Advisory Board

Prof. Sankar Ganesh Palani is Professor (Research Track) in the Department of Biological Sciences at BITS Pilani, Hyderabad Campus. His research and professional work span sustainable waste management, resource recovery, environmental biotechnology, anaerobic digestion, composting, wastewater treatment, nano-ecotoxicology and environmental risk assessment.

His research focuses on developing sustainable technologies that can transform waste streams into valuable resources. A key area of his work is anaerobic digestion and biomethanation, with an emphasis on improving process efficiency, stability and methane recovery from diverse and complex organic waste streams. His research integrates microbiological and biochemical understanding with process engineering, including the development of innovative reactor configurations, process-intensification approaches and intelligent process-control strategies.

Prof. Palani has also worked on commercially scalable reactors, real-time process monitoring tools and technologies aimed at strengthening the practical and industrial application of environmental biotechnology. His broader research interests include solid waste management, vermicomposting, composting and the use of biological processes for resource recovery, placing his work firmly at the intersection of waste management and the circular bioeconomy.

He holds a PhD in Environmental Science & Engineering from Pondicherry University, where his doctoral research examined applications of bioprocess engineering in solid waste management. He also holds an MPhil in Environmental Science & Engineering and an MSc in Zoology.

Following his doctoral work, he was a Post-Doctoral Research Fellow in Bioprocess Engineering at INSA de Toulouse, France, where he worked on optimising the production of polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHAs), bioplastic precursors, from municipal sludge.

Before joining BITS Pilani, Prof. Palani held research and academic positions including Senior Research Fellow at Pondicherry University, Project Associate with the Centre for Environment Education, and Lecturer in Environmental Studies in Abu Dhabi. He has also served as a consultant and has contributed as a reviewer for several international scientific journals.

His work and expertise bring together waste management, environmental biotechnology and resource recovery, with a strong focus on developing practical solutions for a more circular and sustainable economy.

Ulhas Parlikar is a seasoned sustainability and waste management professional with over 43 years of experience spanning waste management, circular economy, alternative fuels and raw material recovery. He currently serves as a Board Director of the Material Recycling Association of India (MRAI) and is a global consultant advising organisations on sustainable waste management, circular economy, policy advocacy, alternative fuels and co-processing.

Parlikar spent 23 years with ACC Limited, where he served as Director of the Geocycle Business and played a pivotal role in building and scaling the business in India. Under his leadership, large quantities of industrial, municipal and agricultural waste were utilised as secondary resources in cement manufacturing. He also spearheaded the co-processing initiative across the Indian cement industry as Chairman of the CII and Cement Manufacturers’ Association (CMA) initiative.

A strong advocate of co-processing as a sustainable waste management solution, Parlikar has worked extensively on policy advocacy and has contributed to the development of India’s policy framework for co-processing. He has served as an expert member on committees constituted by the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC), Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA) and Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), as well as various Central and State Government committees.

His international and industry assignments have included work on the beneficial utilisation of red mud as a pozzolana in cement manufacturing and as a sand substitute in construction, as well as projects focused on converting diverse waste streams into valuable resources. He has also supported industries in achieving zero-landfill goals.

Parlikar holds a B.Tech in Chemical Engineering from Osmania University and an M.Tech in Chemical Engineering from IIT Madras, along with senior management and leadership programmes at IMD, Switzerland. He has authored and co-authored numerous technical papers and publications, including the book Sustainable Management of Wastes through Co-processing.

At MRAI, he continues to champion policies supporting sustainable recycling, industrial symbiosis and the growth of India’s circular economy.