Designation: 
Office Phone: 
(022)-2576-7877
Email: 
a.b.rao@iitb.ac.in
Research Interests: 

Energy and Environment, Technology Assessment, Climate Change Mitigation, Carbon Capture and Sequestration (CCS), Renewables and Energy Efficiency, Waste Management, Energy Policy and Planning, Rural Energy Consumption, Rural Livelihoods, NTFPs, Supply Chain Analysis

Education: 
  • Ph. D. (2003) Engineering & Public Policy, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, USA
  • M.Tech. (1998) Environmental Science.& Engg., Institute of Technology (IIT)-Bombay, Mumbai, India
  • B.Tech. (1995) Chemical Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology (IIT)-Bombay, Mumbai, India
Courses Taught: 
  • TD 613: Ecology and Environment
  • TD 607: Energy sources and their utilization
  • TD 619: Energy policy and planning
  • TD 609: Summer field work (coordinator)
  • TD 792: Communication Skills
  • CM 803: Introduction to climate change
  • EN 646: Energy and Climate
Experience: 
  • Assistant Professor (Since 07/ 2006) Centre for Technology Alternatives for Rural Areas (CTARA), Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) – Bombay, Mumbai 400076, INDIA.
  • Post Doctoral Fellow (01/04 – 01/06) Department of Engineering and Public Policy, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, USA.
Publications: 
Journal Papers
  1. Jain, M., Rao, A.B. and A. P. Patwardhan (2018). “Appliance labeling and consumer heterogeneity: A discrete choice experiment in India”, Applied Energy, volume 226, September 2018, 213-224 Available at: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apenergy.2018.05.089.
  2. Rao, A. B. (2018). “Technology interventions in rural areas”, Kurukshetra: A Journal on Rural Development published by the Ministry of Rural development, Government of India, Volume 66 (7), May 2018, 12-16.
  3. Jain, M., Rao, A.B. and A. P. Patwardhan (2018). “Consumer preference for labels in the purchase decisions of air conditioners in India”, Energy for Sustainable Development, volume 42, February 2018, 24-31. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.esd.2017.09.008.
  4. Singh, U., Rao, A. B., and M. K. Chandel (2017). "Economic implications of CO2 capture from existing and upcoming coal-fired power plants in India under various policy scenarios”, Energy Procedia, Vol.114, July 2017, pp.7638-7650. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.egypro.2017.03.1896.
  5. Akash, A. R., Rao, A. B., and M.K. Chandel (2016). "Relevance of Carbon Capture & Sequestration in India’s Energy Mix to Achieve the Reduction in Emission Intensity by 2030 as per INDCs”, Energy Procedia, Vol.114, July 2017, pp.7492-7503. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.egypro.2017.03.1882.
  6. Kulkarni, N. and A. B. Rao (2016). “Carbon footprint of bricks manufactured in the clamps of India”, Journal of Cleaner Production, (135), 2016. pp 1396 –1406. doi:10.1016/j.jclepro.2016.06.152.
  7. Kulkarni, N., Bhandarkar, U.V., Puranik, B. P. and A. B. Rao (2016). “Experimental determination of thermal properties of alluvial soil”, Heat and Mass Transfer, 1-9, doi: 10.1007/s00231-016-1772-y.
  8. Anand S. and A. B. Rao (2016). "Models for deployment of solar PV lighting applications in India, ," Energy Procedia, Vol.90 :, 2016, pp.455-462, (Selected papers from the 5th International Conference on Advances in Energy Research); doi: 10.1016/j.egypro.2016.11.212.
  9. Singh U. and A. B. Rao (2016). "Techno-economic assessment of carbon mitigation options for existing coal-fired plants in India," Energy Procedia, Vol.90 :,2016,pp.326-335, Selected papers from the 5th International Conference on Advances in Energy Research; doi: 10.1016/j.egypro.2016.11.200.
  10. Singh, U., and A.B. Rao (2015). Integrating SO2 and NOx control systems in Indian coal-fired power plants, Decision, 42(2), 191-209.
