About:
Sarma V. Pisupati is a professor of energy and mineral engineering and chemical engineering and director of the Center for Critical Minerals (C2M) at Penn State University. Before establishing the C2M and taking on its leadership, Pisupati established the first undergraduate Energy Engineering degree program in the US, led through the ABET accreditation, and served as program chair for eleven years. He also served as director of Online Education for the department from 2014 to 2017 and do-director of the Coal Science and Technology Program at EMS Energy Institute. He earned a B.S. and M.S. in Chemical Engineering from Osmania University and IIT Kharagpur, respectively, and a Ph.D. from Penn State University. He has been studying and teaching energy and environmental issues for over forty years. He worked in the industry for five years before joining Penn State.
Pisupati’s main areas of scientific research are chemical kinetics, mass and heat transfer in the combustion of solid fuels; extraction of geothermal energy integrated with CO2 sequestration; oxy-fuel combustion; chemical looping combustion; slagging and fouling in gasification; coal and biomass co gasification and extraction of critical and rare earth elements from acid mine drainage, sludge, under clays. and Electronic Waste materials for circular economy. He was the principal investigator (PI) or co-PI on seventy-five externally funded scientific research projects. He has co-authored over 240 research publications, one US patent granted and three pending.
Pisupati is very actively involved in professional societies. He was elected a Fellow of the American Chemical Society (ACS), Indian Institute of Chemical Engineers (IIChE). His service to professional organizations includes being co-organizer or co-chair moderator of thirty scientific and teaching-related symposia for the AACS, ASME International Fluidized Bed Combustion Conferences, Annual International Pittsburgh Coal Conferences and ASEE, Associate Editor, ASME Journal of Energy Resources and Technology, Energy Research Journal; International Journal of Oil, Gas and Coal Technology; News Letter Editor, Secretary/Treasurer, Division Chair of the Energy Conversion and Conservation Division, American Society for Engineering Education; Conference Chair of 17th ASME International Conference on Fluidized Bed Combustion; Treasurer, Petroleum Chemistry Division of the ACS; Program Chair, Fuel Chemistry Division, ACS.
In recognition of his contributions, he has received numerous awards. To name a few – RA Mashelkar Medal for Innovators and Science Leaders; IIChE CHEMCON 2016 Best Paper Award under the Category "Energy"; Best Paper Award, AIChE Annual Meeting, in the Session on "Fluidization and Fluid-Particle Systems,"; four Best Paper Awards from Energy Conversion and Conservation Division of ASEE; United Phosphorous CHEMCON Distinguished Speaker Award; Wilson Award for Excellence in Service to the College of Earth and Mineral Sciences; George W. Atherton Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Education (University’s highest award in teaching); e-Education Faculty Fellowship in recognition of contributions to e-education; Marion and Montgomery Mitchel Award for Innovative Teaching; Matthew J. and Anne C. Wilson Award for Excellence in Teaching; Outstanding Technical Paper Award, Thirteenth Annual International Pittsburgh Coal Conference.
- The Alliance for Critical Mineral Extraction and Production from Coal-Based Resources for Vitality Enhancement in Domestic Supply Chains (ACME- REVIVE), PI: Pisupati, S. V., US DOE, Period of Performance: 10/1/2024-9/30/2027, $4,999,980.
- Acidic Water Pollution Cleanup and Community Economic Development through Domestic Production of Critical Minerals for National Security, PI: Pisupati, S. V., US DOE, Period of Performance: 3/1/2024-9/30/2025, $2,100,000.
- High-Temperature Viscosity of Slag Blends with Additives, PI: Pisupati, S. V., Microbeam Technologies, Inc., Period of Performance: 1/1/2024-3/8/2024, $18,000.
- Graphite Quality from Graphitic Precursors, PI: Pisupati, S. V., Sponsor: Blue Graphite LLC, Period of Performance: 11/1/2022-5/31/2023, $19,745.
Consortium to Assess Northern Appalachia Resource Yield (CANARY) of CORE-CM for Advanced Materials, PI: Pisupati, S.V., Sponsor: U.S. Department of Energy, Period of Performance: 10/1/2021-9/30/2023, $1,764,129 - Feasibility Tests of Novel Biological Ligands for REE Separation, PI: Pisupati, S. V., Sponsor: Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Period of Performance: 03/31/2022-6/30/2023, $162,996.
