Dr. Kumar Raja Vanapalli

Dr. Kumar Raja Vanapalli

Assistant Professor (Gr-I) (HOD)

B.Tech, M.Tech, Ph.D

Contact & Basic Information

Phone:

Email: [email protected]

Website/Blog: https://scholar.google.com/cit

Join Date: 21/11/2022

Department: Civil Engineering

Address: Department of Civil Engineering Academic Block 9, Infront of Pastrors Quarters, NIT Mizoram.

Educations

Course Institute Board / University Year Subject
B.E. / B.Tech. Jawaharlal Nehru Technological University KakinadaJawaharlal Nehru Technological University Kakinada2014Civil Engineering
M.E. / M.Tech. Visvesvaraya National Institute of Technology NagpurVisvesvaraya National Institute of Technology Nagpur2016Environmental Engineering
Ph.D. Indian Institute of Technology KharagpurIndian Institute of Technology Kharagpur2022Environmental Engineering

Experiences

Position Year Organisation Specialisation
Research Assistant 21/10/2021 - 18/01/2022Indian Institute of Technology KharagpurUBA project on ‘Rainwater harvesting in rural areas’
Assistant Professor 11/04/2022 - 09/11/2022Vignan's Institute of Information Technology VisakhapatnamTeaching and Research at Dept. of Civil Engineering
Assistant Professor 21/11/2022 - Till DateNational Institute of Technology MizoramTeaching and Research at Dept. of Civil Engineering

Research Interest

Solid Waste Management; Plastic Waste Management; Biochar Energy and Environmental Applications; Hydrothermal Carbonisation; Waste to Energy; Anaerobic Digestion: Composting; Construction and Demolition Waste Management: Electronic Waste Management; Life Cycle Assessment: Bioplastics: Microplastics: Emerging waste contaminants: and Green Infrastructure

