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Professor and Head
Division of Chemical Engineering
Phone: +61 7 33654263
Fax: +61 7 33654199
Email: sureshb@cheque.uq.edu.au

B.Tech., Chem. Eng., Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur
M.S.E., Chem. Eng., University of Pennsylvania
Ph.D., Chem. Eng., University of Pennsylvania

Current Research Interests

Equilibrium and Transport of Fluids in Confined Spaces

Our research interests and activities in this area center around nanostructured porous materials, focusing on their characterization as well as the equilibrium and transport properties of fluids confined in their nanostructure. The research is heavily grounded in fundamentals, and aims at developing new understanding of the equilibrium and dynamics useful in furthering their applications in separation, catalysis and novel nanotechnologies. Achieving an improved understanding of the influence of interactions of guest molecules with the solid surface in nanoporous materials, and the consequences for adsorption and transport, underpins much of the on-going activity.

Among the current projects are new approaches to characterization of carbons, MCM-41 and newer nanoporous materials. A modified density functional theory considering pore wall heterogeneity has been developed for carbons, and has been implemented for improved characterization of activated carbon fibers and other microporous carbons. The results are being compared with alternative characterizations involving molecular models of carbons determined by reverse Monte Carlo computation-based fitting of x-ray structure factor data. Adsorption equilibria of hydrocarbons in mesoporous materials as well as activated carbons have been experimentally studied and are being theoretically interpreted. Dynamics of adsorption in nanoporous materials is another focus where we have developed new approaches for interpreting experimental adsorption kinetics. Most recently we are developing fundamental approaches based on molecular interactions to predict transport coefficients in nanopores, both in siliceous materials and carbons, and these are being validated by molecular dynamics calculations.
Among the key achievements is the development of a new exact theory of transport at low density, incorporating realistic fluid-solid interactions, that has been verified for mesopores and micropores with the help of molecular dynamics simulations. The theory is a significant step forward over the widely used century-old Knudsen theory that considers non-interacting systems, and provides a viable approach for the important regime of single file diffusion crucial to zeolites and other narrow pore materials. For higher densities improved approaches considering fluid-fluid interactions via a modified local average density model have also been developed and validated.

Heterogeneous Reaction Engineering

Our research in this area emphasises problems related to transport and reaction processes in porous solids. All of the research incorporates an appropriate blend of theory, computation and experiment, and the projects undertaken have fundamental as well as practical significance. Some topics of recent interest have been the development of correlated random walk models for transport in pore networks, experimental and computational studies of hysteresis and multiplicity in multiphase catalytic reactions, and the reactivity of chars and microporous solids. In all of these situations the structure of the porous medium plays an important role, and is probed by an array of techniques such as gas adsorption, mercury porosimetry, x-ray diffraction, scanning and transmission electron microscopy as well as small angle x-ray and neutron scattering. The results of such characterization studies provide essential data and information for modelling of the structure, and ultimately its influence on the physical and chemical phenomena occurring in it - a crucial component of the research. For example, in the field of multiphase catalytic reactions we have incorporated the interplay of capillary condensation phenomena along with reaction and heat and mass transfer processes in the solid, and thereby explained observations of hysteresis and rate multiplicity. Other important features are present when the solid phase is consumed, as in char gasification, which lead to progressive modification of the structure. Models for predicting the evolution of the pore structure and reactivity in gas solid reactions have been developed by us, and verified against experimental data for char gasification. More advanced approaches based on modeling and evolution of the underlying turbostratic crystalline structure of carbons have also been developed and validated by us.

Among the currently on-going projects we are examining the reactivity of carbon-carbon composites, and its relation with the structure. Several applications, such as aluminium smelting using sacrificial carbon anodes, which is very widely used, employ carbon composites, and the results are of potential importance in improving process efficiency. In another project we are examining the catalytic degradation of plastics into liquid fuels. Studies of kinetics and effect of process variables using a variety of catalysts are being undertaken using a screw extrusion reactor, and appropriate process models being developed. Given the large quantities of waste plastics being landfilled world-wide, the conversion of waste plastics into useful products is a vitally important area that can help alleviate a serious environmental problem

Honors and Awards

• Danish Research Council Sponsored Visiting Professor, Technical University of Denmark, 1994.
• Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Prize for Engineering Science, Government of India, 1993.
• Elected Fellow of the Indian Academy of Sciences, 1993.
• Herdilia Award for Excellence in Basic Research in Chemical Engineering, Indian Institute of Chemical Engineers, 1992.
• Micromeritics Instrument Grant Award (2007).