- Rezaee, M., Alves, J., Pisupati, S., S.V., Ludwig, C., Brandhorst, H., Zavoral, E., Thermolysis Processing of Waste Printed Circuit Boards: CharMetals Mixture Characterization for Recovery of Base and Precious Metals, John Wiley Sons, Inc. Technology Innovation for the Circular Economy: Recycling, Remanufacturing, Design, Systems Analysis and Logistics Book Editor: Nasr, N pp. 677-695, 2024 http://doi.org/10.1002/9781394214297.ch51
- Banik, S.; Seetharaman, S.; Pisupati, S. Application of Liquidus Projections in SiO2–Al2O3–CaO Systems with Fe2O3 and V2O5 to Study the Dissolution of Alumina Crucibles in Gasification Slags Containing Vanadium. ACS Omega, Vol. 9, pp. 5545-5360, 2024, doi:10.1021/acsomega.3c06467
- Gharpure, A.; Vander Wal, R.L.; Pisupati, S. Synthetic Pitch from Solvent Extraction of Coal as a Source for High-Quality Graphite. C, 9, 56, 2023, doi:doi.org/10.3390/c9020056
- Jammulamadaka, H., Pisupati, S. V., “A Critical Review of Extraction Methods for Vanadium from Petcoke Ash,” Fuels, Vol 4, 58-74, 2023 doi://doi.org/10.3390/fuels4010005
- Shekarian, Y., Hassas, B. H., Rezaee, M., Pisupati, S. V., “Development of a chemical-free process utilizing ozone oxidative precipitation for the recovery of cobalt and manganese from acid mine drainage,” Journal of Environmental Chemical Engineering, Vol 10, 108533 2022 doi:doi.org/10.1016/j.jece.2022.108533
- Hassas, B. H., Shekarian, Y., Rezaee, M., Pisupati, S. V., “Selective recovery of high-grade rare earth, Al, and Co-Mn from acid mine drainage treatment sludge material,” Minerals Engineering, Vol 187, 107813 2022 doi:doi.org/10.1016/j.mineng.2022.107813
- Kennedy, J., R., Khadilkar, A. B., Bhattacharya, S., Pisupati, S. V., ”Modeling the Impact of Operating Variables on Ash Agglomeration in Chemical Looping Combustion of Solid Fuels,” Industrial Engineering Chemistry Research, 2021 pages 10 doi://doi.org/10.1021/acs.iecr.1c03149
- Wang, X., Wang,X., Tang,T., Schobert, H. H., Ma, T., Pisupati, S. V., Zhang, J., Chen, Y ”Partitioning behavior during coal combustion of potentially deleterious trace elements in Ge-rich coals from Wulantuga coal mine, Inner Mongolia, China,” Fuel, 2021, paper 121595 doi:10.1016/j.fuel.2021.121595
- Yang, X., Rozelle, P. L., Pisupati, S. V., ”The effect of caustic soda treatment to recover rare earth elements from secondary feedstocks with low concentrations,” Minerals Engineering, 2021, paper 107184 doi:10.1016/j.mineng.2021.107184
- Rozelle, P. L., Feineman, M. D., White, T. S., Crescenzo, N. A., Kump, L.R., Larson, A.R., Pisupati, S. V., ”The Mercer Clay in Pennsylvania as a Polymetallic Mineral Resource: Review and Update,” Mining, Metallurgy & Exploration, 2021, pp 1-18 doi:10.1007/s42461-021-00452-5
- Yang, H., Yang, Y., Pisupati, S. V., Jin, L., Li, Y., Hu, H., ”Modeling char surface area evolution during coal pyrolysis: Evolving characteristics with coal rank,” Journal of Analytical and Applied Pyrolysis, Vol 156, 105110, 2021 doi:/10.1016/j.jaap.2021.105110
- Hassas, B. H., Rezaee, M., Pisupati, S. V., “Effect of various ligands on the selective precipitation of critical and rare earth elements from acid mine drainage,” Chemosphere, Vol 280, 130684 2021 doi:10.1016/j.chemosphere.2021.130684
- Khadilkar, A. B., Kennedy, J. R., Rozelle, P. L., Pisupati, S. V., “Integrated modeling methodology for ash agglomeration in poly-disperse fluidized beds using particle population framework,” Powder Technology, Vol 384, PP 368-378 2021 doi:10.1016/j.powtec.2021.01.073
- Shuangni Wang, Jianzhong Liu, Pisupati, S. V. Dedi Li, Zhihua Wang, Jun Cheng “Dispersion mechanism of coal water slurry prepared by mixing various high-concentration organic waste liquids,” Fuel Journal, 2021, 124725 paper 125716 doi:10.1016/j.fuel.2020.119340
- Jinhe P., Hassas, B. V., Rezaee, M., Changchun Z. and Pisupati, S. V., “Recovery of Rare Earth Elements from Coal Fly Ash through Sequential Chemical Roasting, Water Leaching, and Acid Leaching Processes,” Journal of Cleaner Production, Vol. 284, 2021, paper 125716 doi:10.1016/j.jclepro.2020.124725
- Yang, H., Pisupati, S. V., Hu, H, “Modeling char surface area evolution during coal pyrolysis: Effect of swelling and gasification at high pressures,” Proceedings of the Combustion Institute, Elsevier, 2021 doi:10.1016/j.proci.2020.07.034
- Hassas, B. V., Rezaee, M., and Pisupati, S. V., “Precipitation of rare earth elements from acid mine drainage by CO2 mineralization process,” Chemical Engineering, 2020, Vol. 399, paper 125716 doi:10.1016/j.cej.2020.125716
- Yang, X., Kozar, D., Gorski, D., Marchese, A., Pagnotti, J., Sutterlin, R., Rezaee, M., Klima, M.S., Pisupati, S. V., “Using yttrium as an indicator to estimate total rare earth element concentration: a case study of anthracite-associated clays from northeastern Pennsylvania," International Journal of Coal Science & Technology, 2020, 10.1007/s40789-020-00316-1
- Matthew J. and Anne C. Wilson for the Outstanding Service Award, the College-level Award for Excellence in Service, from the College of Earth and Mineral Sciences, Penn State
- John T. Ryan Faculty Fellowship, College of Earth and Mineral Sciences.