Publications

International/National Journals
S.No. Month Year Publication Information
1 june 2026 Lourembam Nongdren, Naseeba Parveen, Kumar Raja Vanapalli “Cradle to grave environmental analysis of cigarettes with emphasis on end-of-life management” Waste Management; https://doi.org/10.1016/j.wasman.2026.115553
2 February 2026 Roberto Parra-Saldívar, Stephen J Russell, Hafiz MN Iqbal, Mireya Navarro-Márquez, Guadalupe Gutiérrez-Soto, Vinod Kumar, Gopalakrishnan Kumar, Kumar Raja Vanapalli, Sunil K Maity “Forgotten fibre waste: Mycoremediation and recycling of used absorbent hygiene products” Resources, Conservation and Recycling; https://doi.org/10.1016/j.resconrec.2025.108673
3 December 2025 Srilekha Mittapalli, Rajarshi Bhar, Hari Bhakta Sharma, Joydeepa Taran, Biswajit Samal, Kumar Raja Vanapalli, Sagarika Panigrahi, Brajesh Dubey “Wastewater Sludge as Energy Resource: Technoeconomic and Environmental Implications” Journal of Environmental Engineering; https://doi.org/10.1061/JOEEDU.EEENG-8235
4 December 2025 Kumar Raja Vanapalli, Naseeba Parveen, Sunil K Maity, Roberto Parra Saldivar, Samuel Jacob, Gopalakrishnan Kumar, Vinod Kumar “Life cycle assessment for circular biomanufacturing of lactic acid from sugarcane bagasse” Sustainable Production and Consumption; https://doi.org/10.1016/j.spc.2025.11.008
5 April 2025 Sunil K Maity, Deepti Agrawal, Siddharth Gadkari, Kumar Raja Vanapalli, Yang-Chun Yong, Daochen Zhu, Chang Chen, Vinod Kumar “Technoeconomics of Sugar Cane Bagasse Valorization to Lactic Acid Using Pinch Technology: Distillation vs Reactive Distillation” ACS Sustainable Chemistry & Engineering, 2025; https://doi.org/10.1021/acssuschemeng.5c00223
6 NOV 2024 Lourembam Nongdren, Naseeba Parveen, Kumar Raja Vanapalli.” Water Pollution Potential and Human Health Risk Assessment from Cigarette Butt Littering” Journal of Environmental Chemical Engineering, 2024; https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jece.2024.114941 Q1, SCI index (Elsevier, Impact Factor 7.4)
7 SEP 2024 Kumar Raja Vanapalli, Lourembam Nongdren, Sunil K Maity, Vinod Kumar. “Comparative Life Cycle Assessment of Glycerol Valorisation Routes to 1,2- and 1,3-Propanediol based on Process Modelling” ACS Sustainable Chemistry & Engineering, 2024; https://doi.org/10.1021/acssuschemeng.4c04691 Q1, SCI Index (ACS, Impact factor 7.1)
8 JUL 2024 Peer, M.Y., Mir, M.S., Vanapalli, K.R. et al. Road traffic noise pollution and prevalence of ischemic heart disease: modelling potential association and abatement strategies in noise-exposed areas. Environ Monit Assess 196, 749 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10661-024-12916-4 Q2, SCI Index (Springer, Impact factor:2.9)
9 JUN 2024 Machhirake, N. P., Vanapalli, K. R., Kumar, S., and Mohanty, B. (2024). “Biohydrogen from Waste Feedstocks: An Energy Opportunity for Decarbonization in Developing Countries.” Environmental Research 2024, 119028.https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envres.2024.119028. Q1, SCI index (Elsevier, Impact factor 8.3).
10 JUN 2024 Biswajit Samal, Hari Bhakta Sharma, Kumar Raja Vanapalli, Dubey BK, Jayanta Bhattacharya. “Co- pyrolysis of plastic waste and eucalyptus waste wood for fuel pellets production: A study of fuel, mechanical, and combustion characteristics under varying binder proportion” Science of the Total Environment, 2024; 944:173883. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2024.173883 Q1, SCI index (Elsevier, Impact factor 7.9).
11 JUN 2024 Naseeba Parveen, China Swami Naik, Kumar Raja Vanapalli, Hari Bhakt Sharma. “Bioplastic Packaging in Circular Economy: A Systems-Based Policy Approach for Multi-Sectoral Challenges” Science of the Total Environment, 2024; 945:173893. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2024.173893 Q1, SCI index (Elsevier, Impact factor 7.9).
12 JUN 2024 Naseeba Parveen, Hemant Singh, Kumar Raja Vanapalli#, Sudha Goel ” Leaching of organic matter from cigarette butt filters as a potential disinfection by-products precursor” Journal of Hazardous Materials, 2024; 905:134976. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhazmat.2024.134976, Q1, SCI Index (Elseiver, Impact Factor 14.22).
13 MAY 2024 Sharma, H.B., Vanapalli, K.R., Bhatia, D. et al. “Engineered biochar/hydrochar derived from organic wastes for energy, environmental, and agricultural applications. Clean Techn Environ Policy (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10098-024-02863-6. Q1, SCI index (Springer, Impact factor 4.3).
14 APR 2024 Abhishek R. Varma, Bhushan S. Shrirame, Siddharth Gadkari, Kumar Raja Vanapalli, Vinod Kumar, Sunil K. Maity”Techno-economic viability of bio-based methyl ethyl ketone from sugarcane using integrated fermentative and chemo-catalytic approach: Process integration using pinch technology” Chemical Engineering Journal. 2024;151297. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cej.2024.151297. Q1, SCI index (Elsevier, Impact factor 15.1).