Research Group

• Postdoctoral Fellows
  • Dr. Jun-Seok Bae
  • Dr. Thanh X. Nguyen
  • Dr. Piotrek Kowalczyk
• Current PhD Students
  • Yohanes Kurniawan
  • Kien Tran
  • Sandeep Sarathy

External Collaborations

• Prof. Keith E. Gubbins, North Carolina University, USA
• Dr. David S. Sholl, Carnegie Mellon University, USA
• Dr. David Nicholson, Imperial College, London
• Dr. Debra Bernhardt, Griffith University, Australia
• Dr. S. Farooq, National University of Singapore, Singapore
• Dr. X.S. (George) Zhao, National University of Singapore , Singapore
• Dr. Hervé Jobic, CNRS, France.

Recent Publications (since 2002)

Bhatia, S.K., and D. Nicholson, "Anomalous Transport in Molecularly Confined Spaces", J. Chem Phys., accepted (2007).

Wallis, M. and S.K. Bhatia, “Thermal Degradation of High Density Polyethylene in a Reactive Extruder”, Polym. Degrad. Stab., accepted (2007).

Kowalczyk, P., L. Brualla, A. Żywociński and S.K. Bhatia, “Single-Walled Carbon Nanotubes: Efficient Nanomaterials for Separation and On-Board Vehicle Storage of Hydrogen and Methane Mixture at Room Temperature?”, J. Phys. Chem. C., 111, 5250-5257 (2007).

Kowalczyk, P., P.A. Gauden, A.P. Terzyk and S.K. Bhatia, “Thermodynamics of Hydrogen Adsorption in Slit-Like Carbon Nanopores at 77 K. Classical Versus Path Integral Monte Carlo Simulations”, Langmuir, 23, 3666-3672 (2007).

Gigras, A., S.K. Bhatia, A.V. Anil Kumar and A.L. Myers, “Feasibility of Tailoring for High Isosteric Heat to Improve Effectiveness of Hydrogen Storage in Carbons”, Carbon, 45, 1043-1050 (2007).

Nguyen, T.X. and S.K. Bhatia, "Determination of Pore Accessibility in Disordered Nanoporous Materials”, J. Phys. Chem B., 111, 2212-2222 (2007).

Tran, K.N., S.K. Bhatia and A. Tomsett, “Air Reactivity of Petroleum Cokes: Role of Inaccessible Porosity”, Ind. Eng. Chem. Res., 46, 3265-3274 (2007).

Kowalczyk, P. and S.K. Bhatia, “Optimization of Slit-Pore Carbon Nanopores for Storage of Hythane Fuel at Ambient Temperature”, J. Phys. Chem. B, 110, 23770-23776 (2006).

Nicholson, T.M. and S.K. Bhatia, “Electrostatically-Mediated Specific Adsorption of Small Molecules In Metallo-Organic Frameworks”, J. Phys. Chem B., 110, 24834-24836 (2006).

Bae, J.S. and S.K. Bhatia, “High Pressure Adsorption of Methane and Carbon Dioxide on Coal”, Energy & Fuels, 20, 2599-2607 (2006).

Anil Kumar, A.V., H. Jobic and S.K. Bhatia, “Quantum Effects on Adsorption and Diffusion of Hydrogen and Deuterium in Microporous Materials”, J. Phys. Chem B., 110, 16666-16671 (2006).

Nguyen, T.X. S.K. Bhatia, S.K. Jain, and K.E. Gubbins, " Structure of Saccharose - based Carbon and Transport of Confined Fluids: Hybrid Reverse Monte Carlo Reconstruction and Simulation Studies”, Molecular Simulation, 32, 567-577 (2006).

Anil Kumar, A.V. and S.K. Bhatia, “Mechanisms Influencing Levitation and the Scaling Laws in Nanopores: Oscillator Model Theory”, J. Phys. Chem. B., 110, 3109-3113 (2006).

Bhatia, S.K. and A.L Myers, “Optimal Conditions for Adsorptive Storage”, Langmuir, 22; 1688-1700 (2006).

Wallis, M. and S.K. Bhatia, “Kinetic Study of the Thermal Degradation of High Density Polyethylene”, Polym. Degrad. Stab., 91, 1476-1483 (2006).

Bhatia, S.K., “Influence of Adsorbate Interaction on Transport in Confined Spaces”, invited article, Ads. Sci. Tech., 24, 101-116 (2006).