- Elected Fellow of the Indian Institute of Chemical Engineers, in recognition of outstanding contribution to the advancement of Chemical Engineering Knowledge and Practice.
- Asian Paints Padma Bibhushan Dr. R A Mashelkar Medal and CHEMCON Distinguished Speaker Award, for Innovators and Science Leaders, Indian Institute of Chemical Engineers.
- Elected Fellow of the American Chemical Society (ACS), for outstanding achievements in and contributions to science, the profession, and ACS.
- Energies Journal 10th Anniversary Best Paper Award, for the paper “A Review of Thermal Co-Conversion of Coal and Biomass/Waste" published in the Journal “Energies" , with Tchapda, A. H., based on total cites in Web of Science.
- Best Paper Award, 69th Chemical Engineering Congress, Indian Institute of Chemical Engineers Annual Meeting in Chennai, India under the Category “Energy”, with Vijayaragavan Krishnamoorthy.
- Best Paper Award, AIChE Annual meeting, in the Session on “Fluidization and Fluid-Particle Systems for Energy and Environmental Applications II", Annual Meeting in Salt Lake City, UT, with Aditi Khadilkar.
- United Phosphorous Ltd Smt Sandra R Shroff Chemcon Distinguished Speaker Award, for excellence in Chemical Engineering, Indian Institute of Chemical Engineers, Chandigarh, India.
- Selected as nation’s most innovative, young engineering educator, to participate in the National Academy of Engineering’s sixth Frontiers of Engineering Education (FOEE) symposium, Nominated by National Academy of Engineering Members.
- Best Presentation Award, 6th International Freiberg Conference on IGCC & XtL Technologies, Organized by TU Bergakademie Freiberg, Germany and IEA Clean Coal Centre UK, with Aditi Khadilkar.
- Faculty Mentoring Award, College of Earth and Mineral Sciences.
- John T. Ryan Faculty Fellowship, College of Earth and Mineral Sciences.
- Best Paper Award, 1st Place in the Best Paper Award Competition, Energy Conversion and Conservation Division, American Society for Engineering Education, Annual Conference and Exposition, Pittsburgh, PA.
- Nominated and Selected to Homecoming Faculty Court, by students at Penn State.
- e-Education Faculty Fellowship, in recognition of scholarship of online teaching and learning, and recognition of contribution to College’s Open Educational (OER) Initiative, John A Dutton e-Education Institute, College of Earth and Mineral Sciences, Penn State.
- Montgomery and Marion Mitchell Award for Innovative Teaching, College of Earth and Mineral Sciences. This award "recognizes faculty of the College who use innovative teaching techniques in their courses," Penn State.
- e-Education Faculty Fellowship, in recognition of contributions to online teaching and learning, and participation in University’s Blended Learning Initiative, John A Dutton e-Education Institute, College of Earth and Mineral Sciences, Penn State.
- Best Paper Award, 1st Place in the Best Paper Award Competition, Energy Conversion and Conservation Division, American Society for Engineering Education, Annual Conference and Exposition, Chicago; Best Presentation Award, 2nd International Congress on Chemistry and Environment, Organized by International Research Journal for Chemistry and Environment, Indore, India.
- Best Paper Award, 2nd Place in the Best Paper Award Competition, Energy Conversion and Conservation Division, American Society for Engineering Education, Annual Conference and Exposition, Portland, OR.
- Atherton Award for Excellence in Teaching, University-wide Award, It honors excellence in teaching at the undergraduate level, Penn State University.
- Best Paper Award, 2nd Place in the Best Paper Award Competition, Energy Conversion and Conservation Division, American Society for Engineering Education, Annual Conference and Exposition, Salt Lake City, Utah.
- e-Education Faculty Fellowship, in recognition of contributions to e-education, John A Dutton e-Education Institute, College of Earth and Mineral Sciences, Penn State.
- ANGEL Course Contest Award, for the development of Best Science course, EGEE 102: Energy Conservation for Environmental Protection, nominated by the students and selected by Teaching and Learning with Technology, Penn State University.
- e-Education Faculty Fellowship, in recognition of contributions to e-education, John A Dutton e-Education Institute, College of Earth and Mineral Sciences, Penn State.
- Matthew J. and Anne C. Wilson received the Outstanding Teaching Award, the College-level Award for Excellence in Teaching, from the College of Earth and Mineral Sciences, Penn State University.
- Outstanding Technical Paper Award, 13th Annual International Pittsburgh Coal Conference, University of Pittsburgh.
- Outstanding Service Award, Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Penn State University.