Institute of Environmental Sciences & Engineering
Faculty Zeshan

Zeshan

Professor
Summary

Dr Zeshan has been serving as a faculty member at IESE, NUST since 2015. Research interests of Dr Zeshan include wastewater treatment and solid waste management. Specific research areas include Biological wastewater treatment; Bioenergy production (biogas, biohydrogen & microbial fuel cell systems); Microalgae production for carbon utilization and resource recovery; Solid waste management (waste/biomass decomposition processes like anaerobic digestion, composting, landfilling); Design, operation and monitoring of related systems. He has worked on different externally funded research projects. He has been involved in project conceptualization, methodology development, investigation/execution, monitoring/supervision and administration. He has been part of different committees at department, university and national level to provide his technical inputs in the tasks related to academics. He started his career in the academia in 2013 as a full time Assistant Professor in the Department of Environmental Sciences, Quaid-i-Azam University, Islamabad.

Academic Background
PhD (Environmental Engineering and Management) Asian Institute of Technology August 14, 2007 - December 18, 2012
Honours and Awards
Best Young Scientist Best Young Scientist Oral Presentation Award, awarded in Challenges in Environmental Science & Engineering (CESE 2013) Conference, 29 October-2 November, 2013, Daegu, November 01, 2013
Silver Medal Silver Medal awarded by University of Agriculture, Faisalabad for 2nd highest percentage in BSc. (Hons.) session 2001-2005 July 18, 2005
Publications
Effect of salinity levels on the performance of photosynthetic microbial desalination cells under high anolyte concentration for resource recovery August 01, 2026 Bioresource Technology - Volume:453, Article Number 134695
Dose-dependent effects of zero-valent iron on ARGs attenuation: Linking microbial succession to horizontal gene transfer inhibition in composting June 01, 2026 Journal of Environmental Chemical Engineering - Volume:14, Issue:3, Article Number 122314
Microplastics exacerbate antibiotic resistance by regulating microbial and functional gene dynamics in sludge and food waste composting March 01, 2026 Water Research - Volume:291, Article Number 125161
Sonochemically synthesized CuO-NPs: individual and synergistic toxicity assessment with sodium arsenite in adult zebrafish January 27, 2026 RSC Advances - Volume:16, Issue:7, Page:5795-5813
Recovery of Iron-Based Coagulant from Waste Laterite Ore through Chemical Leaching for Efficient Water Treatment January 05, 2026 ACS Omega - Volume:11, Issue:2, Page:2431-2440
Synergistic Influence of Inoculum Type and Laterite Powder on Anaerobic Digestion Kinetics of Canola Straw January 01, 2026 Mehran University Research Journal of Engineering and Technology - Volume 45(1), Pages 214-225
Harnessing beneficial microbes to counteract the negative impact of microplastics (raw and aged) on plant health and oxidative balance December 01, 2025 Plant Stress - Volume 18, Article Number 101087
Effect of anodic effluent recirculation and microalgal inoculum concentration on the performance of photosynthetic microbial fuel cells for brewery wastewater treatment November 01, 2025 Environmental Technology & Innovation - Volume:40, Article Number 104457
Quorum sensing enhances microbial resistance to substrate toxicity during anaerobic caproate production September 15, 2025 Chemical Engineering Journal - Volume: 520, Article Number:166049
Anode substrate tailoring in fed-batch photosynthetic microbial desalination cell for industrial and domestic wastewater treatment July 01, 2025 International Journal of Environmental Science and Technology - Pages:16
Effect of Effluent Recirculation on the Performance of an Anaerobic Baffled Reactor in Municipal Wastewater Treatment: A Modeling Approach April 22, 2025 Sustainability - Volume:17, Issue:9, Article Number 3783
Socio-economic benefits and policy implications of generating sustainable energy from municipal solid waste in Pakistan December 01, 2024 Energy and Climate Change - Volume 5 , Article Number 100124
The Fermentation Process for Biomass Conversion to Hydrogen November 08, 2024 Hydrogen Production from Renewable Resources and Wastes - 1st Edition, Chapter 11, Pages:38
Performance evaluation of sponge anaerobic baffled reactor for municipal wastewater treatment October 29, 2024 Sustainability - Volume 16(21), Article Number 9398
Effect of hydrothermal pretreatment on leachate fed Scenedesmus sp. biomass solubilization and biogas production August 01, 2024 Journal of Environmental Management - Volume:365,