15 DEC 2023 Naseeba Parveen, Papiya Mondal, Kumar Raja Vanapalli, Abhijit Das & Sudha Goel. “Phytotoxicity of trihalomethanes and trichloroacetic acid on Vigna radiata and Allium cepa plant models” Environmental Science and Pollution Research (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-023-31419-2 Q1, SCI index (Springer, Impact Factor 5.8)
16 DEC 2023 Rudra Pratap Singh, Kumar Raja Vanapalli, Koteswaraarao Jadda , Bijayananda Mohanty. “Durability assessment of fly ash, GGBS, and silica fume based geopolymer concrete with recycled aggregates against acid and sulfate attack” Journal of Building Engineering 2023; https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jobe.2023.108354 Q1, SCI index (Elsevier, Impact factor 6.4).
17 SEP 2023 Kumar Raja Vanapalli, R. Bhar, S.K. Maity, et al., Life cycle assessment of fermentative production of lactic acid from bread waste based on process modelling using pinch technology, Science of the Total Environment (2023), https://doi.org/10.1016/ j.scitotenv.2023.167051 Q1, SCI index (Elsevier, Impact factor 7.9).
18 JUL 2023 Kumar Raja Vanapalli, Hari Bhakta Sharma, Shaivya Anand, Ved Prakash Ranjan, Hemant Singh, Brajesh K. Dubey, Bijayananda Mohanty, “Cigarettes butt littering: The story of the world’s most littered item from the perspective of pollution, remedial actions, and policy measures” Journal of Hazardous Materials, 2023; 453: 131387. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhazmat.2023.131387.Q1, SCI index (Elseiver, Impact Factor 14.22)
19 JUN 2023 Brandon, A., Vanapalli, K.R., Martin, O.V., Dijkstra, H., De la Torre, G.E., Hartmann, N.B., Meier, M.A.R., Pathak, G., Busch, P.-O., Ma, D., Iacovidou, E., Deere Birkbeck, C., Pacini, H., 2023. Charting success for the Plastics Treaty. One Earth 6, 575–581. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.oneear.2023.05.022 Q1, SCI index (Cell Press, Impact factor 14.944).
20 MAY 2023 R.P. Singh, P.S. Reddy, K.R. Vanapalli, B. Mohanty, Influence of binder materials and alkali activator on the strength and durability properties of geopolymer concrete: A review, Mater. Today: Proc. (2023) https://doi.org/10.1016/j.matpr.2023.05.226.
21 MAY 2023 Rudra Pratap Singh, Kumar Raja Vanapalli, Venkata Ravi Sankar Cheela, Sreekanth Reddy Peddireddy, Hari Bhakta Sharma, Bijayananda Mohanty, “Fly ash, GGBS, and silica fume based geopolymer concrete with recycled aggregates: Properties and environmental impacts” Construction and Building Materials 2023, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.conbuildmat.2023.131168. Q1, SCI index (Elsevier, Impact factor 7.7).
22 JAN 2023 Isha Medha, Subhash Chandra, Jayanta Bhattacharya, Biswajit Samal, Kumar Raja Vanapalli. “Development of Rice Straw-derived Biochar-Bentonite Composite and its Application for in situ Sequestration of Ammonium and Phosphate Ions in the Degraded Mine Soil”. Environmental Management (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00267-022-01775-9 Q1, SCI index (Elsevier, Impact factor 3.64).
23 MAR 2022 Subhash Chandra, Medha, Isha, Jayanta Bhattacharya, Kumar Raja Vanapalli, and Biswajit Samal. ” “Effect of the Co-Application of Eucalyptus Wood Biochar and Chemical Fertilizer for the Remediation of Multimetal (Cr, Zn, Ni, and Co) Contaminated Soil”. Sustainability 2022, 14(12), 7266; https://doi.org/10.3390/su14127266 Q2, SCI index (MDPI, Impact factor 3.2).
24 DEC 2021 Samal, B., Vanapalli, K.R., Dubey, B.K., Bhattacharya, J., Chandra, S., Medha, I., 2021a. “Influence of process parameters on thermal characteristics of char from co-pyrolysis of eucalyptus biomass and polystyrene: Its prospects as a solid fuel.” Energy 232, 121050. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.energy.2021.121050 Q1, SCI index (Elsevier, Impact factor 7.1)
25 NOV 2021 Hari Bhakta Sharma, Kumar Raja, Vanapalli, Biswajit Samal, VR Sankar Cheela, Brajesh K. Dubey, and Jayanta Bhattacharya. “Circular economy approach in solid waste management system to achieve UNSDGs: Solutions for post-COVID recovery”. Science of The Total Environment 149605. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2021.149605 Q1, SCI index (Elsevier, Impact factor 7.9) (Joint First Author)
26 NOV 2021 Isha Medha, Subhash Chandra, Kumar Raja Vanapalli, Biswajit Samal, Jayanta Bhattacharya, Bidus Kanti Das. “(3-Aminopropyl)triethoxysilane and iron rice straw biochar composites for the sorption of Cr (VI) and Zn (II) using the extract of heavy metals contaminated soil” Science of The Total Environment 2021:144764. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2020.144764 Q1, SCI index (Elsevier, Impact factor 7.9)
27 SEP 2021 Samal, B., Vanapalli, K.R., Dubey, B.K., Bhattacharya, J., Chandra, S., Medha, I., 2021b. “Char from the co-pyrolysis of Eucalyptus wood and low-density polyethylene for use as high-quality fuel: Influence of process parameters.” Science of The Total Environment 794, 148723. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2021.148723 Q1, SCI index (Elsevier, Impact factor 7.9).
