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Materials Engineering for Soil Amendment in Saudi Arabia

Project

Project Details

Program
Environmental Science and Engineering
Field of Study
materials engineering, food-water-climate security, organic landfill diversion
Division
Biological and Environmental Sciences and Engineering
Faculty Lab Link
https://www.kaust.edu.sa/en/study/faculty/himanshu-mishra
Center Affiliation
Water Desalination and Reuse Center

Project Description

Our group has pioneered game-changing technology to couple the giga-scale challenge of organic landfill diversion with the giga-scale opportunity of desert agriculture and greening. We are producing engineered biochar (EnB) by pyrolyzing organic waste, such as chicken manure, crop residue, and food scraps, and subjecting it to a post-treatment. We are studying the effects of its application on food crops as well as native plants as a function of synthesis, post-treatment, dosing, nutrient loading, and variable irrigation regimes.

Recent Publications:

  1. Odokonyero, K.,Vernooij, B., Albar, B., Exposito, L., Alsamdani, A., Haider, A., Musskopf, N., Kharbatia, N., Gallo, A., Mishra, H.*, Superhydrophobic Sand Mulch and Date Palm Biochar Boost Growth of Moringa oleifera in Sandy Soils via Enhanced Irrigation and Nutrient Use Efficiency,  Frontiers in Plant Science-Plant Abiotic Stress, 2024, Volume – 15, https://doi.org/10.3389/fpls.2024.1434462
  2. Hong, P.*, Mishra, H., Daffonchio, D., McCabe, M. F., “Greening initiatives in the Middle East can leverage urban infrastructure to enhance sustainable water use”, Nature Water, 2023, https://doi.org/10.1038/s44221-023-00171-9
  3. Gallo Jr., Musskopf, N. H., Liu, X., Zhang, Z., Petry, J., Zhang, P., Thoroddsen, S., Im, H., Mishra, H.*, “On the Formation of Hydrogen Peroxide in Water Microdroplets”, Chemical Science, 2022, 13, 2574–2583 (Journal Cover)

About the Researcher

Himanshu Mishra
Associate Professor, Environmental Science and Engineering
Biological and Environmental Science and Engineering Division

Affiliations

Education Profile

  • Elings Prize Postdoctoral Fellow, University of California Santa Barbara, 2013-2014
  • Ph.D., California Institute of Technology, 2013M.S., Purdue University, 2007
  • B.E., Punjab Engineering College, 2005

Research Interests

Biomimetics Chemistries and electrification at water-hydrophobe interfacesSurface forces (hydrophobic interactions, DLVO, structural forces) Superhydrophobic sand mulches and soil amendments for arid land agriculture

Selected Publications

  • Das, R., Ahmad, A., Nauruzbayeva, Mishra, H.*, ""Biomimetic Coating-free Superomniphobicity"" (accepted, Scientific Reports, #2e02d35e-86bd-44e6-b70c-34c82bc49123)
  • Mahadik, G. A., Hernandez Sanchez, J. F., Arunachalam, S., Gallo Jr., A., Farinha, A. S., Thoroddsen, S. T., Mishra, H.*, Duarte, C. M., ""Superhydrophobicity and Size Reduction Allowed Water Striders to Colonize the Ocean"" (accepted, Scientific Reports, SREP-19-11017)
  • Pillai, S., Santana, A., Das, R., Shrestha, B.R., Manalastas, E., Mishra, H*, ""A Molecular- to Macro-Scale Assessment of Direct Contact Membrane Distillation for Separating Organics from Water"" (accepted, Journal of Membrane Science, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.memsci.2020.118140)
  • Gonzalez-Avila, S. R., Nguyen, D. M., Arunachalam, S., Domingues, E., Mishra, H.*, Ohl, C-D., ""Mitigating Cavitation Through a Biomimetic Gas-entrapping Microtextured Surfaces"", Science Advances, 2020, https://advances.sciencemag.org/content/6/13/eaax6192 (https://advances.sciencemag.org/content/6/13/eaax6192)
  • Shrestha, B. R., Pillai, S., Santana, A., Donaldson, Jr., S. H., Pascal, T. A., Mishra, H.*, ""Nuclear Quantum Effects in Hydrophobic Nanoconfinement"", Journal of Physical Chemistry Letters, 2019, 10, 5530-5535 (Journal cover; Featured on Phys.org, Nanowerk.com, KAUST Discovery, etc.)
  • Gallo Jr., A., Farinha, A. S., Dinis, M., Emwas, A-H., Santana, A., Nielsen, S., Goddard III, W. A., Mishra, H.*, ""The Chemical Reactions in Electrosprays of Water Do Not Always Correspond to Those at the Pristine Air-Water Interface"", Chemical Science, 2019, 10, 2566-2577 (Journal Cover; featured on Phys.org, KAUST Discovery, etc.)
  • Domingues, E. M., Arunachalam, S., Nauruzbayeva, Mishra, H.*, ""Biomimetic Coating-free Surfaces for Long-term Entrapment of Air under Wetting Liquids"", Nature Communications, 2018, 9, Article Number: 3606. (Featured on Nature Chemistry Channel 'Behind the Paper', Phys.Org, and Eureka Alert)
  • Domingues, E. M., Arunachalam, S., Mishra, H.*, ""Doubly Reentrant Cavities Prevent Catastrophic Wetting Transitions on Intrinsically Wetting Surfaces"", ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces, 2017, 9, 21532-38 (Featured on Engineers Australia (https://www.engineersaustralia.org.au/portal/news/micro-texture-inspired-nature-makes-surfaces-liquid-repellent) , EurekAlert! (https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2017-07/kauo-npa073017.php) , Phys.org (https://phys.org/news/2017-07-nature-key-repelling-liquids.html) )

Desired Project Deliverables

1) materials characterization - surface area, ion-exchange capacity, 2) application to plants - pot-scale and field work 3) monitoring plant health - yield, biomass growth (leaves, branches, stem, etc.), chlorophyll content, gas-exchange, etc. 4) analyzing results 5) scientific writing

Recommended Student Background

agronomy
plant science
chemical engineering
irrigation
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