Effect of hydraulic retention time on wastewater treatment and microalgal growth at low light intensity June 01, 2024 Algal Research - Volume:80, Article Number: 103545
Hollow CoP/carbon as an efficient catalyst for the peroxymonosulfate activation derived from phytic acid assisted metal-organic framework May 01, 2024 Chemosphere - Volume 355, Article Number 141775
Mycorrhizosphere bacteria inhibit greenhouse gas emissions from microplastics contaminated soil by regulating soil enzyme activities and microbial community structure April 01, 2024 Journal of Environmental Management - Volume 356, Article Number 120673
Eco-friendly cultivation of microalgae using a horizontal twin layer system for treatment of real solid waste leachate February 01, 2024 Journal of Environmental Management - Volume 351, Article ID: 119847, Pages:14
Effect of catholyte on performance of photosynthetic microbial fuel cell for wastewater treatment and energy recovery February 01, 2024 Renewable Energy - Volume 221, Article Number 119810
Performance comparison of a photosynthetic and mechanically aerated microbial fuel cell for wastewater treatment and bioenergy generation using different anolytes December 01, 2023 Journal of Water Process Engineering - Volume 56, Article Number 104358
Hollow Fe0/graphitized carbon nanocubes derived from the metal-organic framework for enhanced activation of peroxymonosulfate September 01, 2023 Separation and Purification Technology - Volume 320, Article Number 124101
Antibiotics induced changes in nitrogen metabolism and antioxidative enzymes in mung bean (Vigna radiata) May 15, 2023 Science of the Total Environment - Volume 873, Article Number 162449
Microalgal treatment of high-nutrient wastewater using twin layer cultivation system April 01, 2023 Journal of Environmental Chemical Engineering - Volume 11, Issue 2, Article Number 109248
Functional annotation and comparative analysis of four Botrytis cinerea mitogenomes reported from Punjab, Pakistan April 01, 2023 Saudi Journal of Biological Sciences - Volume 30, Issue 4, Article Number 103605
Municipal wastewater treatment with corrugated PVC carrier anaerobic baffled reactor February 01, 2023 Water Science and Technology - Volume 87, Issue 3, Pages 660-671
Mussel shell based CaO nano-catalyst doped with praseodymium to enhance biodiesel production from castor oil December 15, 2022 Fuel - Volume 330, Article Number 125480
Operation of microalgal horizontal twin layer system for treatment of real wastewater and production of lipids August 01, 2022 Journal of Water Process Engineering - Volume 48, Article Number 102932
Proximate and elemental analysis of solid recovered fuel, its comparison with existing fossil fuels in terms of physical characteristics and economic benefits June 01, 2022 Bioresource Technology Reports - Volume 18, Article Number 101049
Effect of low levels of oxytetracycline on anaerobic digestion of cattle manure April 01, 2022 Bioresource Technology - Volume 349, Article Number 126894
Biological carbon capture, growth kinetics and biomass composition of novel microalgal species February 21, 2022 Bioresource Technology Reports - Volume 17, Article Number 100982
Performance Evaluation of Integrated Anaerobic and Aerobic Reactors for Treatment of Real Textile Wastewater January 07, 2022 International Journal of Environmental Science and Technology - Pages 1-12
Growth kinetics of microalgae cultivated in different dilutions of fresh leachate for sustainable nutrient recovery and carbon fixation January 01, 2022 Biochemical Engineering Journal - Volume 178, Article Number 108299
Production of bioethanol and biogas from Spirodela polyrhiza in a biorefinery concept and output energy analysis of the process November 26, 2021 Biomass Conversion and Biorefinery - Pages 1-10
Computational Assessment of Botrytis cinerea Lipase for Biofuel Production October 30, 2021 Catalysts - Volume 11(11), Article Number 1319
Evaluating the performance of anaerobic moving bed bioreactor and upflow anaerobic hybrid reactor for treating textile desizing wastewater October 01, 2021 Biochemical Engineering Journal - Volume 174, Article Number 108123
Enhanced Methane Production from Anaerobic Co-digestion of wheat straw rice straw and sugarcane bagasse: A Kinetic Analysis June 30, 2021 Applied Sciences - Volume 11(13), Article Number 6069
Enhancing biogas production through co-digestion and thermal pretreatment of wheat straw and sunflower meal May 01, 2021 Renewable Energy - Volume 168, Pages 1-10
Enhancing methane production from dewatered waste activated sludge through alkaline and photocatalytic pretreatment April 01, 2021 Bioresource Technology - Volume 325, Article Number 124677