  11. Pandey, A., Sadavarte, P., Rao, A.B., and C. Venkataraman (2014). “Trends in multi-pollutant emissions from a technology-linked inventory for India: II. Residential, agricultural and informal industry sectors”, Atmospheric Environment (2014), in press accepted manuscript, doi: 10.1016/j.atmosenv.2014.09.080.
  12. Bhoyar, S. P., Dusad, S., Shrivastava, R., Mishra, S., Gupta, N. and A. B. Rao (2014). “Understanding the impact of lifestyle on individual carbon footprint”, Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences 133, 47–60.
  13. Kumbhar, S., Kulkarni, N., Rao, A. B. and B. Rao (2014). “Environmental Life Cycle Assessment of Traditional Bricks in Western Maharashtra, India”, Energy Procedia, 54, 260–269.
  14. Rao, A.B. and P. Kumar (2014).“Cost Implications of Carbon Capture and Storage for the Coal Power Plants in India”. Energy Procedia, 54, 431 – 43.
  15. Rao, B., Mane, A., Rao, A. B., and V. Sardeshpande (2014). “Multi-criteria analysis of alternative biogas technologies”, Energy Procedia, 54, 292 – 301.
  16. Rubin, E.S., Chen, C. and A.B. Rao (2007). “Cost and Performance of Fossil Fuel Power Plants with CO2 Capture and Storage”, Energy Policy, 35(9), 4444-4454.
  17. Rao, A.B. and E.S. Rubin (2006). “Identifying Cost-Effective CO2 Control Levels for Amine-based CO2 Capture Systems”, Industrial and Engineering Chemistry Research - Special Issue on Carbon Capture, 45(8), 2421-2429.
  18. Rao, A.B., Rubin, E.S., Keith, D.W. and G.M. Morgan (2006). “Evaluation of Potential Cost Reductions from Improved CO2 Capture Systems”, Energy Policy, 34(18), 3765-3772.
  19. Rao, A.B. and E.S. Rubin (2002). “A Technical, Economic and Environmental Assessment of Amine-based Carbon Capture Technology for Power Plant Greenhouse Gas Control”, Environmental Science & Technology, 36 (20), 4467-4475.
  20. Patwardhan, A. and A.B. Rao (1998). “Pollution Prevention: A New Approach to Environmental Quality”. Chemical Industry Digest, Oct/November 1998, India.

Book Chapters

  1. Jain M., Rao A.B., and A. Patwardhan (2019). Energy Efficiency Policies in India: Implications for Climate Change Mitigation. In: Venkataraman C., Mishra T., Ghosh S., Karmakar S. (eds) “Climate Change Signals and Response”, Springer, Singapore, pp 289-303.
  2. Chigullapalli S., Rao A.B., and A. Patwardhan (2019). Biodiesel Blending in India—Analysis of National Biofuel Policy. In: Venkataraman C., Mishra T., Ghosh S., Karmakar S. (eds) “Climate Change Signals and Response”, Springer, Singapore, pp 247-253.
  3. Chigullapalli S., Rao A.B., and A. Patwardhan. (2018). Critical Evaluation of Biodiesel Production Initiatives in India. In “Biofuels: Green House Gas Mitigation and Global Warming”, edited by A. Kumar et.al, 2018, Springer (India) Pvt. Ltd., New Delhi, pp 155-176. doi: 10.1007/978-81-322-3763-1_9.
  4. Chigullapalli S., Rao A.B., and A. Patwardhan. (2018). Assessment of the Potential of non-plantation biomass as energy resource in India. In “Biofuels: Green House Gas Mitigation and Global Warming”, edited by A. Kumar et.al, 2018, Springer (India) Pvt. Ltd., New Delhi, pp 193-204. doi: 10.1007/978-81-322-3763-1_11.
  5. Khanolkar, R.S., Rao, A.B., and S. Ghosh (2018). RuTAG IIT Bombay Floating Fish cages for livelihood opportunities for tribals in Dimbhe area. In P.M. Pawar, B.P. Ronge, R. Balasubramaniam, & S. Seshabhattar (Eds.), Techno-Societal 2016: Proceedings of the International conference on advanced technologies for societal applications, Spinger International publishing AG, 2018, pp 27-35.
