Dr. Madhuka Roy
Teaching Faculty (Environmental Science) | Department of Applied Sciences
Rajiv Gandhi National Aviation University (RGNAU), Fursatganj, Amethi
Email: madhuka.roy@rgnau.ac.in
Brief Profile:
Dr. Madhuka Roy is a Teaching Faculty (Environmental Science) in the Department of Applied Sciences at Rajiv Gandhi National Aviation University (RGNAU), Fursatganj, Amethi. She has earned her Ph.D. in Chemical Science (Sustainable Energy) from AcSIR in 2025, following an M.Sc. in Environmental Science and a B.Sc. (Hons.) in Microbiology from University of Calcutta. Her academic and research expertise lies in renewable and sustainable energy systems, with a focus on biofuels (biochar, bio-oil, biodiesel, bioethanol, biogas etc.), biomass conversion technologies such as pyrolysis, torrefaction, briquetting and integrated sustainability assessments using techno-economic analysis (TEA) and life cycle assessment (LCA). Her doctoral research examined comparative energy generation pathways from pine needles, contributing to advancements in biomass valorization.
She has contributed to multiple sponsored research projects involving biodiesel production, biogas generation and biomass-based fuel optimization. She has published several peer-reviewed research papers in reputed international journals, co-authored a book chapter on thermochemical biomass conversion, presented her work in national and international conferences, received recognition through research awards and actively serves as a reviewer for international journals in sustainable energy and bioresource technology.
Academic Qualifications:
- Ph.D. in Chemical Science from AcSIR
- M.Sc. in Environmental Science from University of Calcutta
- B.Sc. in Microbiology (Hons.) from University of Calcutta
Recognition:
- Received Best Oral Presentation Award at the Symposium on “Fuels of the Future: Powering Sustainable Mobility”, organized by the Department of Biotechnology, Guru Nanak Dev University, Amritsar, Punjab
- Received SESR Young Investigator Award 2016 from Society for Educational & Scientific Research
- Reviewer of Environmental Progress & Sustainable Energy (Wiley), Biofuels (Taylor & Francis), Bioresource Technology Reports (Elsevier), Waste Management Bulletin (Elsevier)
Professional Membership:
- Life Member: National Environmental Science Academy
Research Experience:
- Senior Project Fellow (July- 2015 – December-2017), CSIR CMERI Centre of Excellence for Farm Machinery, Ludhiana
- Project Assistant – III (December-2018 – March-2020), CSIR CMERI Centre of Excellence for Farm Machinery, Ludhiana
- Project Associate – II (April-2021 – July-2022), CSIR CMERI Centre of Excellence for Farm Machinery, Ludhiana
Title of Projects Worked On:
- Design and development of roof top biogas plant through solid state fermentation using kitchen waste, sponsored by Petroleum Conservation Research Association, New Delhi
- Production of biodiesel from Tung seeds in North East India, sponsored by Petroleum Conservation Research Association, New Delhi
- Production of Briquettes from agricultural residues, its process optimization and quality analysis, funded by CSIR
- Design and Development of 1 TPD Fully Automatic Biodiesel Plant, funded by CSIR
- Biofuel Value Chain from Karanja Seeds for Sustainable Energy Production, sponsored by Department of Forest & Wildlife Preservation, Govt. of Punjab
Research Papers:
- Roy, M., Chakravarty, S., Kishore, B. & Kundu, K. (2026). Sustainable fuel production: briquetting and characterization of torrefied pine needle biochar. Biofuels, 1–12. https://doi.org/10.1080/17597269.2025.2605772.
- Roy, M., Chakravarty, S., Kishore, B. & Kundu, K. (2025). A comparative study on pine needle-based energy generation: Perspectives on techno-economics and sustainability. Biomass and Bioenergy. 203, 108359. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biombioe.2025.108359. (Citation: 1)
- Roy, M., Chakravarty, S., Kishore, B. & Kundu, K. (2025). Lab-scale optimization of biogas production from pine needles co-digested with cow dung. Biofuels. 17(2), 256–271. https://doi.org/10.1080/17597269.2025.2524902 (Citations: 4)
- Roy, M. & Kundu, K. (2023). Production of biochar briquettes from torrefaction of pine needles. Bioresource Technology Reports. 22, 101467. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biteb.2023.101467 (Citations: 30)
- Kaur, A., Roy, M. & Kundu, K. (2017). Densification of Biomass by Briquetting: A Review. International Journal of Recent Scientific Research, 20561–20568. https://doi.org/10.24327/IJRSR. (Citations: 49)
Book Chapter:
- Kundu, K., Chatterjee, A., Bhattacharyya, T., Roy, M. & Kaur, A. (2017). Thermochemical Conversion of Biomass to Bioenergy: A review. Energy, Environment, and Sustainability, 235–268. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-10-7518-6_11. (Citations: 70)
Papers Presented in Conferences:
- Presented a paper titled “Production and Characterization of Sustainable Briquettes from Torrefied Pine Needle Biochar” at the Symposium on “Fuels of the Future: Powering Sustainable Mobility”, organized by the Department of Biotechnology, Guru Nanak Dev University, Amritsar from 22nd to 23rd December, 2025.
- Presented a paper titled “Production of bioethanol and biogas from mixed indigenous algae: A potential source for third generation biofuel” at the International Conference on Green Technology for Health and Environment: Implementations and Policies, organized by Society for Educational & Scientific Research from 15th to 16th December, 2016.
- Presented a paper titled “Effect of process parameters for standardization of esterification of coconut oil for production of biodiesel” at the National Seminar on Biofuel, organized by SCMS Institute of Bioscience & Biotechnology Research & Development, Cochin from 17th to 18th December, 2015.
Poster Presentation:
- Presented a poster titled “Optimization of pre-treatment methods for producing bio-ethanol from indigenous algae & production of biogas from same culture through different pre-treatments” at the Fifth National Research Conference on Climate Change organized by IIT Delhi, IIT Madras, IISc Bangalore and Centre for Science and Environment, under the banner Indian Climate Research Network, at IIT-Delhi from 19th to 20th December, 2014.
Extra-Curricular Activities:
- Completed 5th year in Recitation from Sarbabharatiya Sangeet - o- Sanskriti Parishad, Kolkata, West Bengal.