28 AUG 2021 Hari Bhakta Sharma, Sagarika Panigrahi, Kumar Raja Vanapalli, VR Sankar Cheela, Saikrishna Venna. “Study on the process wastewater reuse and valorisation during hydrothermal co-carbonization of food and yard waste” Science of The Total Environment 794, 150748. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2021.150748 Q1, SCI index (Elsevier, Impact factor 7.9).
29 AUG 2021 Kumar Raja Vanapalli, Jayanta Bhattacharya, Biswajit Samal, Subhash Chandra, Isha Medha, Brajesh K. Dubey, “Inhibitory and synergistic effects on thermal behaviour and char characteristics during the co-pyrolysis of biomass and single-use plastics” Energy 2021. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.energy.2021.121369 Q1, SCI index (Elsevier, Impact factor 7.1).
30 JUN 2021 Sharma HB, Vanapalli KR, Barnwal VK, Dubey B, Bhattacharya J. “Evaluation of heavy metal leaching under simulated disposal conditions and formulation of strategies for handling solar panel waste” Science of The Total Environment 2021:146645. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2021.146645. Q1, SCI index (Elsevier, Impact factor 7.9). (Joint First Author)
31 MAR 2021 Kumar Raja Vanapalli, Jayanta Bhattacharya, Biswajit Samal, Subhash Chandra, Isha Medha, Brajesh Dubey. “Optimized production of Single-use plastic – Eucalyptus wood char composite for application in soil” Journal of Cleaner Production 2021;278:123968. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2020.12396 Q1, SCI index (Elsevier, Impact factor 9.2).
32 OCT 2020 Kumar Raja Vanapalli, Brajesh Dubey, Ajit K Sarmah, Jayanta Bhattacharya. “Assessment of microplastic pollution in the aquatic environments – An Indian perspective” Case Studies in Chemical and Environmental Engineering 2020:100071. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cscee.2020.100071.
33 AUG 2020 Sharma HB, Vanapalli KR, Cheela VS, Ranjan VP, Jaglan AK, Dubey B, et al. “Challenges, opportunities, and innovations for effective solid waste management during and post COVID-19 pandemic”. Resources, Conservation and Recycling 2020;162:105052. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.resconrec.2020.105052. Q1, SCI index (Elsevier, Impact factor 10.1).
34 JUN 2020 Kumar Raja Vanapalli, Jayanta Bhattacharya, Biswajit Samal, Subhash Chandra, Isha Medha, Brajesh Dubey. “Single-use LDPE – Eucalyptus biomass char composite produced from co-pyrolysis has the properties to improve the soil quality” Process Safety and Environmental Protection 2020. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psep.2020.10.051 Q1, SCI index (Elsevier, Impact factor 6.1).
35 MAY 2020 Vanapalli KR, Sharma HB, Ranjan VP, Samal B, Bhattacharya J, Dubey BK, et al. “Challenges and strategies for effective plastic waste management during and post COVID-19 pandemic”. Science of The Total Environment 2020:141514. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2020.141514. Q1, SCI index (Elsevier, Impact factor 7.9).
International/National Conference Proceedings
S.No. Month Year Publication Information
1 JUL 2023 Pujitha, N.P., Vamsi, S., Vikas, K., Sangeetha, G., Vanapalli, K.R. (2023). Upgrading Recycled Aggregates in Concrete by Using Waste Plastics. In: Vilventhan, A., Singh, S.B., Delhi, V.S.K. (eds) Advances in Construction Materials and Management. ACMM 2022. Lecture Notes in Civil Engineering, vol 346. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-99-2552-0_21
Patents
S.No. Month Year Publication Information
1 FEB 2024 RP Singh, Bijayananda Mohanty, Kumar Raja Vanapalli (2024). “Composition and System for Developing an Optimized Geopolymer Concrete with Recycled Aggregates” German Grant Patent No.: 20 2023 106 989, Date of Grant: 01/02/2024,
Book Chapters
S.No. Month Year Publication Information
1 OCT 2024 SV Chinna Swami Naik, Kumar Raja Vanapalli, Brajesh Kumar Dubey. “Upcycling of plastic waste” Waste-to-Wealth, 2024. Pg. 61 – 83. CRC Press, (Published in Taylor and Francis)
2 DEC 2021 Kumar Raja Vanapalli, Biswajit Samal, Brajesh Kumar Dubey, and Jayanta Bhattacharya. “Biochar for Sustainable agriculture: Prospects and Implications” Advances in Chemical Pollution, Environmental Management and Protection; https://doi.org/10.1016/bs.apmp.2021.08.008
3 DEC 2021 Biswajit Samal, Vanapalli, Kumar Raja, Brajesh Kumar Dubey, and Jayanta Bhattacharya. “Biochar: A potential tool for energy transition” Advances in Chemical Pollution, Environmental Management and Protection; https://doi.org/10.1016/bs.apmp.2021.08.008
4 SEP 2019 Vanapalli, Kumar & Samal, Biswajit & Dubey, Brajesh & Bhattacharya, Jayanta. (2019). “Emissions and Environmental Burdens Associated with Plastic Solid Waste Management” 10.1016/B978-0-12- 813140-4.00012-1

