha!

September 2024 

• Harveen successfully defended her M.Sc. thesis. Congratulations, Harveen!
• Calvin has been awarded the ConocoPhillips Canada Limited Graduate Scholarship in Hydrocarbon Development from the Faculty of Engineering. This scholarship is awarded to 1 outstanding student registered in, or admissible to, a graduate degree program in engineering engaged in research related to the development of hydrocarbon energy resources in Canada. Calvin has been working on developing microbial electrochemical technologies to upgrade biogas to renewable natural gas.
• Calvin’s paper on applying 3D printed cathodes for microbial electrolysis cell-assisted anaerobic digester. This is a collaborative work with Dr. Mohammad Khondoker, Assistant Professor of Industrial Systems Engineering, from the University of Regina. Congratulations, Team!

• Qi’s paper on the microbial interactions and metabolic shifts at different COD/sulfate ratios in electro-assisted anaerobic digestion has been accepted for publication in the Journal of Hazardous Materials. Congratulations, Qi!

August 2024 

• Calvin’s paper on a microbial electrochemical sensor for detecting naphthenic acids in real oil sands process water has been accepted for publication in Sensors and Actuators B: Chemical. Congratulations, Calvin!

• Dhar Lab is pleased to welcome Dr. Hassan Y. Alfaifi, a visiting professor from the King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology (KACST) in Saudi Arabia. Welcome, Dr. Hassan!

July 2024 

• Qi’s paper on the optimum configurations of electro-assisted anaerobic digester for sulfate-reducing conditions has been accepted for publication in ACS ES&T Engineering. Congratulations, Qi!

• Romana’s first paper from her PhD work has been accepted for publication in Chemosphere. The manuscript focuses on the impact of polystyrene nanoplastics on the transmission of antibiotic resistance in anaerobic sludge fermentation. Congratulations, Romana!

May 2024 

• How can a month go by without Calvin receiving a scholarship? This time, Calvin received the Andrew Stewart Memorial Graduate Prize. Congratulations on your outstanding achievement, Calvin!

May 2024 

• Our paper on the impact of the aging of polystyrene nanoplastics on the transmission of antibiotic resistance in anaerobic digestion has been accepted for publication in the Science of the Total Environment. This was a collaborative work with Dr. Farner’s group. Nervana from our team and Elnaz from Dr. Farner’s team led the manuscript. Congratulations to all!

• Raúl Mompó Curell from the Universitat Politècnica de València, Spain, has joined our group as a visiting researcher. Welcome, Raúl!
• Harveen’s review article on integrating hydrothermal liquefaction and anaerobic digestion for waste biomass valorization has been accepted for publication in Chemosphere. Congratulations, Harveen!

• Calvin received the Graduate Student Research Excellence Award in the Faculty of Engineering. This award recognizes the highest quality research being undertaken by graduate students enrolled in a doctoral program in the Faculty of Engineering at the University of Alberta. Congratulations on your great achievement, Calvin!

April 2024 

• Our review article on process performance and fate of emerging pollutants in low- and high-temperature thermal hydrolysis pretreatment for anaerobic digestion of sludge has been accepted for publication in Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews. Seyed, Nervana, and Alsayed led this article. Congratulations, team!

• Calvin received the Graduate Student Teaching Award from the Faculty of Graduate Studies and Research (FGSR) for outstanding Teaching Assistant performance in 2023. He received this award for the 3rd time during his graduate programs at the UofA. Congratulations, Calvin!

February 2024 

• The final chapter of Seyed’s thesis has been accepted for publication in Chemosphere. The paper investigated the feasibility of using low-temperature thermal hydrolysis to mitigate the oxidative stress of polystyrene nanoplastics on anaerobic digestion.

• Calvin was awarded the William Boytzun Memorial Graduate Scholarship (2024). Congratulations, Calvin!
• Former visiting professor Dr. Deng’s paper on phosphorus recovery from anaerobic digester centrate using waste eggshells has been accepted for publication in Science of the Total Environment. This work was done during her one-year tenure in our lab between 2022 and 2023. Congratulations, Dr. Deng!

January 2024 

• Seyed’s paper titled “Low-Temperature Thermal Hydrolysis for Enhancing Sludge Anaerobic Digestion and Antibiotic Resistance Management: Significance of Digester Solids Retention Time” has been accepted for publication in Science of the Total Environment. Congratulations, Seyed et al.!

• Calvin was awarded the ConocoPhillips Canada Limited Graduate Scholarship in Hydrocarbon Development. Congratulations, Calvin!
• Qi successfully defended her Ph.D. thesis on high-strength wastewater treatment using microbial electrolysis cell-assisted anaerobic digestion. She is co-supervised with Dr. Yang Liu. Congratulations, Dr. Huang!