Research group
Catalysis & Reaction Engineering Research Group (CRERG)
The Catalysis and Reaction Engineering Research Group (CRERG) is one of the leading and
pro-active research groups at the Department of Chemical Engineering, with the aim of promoting
research in multi-dimensional catalysis and photocatalysis for the production of biofuels, water
splitting, dye degradation and efficient chemical reactions overall. The group also has members
working in process modelling and simulation.
The group is currently working on several funded applied projects (SRGP, TDF, NRPU) for research
and product development, and is striving to promote academia–industry linkage.
200+Articles published by the group
150+In the last five years
31Graduated (30 MS, 01 PhD)
10In progress (05 MS, 05 PhD)
Our team
Head of the group
Dr. Murid Hussain
Head, CRERG • Associate Professor
Research interests: heterogeneous catalysis, photocatalysis, chemical
reaction engineering, nanostructured materials, energy for the next generation.
Dr. Hussain has published more than 100 research articles in well-known SCI journals with a
cumulative impact factor greater than 800. He has attended several international conferences
and has a diverse working experience in the development of nanomaterials, heterogeneous
catalysis, photocatalysis and their applications in energy and the environment.
He is the recipient of the Best Researcher Award of Chemical Engineering for 2017
from COMSATS University Islamabad, Lahore Campus, and has been ranked among the top productive
scientists of Pakistan in engineering, receiving Research Productivity Awards from the Pakistan
Council for Science and Technology (PCST) in 2015, 2016 and 2017.
100+ SCI articles
Cumulative IF > 800
2,400+ citations
h-index 29
i10-index 62
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Our team
Members
Dr. Farrukh Jamil
Assistant Professor
Research interests: photocatalysis.
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Dr. Nabeel Ahmad
Assistant Professor
Research interests: thermal conversion processes, biofuels, energy, plastic
and rubber waste to valuable products, coal and biomass conversion.
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Dr. Muhammad Haris Hamayun
Assistant Professor
Research interests: process simulation, process design and optimisation,
catalysis.
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Engr. Mian Hamood ur Rehman
Lecturer
Research interests: catalysis, fuel cells.
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Engr. Nasir Shezad
Lecturer, on study leave
Research interests: photocatalysis, CO2 reduction, water
splitting, solar fuels.
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Engr. Mulazim Ali
Lab Engineer
Research interests: catalysis, rice bran oil, polymeric materials.
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Our team
Students
Graduated
30 MS and 01 PhD students have graduated from this research group.
In progress
05 MS and 05 PhD students are currently working on different research
areas in the group.
Collaborations
Industry and academia
Industrial collaboration
Shama Banaspati & Cooking Oils
PARCO
Academic collaboration
- University of Seoul, South Korea
- Harbin Institute of Technology, China
- Victoria University, Melbourne, Australia
- University of the Punjab, Lahore, Pakistan
- University of Engineering & Technology, Lahore, Pakistan
- The University of Lahore, Lahore, Pakistan
Academia–industry linkage
Industrial project won
Dr. Murid Hussain (Principal Investigator) won a Technology Development Fund (TDF)
project under academia–industry linkage, funded by the Higher Education Commission (HEC),
Pakistan and Shama Banaspati & Cooking Oil, Multan, in 2019.
As part of the TDF project, and to provide an extensive research platform for colleagues and
students in the area of cleaning product development and catalyst development and applications,
the Catalysis & Reaction Engineering Research Lab was established under this linkage.
Mr. Sh. Ahsan Rasheed, CEO and Vice-Chairman of Shama Banaspati & Cooking Oil, and
Dr. Tahir Naeem, Director of CUI Lahore Campus, inaugurated the research lab.
The CEO and Vice-Chairman appreciated the PI and his team, and mentioned that the deliverable of
this collaboration gave birth to the brand Wiz, a house of cleaning products. The
Director appreciated the efforts of the project team of the Department of Chemical Engineering,
the management and team of Shama Banaspati & Cooking Oil, and HEC Pakistan for this joint
venture to develop and commercialise the products, adding that the department and the company
will further strengthen this collaboration for national development.
Facilities
Research facilities
Research facilities at CRERG. Select the image to view it full size.
Output
Research publications
The research group has published more than 200 articles, with over
150 articles in the last five years.
Selected publications — 2022
Iqra Mahboob, Iqrash Shafiq, Sumeer Shafique, Parveen Akhter, Um-e-Salma Amjad, Murid Hussain,
Young-Kwon Park (2022). “Effect of active species scavengers in photocatalytic
desulfurization of hydrocracker diesel using mesoporous Ag3VO4”
Chemical Engineering Journal, vol. 441, p. 136063.IF 13.273
Um-e-Salma Amjad, Arshia Tajjamal, Anwar Ul-Hamid, Abrar Faisal, Syed Ammar Hussain Zaidi,
Lubna Sherin, Amna Mir, Maria Mustafa, Nabeel Ahmad, Murid Hussain, Young-Kwon Park (2022).
