Dr. Ifeanyi Michael Smarte Anekwe
Chemical and Metallurgical Engineering · University of the Witwatersrand
Research Interests
Techno-economic and Life Cycle ASSESSMENT, Biotechnology, Environmental Sustainability
Biography
Dr Anekwe is a distinguished researcher in catalysis, specializing in heterogeneous catalytic systems for renewable energy and environmental sustainability. He holds a PhD from the University of the Witwatersrand, is a DAAD scholar, and works at Wits University, as well as serving as a visiting researcher at the Leibniz Institute for Catalysis in Germany. His pioneering work on advanced catalytic systems for biofuel production contributes to global efforts to reduce carbon emissions and accelerate the transition to cleaner energy by integrating fundamental catalyst development with applied energy innovation, emphasizing scalable pathways for sustainable aviation fuels and circular carbon systems. His contributions have been recognized internationally, and in 2025 he received the Overall WITS Early Career Researcher and Author Award from Elsevier, underscoring his impact. Beyond research, Dr. Anekwe provides editorial leadership for several reputable journals.
Education
Dr. Smarte Anekwe’s academic journey began with a BEng in Petroleum Engineering from the Federal University of Technology, where he gained a strong foundation in energy science and engineering. His undergraduate research focused on enhanced oil recovery techniques to optimize heavy crude oil utilization. Motivated by environmental challenges such as oil spills and acid mine drainage (AMD), he pursued an MEng at Durban University of Technology (DUT), supported by the DUT Postgraduate Grant. His master’s research explored biological methods for eco‑friendly remediation of polluted sites, s...
Recent Scopus Publications
- Next-Generation Remediation of Polluted Mine Water: Innovations in Microbial Engineering and Integrated Treatment Systems
- Tailoring novel hierarchical HZSM-5 catalysts for high-selectivity ethanol valorisation to transportation fuels: transition metal doping, process optimisation, and coke formation
- Advances in nanocatalysts for biofuel production: Mechanisms, performance, and future perspectives
- Progress in heterogeneous catalysis for renewable energy and petrochemical production from biomass
- Unlocking catalytic longevity: a critical review of catalyst deactivation pathways and regeneration technologies
Links
- ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8582-5869
- Google Scholar https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=XD0RansAAAAJ
- Scopus https://www.scopus.com/authid/detail.uri?authorId=57221996541