  6. ‘Total Sanitation Campaign’ intervention for a semi urban village through ‘public-people-private’ partnership – co-authored with Manik N. Dive - in the book “Urbanization in Asia: Governance, Infrastructure and the Environment”, edited by Kala S. Sridhar and Guanghua Wan, Springer India, 2014, pp 27-39.
  7. Electric Power Generation:  Going from “Black” to “Green” - in the book “Climate Change, Society and Sustainable Development: Agenda for Action” compiled and published by Times Foundation, New Delhi - 110 103, 2010, pp 115-123.
  8. Technologies: Separation, Capture and Transportation of CO2, Chapter 2 in the book “Carbon Capture and Sequestration: Integrating Technology, Monitoring, and Regulation” edited by Elizabeth J. Wilson and David Gerard, Blackwell Publishing, 2121 State Avenue, Ames, Iowa, USA, 2007. 
Conferences: 
  1. Haran, S., Rao, A.B. and R. Banerjee "Techno-economic comparison of coal plants in India with conventional and advanced power generation technologies integrated with CO2 capture," paper presented (oral) at the 14th International Conference on Greenhouse Gas Control Technologies, (GHGT-14), October 21-25, 2018, Melbourne, Australia.
  2. Phadke, P., Rao, A.B., and M. Chandel "Impact of Coal Quality on Post-Combustion CO2 Capture in Indian Coal Power Plants," poster presented at the 14th International Conference on Greenhouse Gas Control Technologies (GHGT-14), October 21-25,2018, Melbourne, Australia.
  3. Agrawal, H. and A.B. Rao "Estimating the Potential of Pre-combustion CO2 Capture in Bio-hydrogen, Bio-CNG and Bio-ethanol Production Plants," poster presented at the 14th International Conference on Greenhouse Gas Control Technologies (GHGT-14), October 21-25,2018, Melbourne, Australia.
  4. Khanolkar, R., and A.B. Rao (2018). “Technology Interventions for Rural Development by RuTAG IIT Bombay: A Review”, paper presented (oral) at the 1st International conference of RuTAG, Rural technology development and delivery (RTDD) held during March 9-11, 2018 at IIT Delhi.
  5. Tak, P., Nuli, D.T., Ghosh, S. and A.B. Rao (2018). “Evolution of ‘Floating fish cages for inland waters’ developed by RuTAG IIT Bombay”, paper presented (oral) at the 1st International conference of RuTAG, Rural technology development and delivery (RTDD) held during March 9-11, 2018 at IIT Delhi.
  6. Tak, P., Haque, T., Guha, A., Rao, A.B., Shah N.G., and R. Khanolkar (2018). “Study of supply chain, production potential of hirda and design of hirda decortication machine for livelihood generation for tribal people”, paper presented (oral) at the 1st International conference of RuTAG, Rural technology development and delivery (RTDD) held during March 9-11, 2018 at IIT Delhi.
  7. Hegde, G., Rao, A.B. and S.B. Agnihotri (2017). “Analyzing the Inequality Pathways of Domestic Electricity Consumption in India”, (paper number 394) paper presented at the International Conference on Advances in Energy Research (ICAER) 2017, December 12-14, 2017.
  8. Phadke, P., Rao, A.B., and M. Chandel (2017). “Impact of Coal Quality on Post-Combustion, Amine-Based CO2 Capture in Indian Coal Power Plants”, (paper number 357) paper presented at the International Conference on Advances in Energy Research (ICAER) 2017, December 12-14, 2017. 
  9. Swami, S., Rao, A.B. and S.B. Agnihotri (2017). “Trends of electricity supply availability and its implications on rural residential feeders”, (paper number 130) poster presented at the International Conference on Advances in Energy Research (ICAER) 2017, December 12-14, 2017. (Received the Best poster award).
  10. Agrawal, H. and A.B. Rao (2017). “Techno-Economic Potential of Pre-Combustion CO2 Capture in Bio-Energy Pathways”, (paper number 341) poster presented at the International Conference on Advances in Energy Research (ICAER) 2017, December 12-14, 2017.
  11. Dewan, M.R. and A.B. Rao (2017). “Electricity Planning for Bangladesh under Various Scenarios”, (paper number 202) poster presented at the International Conference on Advances in Energy Research (ICAER) 2017, December 12-14, 2017. 