“Catalytic cracking of polystyrene pyrolysis oil: effect of Nb2O5
and NiO/Nb2O5 catalyst on the liquid product composition”
Waste Management, vol. 141, pp. 240–250.IF 7.145
Iqra Abdullah, Nabeel Ahmad, Murid Hussain, Ashfaq Ahmed, Usama Ahmed, Young-Kwon Park (2022).
“Conversion of biomass blends (walnut shell and pearl millet) for the production of solid
biofuel via torrefaction under different conditions”
Chemosphere, vol. 295, p. 133894.IF 7.086
Maira Shabir, Muhammad Yasin, Murid Hussain, Iqrash Shafiq, Parveen Akhter, Abdul-Sattar Nizami,
Byong-Hun Jeon, Young-Kwon Park (2022). “A review on recent advances in the treatment of
dye-polluted wastewater”
Journal of Industrial and Engineering Chemistry, vol. 112, pp. 1–19.IF 6.760
Muhammad Haris Hamayun, Naveed Ramzan, Murid Hussain, Muhammad Faheem (2022).
“Conventional and advanced exergy analyses of an integrated LNG regasification–air
separation process”
Industrial & Engineering Chemistry Research.IF 3.720
Abideen Temitayo Oyewo, Oluleke Olugbemiga Oluwole, Olusegun Olufemi Ajide,
Temidayo Emmanuel Omoniyi, Muhammad Haris Hamayun, Murid Hussain (2022).
“Experimental and theoretical studies to investigate the water absorption behaviour of
carbon/banana fibre hybrid epoxy composite”
Materials Chemistry and Physics, vol. 285, p. 126084.IF 4.094
Iqrash Shafiq, Murid Hussain, Sumeer Shafique, Muhammad Haris Hamayun, Muhammad Mudassir,
Zeeshan Nawaz, Ashfaq Ahmed, Young-Kwon Park (2021). “A comprehensive numerical design of
firefighting systems for onshore petroleum installations”
Korean Journal of Chemical Engineering, vol. 138, pp. 1768–1780.IF 3.309
Selected publications — 2021
Iqrash Shafiq, Sumeer Shafique, Parveen Akhter, Ghulam Abbas, Ahsanulhaq Qurashi, Murid Hussain
(2021). “Efficient catalyst development for deep aerobic photocatalytic oxidative
desulfurization: recent advances, confines, and outlooks”
Catalysis Reviews.IF 20.217
Iqrash Shafiq, Murid Hussain, Ruhma Rashid, Sumeer Shafique, Parveen Akhter, Wenshu Yang,
Ashfaq Ahmed, Zeeshan Nawaz, Young-Kwon Park (2021). “Development of hierarchically porous
LaVO4 for efficient visible-light-driven photocatalytic desulfurization of
diesel”
Chemical Engineering Journal, vol. 420, part 3, p. 130529.IF 13.273
Umair Qasim, Sikander Rafiq, Farrukh Jamil, Ashfaq Ahmed, Touqeer Ali, Jaan Kers,
M. Shahzad Khurram, Murid Hussain, Abrar Inayat, Young-Kwon Park (2021).
“Processing of lignocellulose in ionic liquids: a cleaner and sustainable
approach”
Journal of Cleaner Production, vol. 323, p. 129189.IF 9.297
Ruhma Rashid, Iqrash Shafiq, Parveen Akhter, Muhammad Javid Iqbal, Murid Hussain (2021).
“A state-of-the-art review on wastewater treatment techniques: the effectiveness of the
adsorption method”
Environmental Science and Pollution Research, vol. 28, pp. 9050–9066.IF 4.223
Farea Asif, Muhammad Haris Hamayun, Murid Hussain, Arif Hussain, Ibrahim M. Maafa,
Young-Kwon Park (2021). “Performance analysis of the perhydro-dibenzyl-toluene
dehydrogenation system — a simulation study”
Sustainability, vol. 13, issue 11, p. 6490.IF 3.889
Aisha Abdullah, Ashfaq Ahmed, Parveen Akhter, Abdul Razzaq, Muhammad Zafar, Murid Hussain,
Nasir Shahzad, Khaliq Majeed, Shahzad Khurram, Muhammad Saifullah Abu Bakar, Young-Kwon Park
(2020). “Bioenergy potential and thermochemical characterization of lignocellulosic
biomass residues available in Pakistan”
Korean Journal of Chemical Engineering, vol. 37, issue 11, pp. 1899–1906.IF 3.309
Um-e-Salma Amjad, Manzar Ishaq, Hamood ur Rehman, Nabeel Ahmad, Lubna Sherin, Murid Hussain,
Maria Mustafa (2021). “Diesel and gasoline like fuel production with minimum styrene
content from catalytic pyrolysis of polystyrene”
Environmental Progress & Sustainable Energy, vol. 40, issue 2, p. e13493.IF 2.431
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