Nguyen, T.X. and S.K. Bhatia, "Characterization of Heat-Treated Porous Carbons Using Argon Adsorption", Carbon, 44, 646-652 (2006).

Bhatia, S.K. and D. Nicholson, “Transport of Simple Fluids in Nanopores: Theory and Simulation”, AIChE J, 52, 29-38 (2006).

Nicholson, D. and S.K. Bhatia, “Scattering and Tangential Momentum Accommodation at a 2D Adsorbate-Solid Interface”, J. Memb. Sci., 275, 244-254 (2006).

Kurniawan, Y., S.K. Bhatia and V. Rudolph, “Simulation of Binary Mixture Adsorption of Methane and Carbon Dioxide at Supercritical Conditions in Carbons”, AIChE J, 52, 957-967 (2006).

Nicholson, D. and S.K. Bhatia, “Momentum Transfer Effects in the Transport at a Nano-patterned Surface”, Ads. Sci. Tech., 23, 633-642 (2005).

Anil Kumar, A.V. and S.K. Bhatia, “Quantum Effect Induced Reverse Kinetic Molecular Sieving in Microporous Materials”, Phys. Rev. Lett., 95, 245901 (2005).

Jepps, O.G., S.K. Bhatia and D. Searles, “Effects of the Juxtaposition of Carbonaceous Slit-Pores on the Overall Transport Behaviour of Adsorbed Fluids”, Langmuir, 21, 229-239 (2005).

Ding, L.P., Y.X. Yuan, S. Farooq and S.K. Bhatia, “A Heterogeneous Model for Gas Transport in Carbon Molecular Sieves”, Langmuir, 21,674-681 (2005).

Bhatia, S.K., O. Jepps and D. Nicholson, “Adsorbate Transport in Nanopores”, Adsorption, 11, 433-447 (2005). (Special issue related to International Conference on Fundamentals of Adsorption).

Bhatia, S.K., H. Chen and D.S. Sholl, “Comparisons of Diffusive and Viscous Contributions to Transport Coefficients of Light Gases in Single-Walled Carbon Nanotubes”, Molecular Simulation, 31, 643-649 (2005).

Nguyen, T.X., S.K. Bhatia, and D. Nicholson, “Prediction of High Pressure Adsorption Equilibrium of Supercritical Gases Using Density Functional Theory”, Langmuir, 21, 3187-3197 (2005).

Qiao, S., and S.K. Bhatia, ”Diffusion of n-decane in Nanoporous MCM-41 Silica”, Microporous and Mesoporous Materials, 86, 112-123 (2005).

Qiao, S., and S.K. Bhatia, “Diffusion of Linear Paraffins in Nanoporous Silica”, Ind. Eng. Chem. Res., 44, 6477-6484 (2005). (Invited article in special issue).

Nguyen, T.X. and S.K. Bhatia, "Characterization of Activated Carbon Fibers Using Argon Adsorption", Carbon, 43, 775-785 (2005).

Bao, X.Y., X.S. Zhao, S.Z. Qiao and S.K. Bhatia, “Comparative Analysis of Structural and Morphological Properties of Large Pore Periodic Mesoporous Organosilicas and Pure Silicas”, J. Phys. Chem. B., 108, 16441-16450 (2004).

Jepps, O.G., S.K. Bhatia and D. J. Searles, "Modeling Diffusion Transport in Slit Pores", J. Chem. Phys., 120, 5396-5406 (2004).

Nguyen, T.X. and S.K. Bhatia, "Probing the Wall Structure of Nanoporous Carbons using Adsorption", Langmuir., 20, 3532-3535 (2004).

Bhatia, S.K., O. Jepps and D. Nicholson, "Tractable Molecular Theory of Transport of Lennard Jones Fluids in Nanopores", J. Chem. Phys., 120, 4472-4485 (2004).

Qiao, S., S.K. Bhatia and D. Nicholson, "Study of Hexane Adsorption in Nanoporous MCM-41 Silica", Langmuir, 20, 389-395 (2004).

Bhatia, S.K., K. Tran, T.X. Nguyen and D. Nicholson, “CO2 Adsorption Capacity and Structure in Carbon Slit Pores: Theory and Simulation”, Langmuir, 20, 9612-9620 (2004).

Nguyen, T.X. and S.K. Bhatia, "Characterization of Pore Wall Heterogeneity in Nanoporous Carbons using Adsorption: The Slit Pore Model Revisited", J. Phys. Chem. B, 108, 14032-14042 (2004).