  12. Jain, M., Rao, A.B. and A. Patwardhan (2017). “Appliance standards and incremental price of efficiency”, (paper number 373) poster presented at the International Conference on Advances in Energy Research (ICAER) 2017, December 12-14, 2017.
  13. Rao, A.B., and P.C. Phadke (2017). “CO2 Capture and Storage in Coal Gasification Projects”, presented at the Workshop on Challenges and Opportunities of Underground Coal Gasification in India, UCG 2017; Vigyan Bhawan, New Delhi; India; February 13-14, 2017, IOP Conference Series: Earth and Environmental Science, 76 (1), art. no. 012011, .DOI: 10.1088/1755-1315/76/1/012011.
  14. Hegde, G., Agnihotri, S.B. and A. B. Rao (2017). “Tracing the Contours of Inequality in Household Electricity Consumption in India”. Paper presented at the 36th International Energy Workshop (IEW), 12-14 July, 2017, University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland.  Paper available at: https://events.pnnl.gov/Default.aspx?topic=IEW_2017:_Papers_and_Slides.
  15. Jain, M., Rao, A.B. and A. Patwardhan (2017). “Impact of standards and labeling program on consumer discount rate”, Paper presented at the 40th Annual IAEE International Conference, 18-21 June, 2017, at Marina Bay Sands, Singapore.
  16. Swami, S., Rao, A.B. and S.B. Agnihotri (2017). “Multi-Criteria Assessment of Energy Inequality in Maharashtra”. Paper presented at the 4th International Conference and Exhibition on Energy Storage and Microgrids in India, 11-13 January, 2017, Nehru Centre, Mumbai, India.
  17. Khanolkar, R., Rao, A.B., Ghosh, S., (2016). RuTAG IIT Bombay Floating Fish Cages for Livelihood Opportunities for Tribals in Dimbhe Area, presented at Techno-societal 2016: International conference on advanced technologies for societal applications, December 20-21, 2016, SVERI, Pandharpur, Maharashtra, India.
  18. Phadke, P.C., Chandel, M.K., and A. B. Rao (2016). "Feasibility Study of CO2 Mitigation from Coal Power Plants via CCS with Auxiliary Solar Thermal and Biogas," Presented at GETS 2016 http://www.NTPCGETS.com, November 7-9, 2016, New Delhi, paper is available at: http://www.ntpcgets.com/abstract/finalpapers/484.pdf.
  19. Akash, A. R., Rao, A. B., and M.K. Chandel (2016). "Relevance of Carbon Capture & Sequestration in India’s Energy Mix to Achieve the Reduction in Emission Intensity by 2030 as per INDCs”, Paper presented at the 13th International Conference on Greenhouse Gas Control Technologies (GHGT-13) -November 14-18, 2016, Lausanne, Switzerland.
  20. Singh U., Rao A. B., and M. K. Chandel (2016). "Economic implications of CO2 capture from existing and upcoming coal-fired power plants in India under various policy scenarios”, Paper presented at the 13th International Conference on Greenhouse Gas Control Technologies (GHGT-13) - November 14-18, 2016, Lausanne, Switzerland.
  21. Akash, A.R., Rao, A.B., and M.K. Chandel (2015). “Prospects of Implementing CO2 Capture and Sequestration (CCS) in the Proposed Supercritical Coal Power Plants in India” (paper number 466) poster presented at the International Conference on Advances in Energy Research (ICAER) 2015, December 15-17, 2015.
  22. Sreenivas, CH, Rao, A.B. and A. Patwardhan (2015). “Assessment of Carbon Mitigation Potential of Biodiesel Pathway” (paper number 443) poster presented at the International Conference on Advances in Energy Research (ICAER) 2015, December 15-17, 2015.
  23. Najeeb, A. and A.B. Rao (2015). “Economic And Environmental Assessment of a Rural Micro Grid” (paper number 493) poster presented at the International Conference on Advances in Energy Research (ICAER) 2015, December 15-17, 2015.