Courses Taught

UG: Environmental Engineering -1, Environmental Engineering -2, Environmental Engineering Lab, Solid Waste Management, Water and Waste Water Engineering, AIr Pollution and Solid Waste Management

PG: Sustainable Engineering

Awards / Recognitions

Additional Assignments

Administrative
S.No. Assignments/Responsibilities From To Organisation
1 Nodal Officer for e-Procurement in Central Public Procurement Portal 10/11/2023 To Date NIT Mizoram
2 Head of the Department, Civil Engineering 21/12/2024 To Date NIT Mizoram
3 Startup Activity Co-ordinator   NIT Mizoram
4 Convenor, Institute Innovation Council 01/05/2026 To Date NIT Mizoram

B.Tech Projects & M.Tech Dissertation

B.Tech. Projects
S.No. Degree Project Topic, Student Name & Other Details Status From To
1 B.E. / B.Tech.
UPGRADING RECYCLED AGGREGATES IN CONCRETE USING WASTE PLASTICS
Nagala Pavani Pujitha, Sabbisetti Vamsi, Kandisa Vikas, Gadi Sangeetha
Finished 11/04/2022 09/11/2022

Research Scholars/Ph.D. Supervised

Post-Doctoral Fellows

Academic Responsibility

No data

Sponsored Research Project

No data

Memberships

No data

Invited Reviewer

No data

Training / Conference Attended

No data

Training / Conference Conducted

No data