Application of material flow analysis for the assessment of current municipal solid waste management in Karachi, Pakistan March 25, 2021 Waste Management & Research - Pages 1-10
A comprehensive study on upgradation of pyrolysis products through co-feeding of waste tire into rice straw under broad range of co-feed ratios in a bench-scale fixed bed reactor March 15, 2021 Biomass Conversion and Biorefinery - Pages 1-15
Effect of Solvents on Extraction of Bioactive Substances from CITRULLUS COLOCYNTHIS and Their Antioxidant, Antimicrobial and Antiglycation Activities March 03, 2021 Pharmaceutical Chemistry Journal - Volume 55(3), Pages 275-283
Effect of alkaline and alkaline-photocatalytic pretreatment on characteristics and biogas production of rice straw August 01, 2020 Bioresource Technology - Volume 309, Article Number 123449
Effect of substrate type and concentration on the performance of a double chamber microbial fuel cell April 01, 2020 Water Science and Technology - Volume: 81, Issue: 7, Pages: 1336-1344
Performance evaluation of anaerobic moving bed bioreactor (An-MBBR) for pretreatment of desizing wastewater February 01, 2020 Desalination and Water Treatment - Volume 181, Pages 123-130
Influence of Pseudomonas japonica and organic amendments on the growth and metal tolerance of Celosia argentea L. August 20, 2019 Environmental Science and Pollution Research - -
Effect of inoculum type and organic loading on biogas production of sunflower meal and wheat straw March 19, 2019 Sustainable Environment Research - Volume 29, Issue 4
Synergistic effect of alkaline pretreatment and magnetite nanoparticle application on biogas production from rice straw March 01, 2019 Bioresource Technology - Volume 275, Pages 288-296
Thermal and electrical management of photovoltaic panels using phase change materials - A review September 30, 2018 Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews - Volume 92, Pages 254-271
Combined application of biochar, compost, and bacterial consortia with Italian ryegrass enhanced phytoremediation of petroleum hydrocarbon contaminated soil September 01, 2018 Environmental and Experimental Botany - NULL
Effect of thermal pretreatment on chemical composition, physical structure and biogas production kinetics of wheat straw September 01, 2018 Journal of Environmental Management - NULL
Thermal management of conventional photovoltaic module using phase change materials?An experimental investigation December 01, 2017 Energy Exploration & Exploitation - Volume 37, Issue 5, Pages 1516-1540
Current Approaches for the Assessment of In Situ Remediation of Xenobiotics February 16, 2017 Xenobiotics in the Soil Environment - Chapter: 13, Pages: 171-196
Effect of Chelators and Substrates on Phytoremediation of Synthetic Leachate for Removal of Trace Elements February 06, 2017 Soil and Sediment Contamination - Volume: 26 Issue: 2 Pages: 220-233 Published: 2017
Photocatalytic degradation of textile dyes on Cu2O-CuO/TiO2 anatase powders June 01, 2016 Journal of Environmental Chemical Engineering - Volume 4, Issue 2, Pages 2138-2146
High-solids anaerobic co-digestion of food waste and rice husk at different organic loading rates August 01, 2015 International Biodeterioration & Biodegradation - Volume 102, Pages 149-153
Effect of mixing ratio of food waste and rice husk co-digestion and substrate to inoculum ratio on biogas production August 01, 2015 Bioresource Technology - Volume 190, Pages 451-457
Evaluation of anaerobic digestate for greenhouse gas emissions at various stages of its management November 01, 2014 International Biodeterioration & Biodegradation - Volume 95, Pages 167-175
Effect of C/N ratio and ammonia-N accumulation in a pilot-scale thermophilic dry anaerobic digester June 01, 2012 Bioresource Technology - Volume 113, Pages 294-302, Special Issue SI
Conferences
Navigating future water availability in the Jhelum River: Integrated Modeling of SocioEconomic Dynamics and Climate Change Impacts using WEAP October 07, 2025 - October 11, 2025 Aiman Zafar, Javed Iqbal, Zeshan, Humaira Abid, Ejaz Hussain, Water Security and Climate Change Conference
The Role of Science in Urban Waste Governance August 13, 2025 - August 13, 2025 Zeshan, Enhancing Science Policy Integration in Waste Management
Key Note Speaker: Combating Climate Change through Technological Interventions in the Waste Sector September 11, 2024 - September 12, 2024 Zeshan, 2nd International Conference on Climate Induced Natural Disasters and Mitigation (ICCINDM)