  24. Kulkarni, N., Bhandarkar, U.V., Rao A.B. and B.P. Puranik (2015). “Experimental Investigation of Heat Loss to the Ground in Clamp Type Brick Kilns” (paper number 477) poster presented at the International Conference on Advances in Energy Research (ICAER) 2015, December 15-17, 2015.
  25. Singh, U and A B Rao (2015). “Techno-economic assessment of carbon mitigation options for existing coal-fired power plants in India” (paper number 243) poster presented at the International Conference on Advances in Energy Research (ICAER) 2015, December 15-17, 2015.
  26. Singh, U. and A.B. Rao (2014). “Prospects of Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) for new Indian thermal power plants", (paper number 02) presented at the National Conference on Advances in Thermal Engineering (AITE2014) to be held at the Indian School of Mines Dhanbad during December 19-20, 2014.
  27. Singh, U. and A.B. Rao (2014). “Estimating the Environmental Implications of Implementing Carbon Capture and Storage in Indian Coal Power Plants” (paper number 71) presented at the International Conference on Advances in Green Energy, 2014 (ICAGE’14), Trivandrum during December 17-18, 2014.
  28. Sreenivas, CH, Rao, A.B., and A. Patwardhan (2014). “Assessment of Carbon Mitigation Potential of Biogas Technology in India”, presented at the 2nd International Conference on Evaluating Climate Change and Development, International Finance Corporation, Global Environmental Facility (GEF – IEO), Washington D.C., 4-6 November, 2014.
  29. Jain, S. and A.B. Rao, (2014). “Comparative assessment of disposable plates from the user and policy perspective” presented at the ISAHP-2014 (International Symposium of the Analytic Hierarchy Process), June 29-July 2, 2014, Washington DC, USA.
  30. Yaparla, D., Rao, A.B. and B. Rao (2014). “Comparison of household level drinking water treatment technology using analytic hierarchy process” presented at the ISAHP-2014 (International Symposium of the Analytic Hierarchy Process), June 29-July 2, 2014, Washington DC, USA.
  31. Rao, B., Mane, A., Rao, A.B. and V. R. Sardeshpande (2013). “Multi-criteria analysis of alternative biogas technologies”, presented at the International Conference on Advances in Energy Research (ICAER) 2013, organized by DESE IIT Bombay, December 10-12, 2013, Mumbai.
  32. Kulkarni, N. and A.B. Rao (2013). “Specific Energy Consumption in Clamp Type Brick Kilns of Karad, District Satara, Maharashtra, India”, presented at the International Conference on Advances in Energy Research (ICAER) 2013, organized by DESE IIT Bombay, December 10-12, 2013, Mumbai.
  33. Bhoyar, S., Shrivastava, R., Gupta, N., Dusad, S., Mishra, S. and A. B. Rao (2013). “Understanding the Impact of Lifestyle on Carbon Footprint: Comparative study of Urban and Rural Households”, presented at the International Conference on Trade, Markets and Sustainability (ICTMS 2013), organized by Symbiosis Institute of International Business, Pune, February 22-23, 2013.
  34. Rao, A.B., Shelar, M., Jaju, A., Jain C., and R. Jagtap (2013). “Carbon footprint of dairy sector – A case study”, presented at the International Conference on Agriculture and Climate Change, organized by TERI, New Delhi, January 29-30, 2013.
  35. Kuttan, V. and A. B. Rao, (2012). “Selection of Photovoltaic Modules for Off-Grid Rural Application Based on Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP)”, published in the 38th IEEE Photovoltaic Specialists Conference (PVSC), 2012, pp 002888 – 002893, doi: 10.1109/PVSC.2012.6318191 
  36. Yashoda P. and A. B. Rao (2009). “Comparative Study of Biogas Production from Non-edible De-oiled Cake in Monophasic and Biphasic Units”, presented at the National Conference on Energy Security for Rural Development – ESRD 2009, held at Gandhigram Rural University, Dindigul, TN 624302, March 26, 2009.
  37. Anand B. Rao, Chao Chen and Edward S. Rubin (2005). “Identifying cost-effective CO2 control levels for coal-fired power plants”, presented at 4th Annual Conference of Carbon Capture and Sequestration, Alexandria, VA, May 2-5, 2005.
