Arup K. SenGupta
P. C. Rossin Senior Professor
Professor of Chemical Engineering and
Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering

Ph.D. Environmental Engineering, 
University of Houston, 1984

M.S. Environmental Engineering, 
University of Houston, 1982

B.S. Chemical Engineering, 
Jadavpur University, India, 1972

Contact Information
phone: (610) 758-3534
fax: (610) 758-6405
e-mail: aks0@lehigh.edu

For additional information, see Lehigh Environmental Program Homepage

For Biographical Summary, click here.

Research Interests

Environmental Separation and Control

The general goal of my research is to use fundamental principles of chemistry and chemical engineering in understanding and solving today's emerging environmental problems both in industrial and municipal sectors. More specifically, a majority of our recent research endeavors tend to address selective removal of trace concentrations of contaminants from water, wastewater, sludge and soil. Such trace contaminants include a wide range of inorganic and organic chemicals: heavy metals such as lead, copper, zinc; toxic and polluting ligands such as arsenate, phosphate, chromate; hydrophobic ionizable organic compounds (HIOC), namely, chlorophenols and naphthalene sulfonates, and a host of others. The research focus in the environmental area has traditionally been governed by constantly evolving regulatory criteria. Only recently, more holistic approaches such as "zero discharge" and "pollution prevention" have started gaining grounds. Through research, I try to generate requisite knowledge for new technologies to attain regulatory compliance and also seek global solutions for complex environmental problems.

Characterizing and Tailoring New Materials

It is recognized that the sorption efficiency of a target solute is strongly dependent on solute- sorbent interactions and can be enhanced by manipulating sorption-site chemistry and physico-chemical properties of the sorbent. For sorption or ion-exchange type separation process, my research attempts to identify the relative importance of such interactions as electrostatic, Lewis acid-base, vander Waals, ion-dipole, ion sieving and others which are essential in characterizing the desirable attributes of a polymeric sorbent. In our early work with chromate removal, such an understanding of the nature of prevailing interaction at the solute-sorbent interface helped us design an efficient polymeric ion-exchanger. My current research focus also includes imparting magnetic activity onto polymeric, inorganic and composite materials to attain enhanced environmental separation in a difficult matrix.

Global Participation

Many environmental problems facing today's society are essentially global and demand new technologies to mitigate them. In the international arena, our research effort in recent years is geared toward addressing some critical environmental problems facing both developed and developing countries. Eutrophication or algal bloom in lakes and coastal areas of densely populated industrialized countries in Europe has been a persistent nuisance, mostly triggered by trace concentrations of phosphate. Our research has led to the formulation of a new class of highly selective yet durable sorbent for phosphate removal from wastewater and possible recovery. Geological arsenic contamination of groundwaters in vast areas of India, Bangladesh and Mongolia is posing serious health hazards to millions of people. Currently,  research efforts are underway to identify/develop a robust yet economically viable arsenic decontamination process for treating groundwaters in remote villages.

Publications and Presentations

For a complete list of publications, click here.

"Chelating ion-exchangers embedded in PTFE for decontamination of  heavy-metal-laden sludges and soils", Sengupta, S. and Sengupta, A.K., Colloids and Surfaces, 191, 79- 95 (2001).

"Entropy- driven selective ion exchange for aromatic ions and the role of cosolvents", Li, P. and SenGupta, A.K., Colloids and Surfaces, 191, 123 -132 (2001).

"Evaluating Composite Ion Exchangers for Improved Stability of Anaerobic Biological Reactors", I. Mitra, A. K. SenGupta, I. J. Kugelman, and R. Creighton, Wat. Res, vol 32, No 11, p 3267-3280 (1998).

"Genesis of Selectivity and Reversibility for Sorption of Synthetic Aromatic Anions onto Polymeric Sorbents", P. Li and a. K. SenGupta, Environ. Sci. & Technol, Vol 32 No. 23, pp 3756-3766 (1998).

"Improving Stability of Anaerobic Biological Reactors using Composite Ion Exchanger", I. N. Mitra, A. K. SenGupta, and I. J. Kugelman, Wat. Sci, Tech., Vol. 38, No. 8-9, pp 369-376 (1998).

"Ligand Separation with a Copper(II) - Loaded Polymeric Ligand Exchanger", D. Zhao and A. K. SenGupta, Industrial & Engineering Chemistry Research, Vol. 39, No. 2, p 455-462 (2000).

"Selective Removal of Cr(VI) Oxyanions with a New Anion Exchanger", D.

Zhao, A. K. Sengupta, and L. Stewart, Industrial & Engineering Chemistry Research, Vol. 37, No. 11, p 4383-4387 (1998).