Jepps, O., S.K. Bhatia and D. Searles, " Wall Mediated Transport in Confined Spaces: Exact Theory for Low Density", Phys. Rev. Lett., 91, 0126102 (2003).

Bhatia, S.K., and D. Nicholson, "Hydrodynamic Origin of Diffusion in Nanopores", Phys. Rev. Lett., 90, 016105 (2003).

Bhatia, S.K., and D. Nicholson, "Molecular Transport in Nanopores", J. Chem Phys., 119, 1719-1730 (2003).

Jepps, O., and S.K. Bhatia, "A Method for Determining Shear Stress in Cylindrical Systems", Phys. Rev. E, 67, 041206 (2003).

Qiao, S., S.K. Bhatia and X.S. Zhao, "Prediction of Multilayer Adsorption and Capillary Condensation in Cylindrical Mesopores", Microporous and Mesoporous Materials, 65, 287-298 (2003).

Cheng, Z-M., W-K. Yuan and S.K. Bhatia, "Unconventional Operation of Three-Phase Fixed-Bed Reactors: A Perspective Trend in Reaction Engineering”, Current Trends in Chemical Engineering, 8, 35-59 (2003).

Ismadji, S., and S.K. Bhatia, “Effect of Pore Network Connectivity on Multicomponent Adsorption of Large Molecules", AIChE J., 49, 65-81 (2003).

Feng, B., A. Jensen, S.K. Bhatia and Dam-Johansen, K., "Activation Energy Distribution of Thermal Annealing of a Bituminous Coal", Energy & Fuels, 17, 399-404 (2003).

Feng, B., and S.K. Bhatia, “Variation of the Pore Structure of Coal Chars during Gasificaton", Carbon, 41, 507-523 (2003).

Ding, L.P., and S.K. Bhatia, “Analysis of Multicomponent Adsorption Kinetics on Activated Carbon", AIChE J., 49, 883-895 (2003).

Cheng, Z-M., A.M. Anter, X-C Fang, W-K Yuan and S.K. Bhatia, "Studies on Dryout Phenomena in a Three-Phase Fixed Bed Reactor", AIChE J., 49, 225-231 (2003).

Feng, B., S.K. Bhatia and J.C. Barry, “Variation of the Crystallite Structure of Coal Chars during Gasificaton", Energy & Fuels, 17, 744-754 (2003).

Ismadji, S., and S.K. Bhatia, "Solubility of Selected Flavour Esters in Supercritical Carbon Dioxide", J. Supercr. Fluids, 27, 1-11 (2003).

Nguyen, T.X., S.K. Bhatia, and D. Nicholson, "Closed Packed Transitions in Slit-Shaped Pores: Density Functional Theory Study of Methane Adsorption Capacity in Carbon", J. Chem. Phys., 117, 10827-10836 (2002).

Nguyen, T.X., S.K. Bhatia, and D. Nicholson, "Packing Transitions of Lennard-Jones Fluids in Carbon Slit Pores", Annales Universitatis Marie Curie-Sklodowska: Chemia, LVII, 159-177 (2002). (Invited article).

Bhatia, S.K., "Density Functional Theory Analysis of The Influence of Pore Wall Heterogeneity on Adsorption In Carbons", Langmuir, 18, 6845-6856 (2002).

Feng, B., and S.K. Bhatia, “On the Validity of Thermogravimetric Determination of Carbon Gasification Kinetics", Chem. Eng. Sci., 57, 2907-2920 (2002).

Ding, L.P., S.K. Bhatia and F.Y. Liu, “Adsorption Kinetics on Activated Carbon: Application of Vacancy Solution Theory", Chem. Eng. Sci., 57, 3909-3928 (2002).

Franckombe, T.J., S.K. Bhatia and Smith, S.C., "Ab Initio Modelling of Basal Plane Oxidation of Graphenes and Implications for Modelling Char Combustion", Carbon, 40, 2341-2349 (2002).

Ding, L.P., and S.K. Bhatia, “Prediction of Binary Adsorption Equilibria on Activated Carbons: Application of Heterogeneous Vacancy Solution Theory", AIChE J., 48, 1938-1956 (2002).

Ismadji, S., and S.K. Bhatia, “Use of Liquid Phase Adsorption for Characterizing Pore Network Connectivity in Activated Carbon", Appl. Surf. Sci., 196, 281-295 (2002).
Recent Group News
Dr. Thanh Nguyen (PhD 2006) has been selected for the Runner Up Award for the Carbon Journal Prize for his thesis "Characterisation of Nanoporous Carbons".  His thesis has also been placed in the Dean’s list at UQ.