Enhancing Fecal Sludge Biodegradation through Anaerobic Co-Digestion: Investigating the Impact of Co-Substrate September 09, 2024 - September 12, 2024 Nida Maqbool, Sher Jamal Khan, Kamran Manzoor, Rabia Liaquat, Zeshan, 16th International Conference on Sustainable Energy & Environmental Protection SEEP 2024
Assessment of Algae-assisted Microbial fuel Cell Performance for Wastewater Treatment and Energy Recovery Using Two Different Wastewaters as Catholyte September 12, 2022 - September 15, 2022 Zia Ullah, Zeshan, 14th International Conference on Sustainable Energy & Environmental Protection, (SEEP2022)
Wastewater Treatment and Simultaneous Production of Biogas and Electricity Generation by Algae-assisted Microbial Feul Cell August 17, 2022 - August 18, 2022 Shanza Shabbir, Zeshan, 2nd International Conference on Water, Energy and Environment for Sustainability, (ICWEES2022)
Assessment of the Performance of Microbial Fuel Cell for Wastewater Treatment and Energy Recovery August 17, 2022 - August 18, 2022 Zia Ullah, Zeshan, 2nd International Conference on Water, Energy, and Environment for Sustainability, (IC-WEES-2022)
Operation of Inclined Porous Substrate Bioreactor for Wastewater Treatment Using Microalgae and Sustainable Biodiesel-Lipid Production September 13, 2021 - September 16, 2021 Sahar Saleem, Zeshan, Rashid Iftikhar, Muhammad Arshad, Muhammad Hassan, 13th International Conference on Sustainable Energy & Environmental Protection, University of Natural Resources and Life Science
Analysis of Physico-chemical Characteristics of Rice Straw Pretreated with Sodium Hydroxide February 21, 2018 - February 23, 2018 Muhammad Junaiid Khalid, Zeshan, 2nd International Conference on Energy Systems for Sustainable Development, (ESSD 2018)
Hand Driven Energy Efficient Reactor for Biogas Production From Organic Solid Waste March 10, 2017 - March 11, 2017 Shiza Aslam, Rimsha Zafar, Nauman Akber, Zeshan Sheikh, First International Conference on Emerging Trends in Earth and Environmental Sciences
Effect of substrates on phytoremediation of trace metals from solid waste leachate February 22, 2017 - February 23, 2017 Ammara Batool, Zeshan, Muhammad Arshad, Sher Jamal Khan, International Conference on Bio Approaches for Environment and sustainability, NUST, Islamabad
Start-Up of Thermophilic Dry Anaerobic Digestion of Organic Fraction of Municipal Solid Waste December 22, 2015 - December 23, 2015 Zeshan, C. Visvanathan, 2nd Conference on Emerging Materials and Processes (CEMP-2015), , SCME, NUST, Islamabad
Continuous high solids co-digestion of food waste and rice husk under mesophilic conditions at pilot scale October 12, 2014 - October 16, 2014 Maliha Jabeen, Zeshan, Sohail Yousaf, 7th Annual Conference on the Challenges in Environmental Science & Engineering (CESE 2014), Johor Bahru
Anaerobic Co-Digestion of Food Waste and Rice Husk: Effect of Co-Substrate Mixing Ratios and Substrate to Inoculum Ratio on Biogas Production October 12, 2014 - October 16, 2014 Zeshan, Sohail Yousaf, Muhammad Rizwan Haider, 7th Annual Conference on the Challenges in Environmental Science & Engineering (CESE 2014),Johor Bahru
Effect of organic loading rate on the performance of a pilot-scale thermophilic dry anaerobic digester under high recirculation rate October 29, 2013 - November 02, 2013 Zeshan, C. Visvanathan, 6th Annual Conference on the Challenges in Environmental Science & Engineering (CESE 2013), Daegu
Digestate management from perspectives of GHG emissions October 29, 2013 - November 02, 2013 Zeshan, C. Visvanathan, 6th Annual Conference on the Challenges in Environmental Science & Engineering (CESE 2013)
Dry anaerobic digestion of municipal solid waste: Potentials and problems April 26, 2012 - April 26, 2012 Zeshan, C. Visvanathan, 2nd International Conference on Anaerobic Digestion for Waste and Wastewater Treatment, Bangkok
Ammonia inhibition in dry thermophilic anaerobic digestion of organic fraction of municipal solid waste September 25, 2011 - September 30, 2011 Zeshan, C. Visvanathan, Presented in 4th International Conference on Challenges in Environmental Science and Engineering (CESE 2011), Tainan
CSR activities in Thailand August 19, 2010 - August 23, 2010 Zeshan, Sheelva Shakya, Young environmental leaders summit 2010
Professor Institute of Environmental Sciences and Engineering (IESE), SCEE, NUST August 13, 2024 - May 14, 2025
Associate Professor Institute of Environmental Sciences and Engineering (IESE), SCEE, NUST August 13, 2020 - August 12, 2024
Assistant Professor Institute of Environmental Sciences and Engineering (IESE), SCEE, NUST June 30, 2015 - August 12, 2020
Assistant Professor Department of Environmental Sciences (DES), Quaid-i-Azam University, Islamabad February 15, 2013 - February 15, 2015