  38. Rubin, E.S., Rao, A.B. and C. Chen (2004). “Performance and Cost of PC, NGCC and IGCC Power Plants With and Without CO2 Capture and Storage” presented at 3rd Annual Conference of Carbon Capture and Sequestration, Alexandria, VA, May 4, 2004.
  39. Rubin, E.S., Rao, A.B. and C. Chen (2004). “Performance and Cost of PC, NGCC and IGCC Power Plants With and Without CO2 Capture and Storage” presented at 7th Electric Utilities Environmental Conference (EUEC-7), Tucson, AZ, January 21, 2004.
  40. Rao, A.B., Rubin, E.S. and M.G. Morgan (2003). "Evaluation of Potential Cost Reductions from Improved CO2 Capture Systems," Proceedings of the 5th Workshop of the International Test Network for CO2 Capture, Pittsburgh, PA, USA, June 2-3, 2003.
  41. Rao, A.B., Rubin, E.S. and M.G. Morgan (2003). "Evaluation of Potential Cost Reductions from Improved CO2 Capture Systems," Proceedings of the Second National Conference on Carbon Sequestration, Alexandria, VA, May 5-8, 2003.
  42. Chen, C., Rao, A.B. and E.S. Rubin (2003). "Comparative Assessment of CO2 capture Options for Existing Coal-fired Power Plants," Proceedings of the Second National Conference on Carbon Sequestration, Alexandria, VA, May 5-8, 2003.
  43. Rubin, E.S., Rao, A.B. and C. Chen (2003). “Performance and Cost of PC and IGCC Power Plants With and Without CO2 Capture and Storage” presented at 6th Electric Utilities Environmental Conference (EUEC-6), Tucson, AZ, January 21, 2003.
  44. Rubin, E.S. and A.B. Rao (2002). “Uncertainties in CO2 Capture and Sequestration Costs”, Proc. of Sixth International Conference on Greenhouse Gas Control Technologies (GHGT-6), Kyoto, Japan, October 1-4, 2002.
  45. Rao, A.B. and E.S. Rubin (2002). “CO2 Control Options for Fossil Fuel Power Plants in a Multi-Pollutant Framework” presented at 5th Electric Utilities Environmental Conference (EUEC-5), Tucson, AZ, January 22-25, 2002.
  46. Rubin, E.S., Rao, A.B. and M.B. Berkenpas (2001). “A Multi-Pollutant Framework for Evaluating CO2 Control Options for Fossil Fuel Power Plants”, Proc. of First National Conference on Carbon Sequestration, Washington DC, May 14-17, 2001.

Projects/ Responsibilities

  • IPCC Lead Author: Serving as a Lead Author for the Chapter 3 (“Mitigation pathways compatible with long term goals”) in the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Assessment Report 6 (AR6) for the Working Group - III

Ongoing projects

  • “Developing Demand Driven Technology for Rural Areas” - Rural Technology Action Group (RuTAG) IIT Bombay, supported by the Office of Principal Scientific Advisor to the Government of India.
  • Unnat Bharat Abhiyan (UBA): Regional Coordinating Institute (RCI) Coordinator and Nominated as the member of the National Level Executive Committee for Unnat Bharat Abhiyan by the MHRD.
  • Co-PI in the joint project titled “A systematic large scale assessment for potential of CO2 enhanced oil and natural gas recovery in key sedimentary basins in India” with Prof. Vikram Vishal (PI) and IIM Ahmedabad, IIT Roorkee & CSRI-NGRI Hyderabad, supported by the DST.
  • Dissemination of floating fish cages for aquaculture at Tribal areas in Pune district, supported by the Tribal Development Department, GoM.
  • Dissemination of Hirda decortication machines at Tribal areas in Pune district, supported by the Tribal Development Department, GoM.
  • Empowering Tribal Communities near Bhimashankar Sanctuary through Social Entrepreneurship, supported by the National Scheduled Castes Finance and Development Corporation.

Recently completed projects

  • PI in the joint project titled “Advanced Coal Emission Control Technology (Sub-proposal 3 under the GTWG proposal on Advanced Coal Technology)” with IIT Madras, IIT Delhi and IRADe supported by the DST (2014-18).