Muhammad Bilal

My research focuses on the sustainable management of creosote-treated wood (CTW) waste, one of the most hazardous post-consumer wood waste streams in Europe. CTW, arising primarily from end-of-life railway sleepers and utility poles, is impregnated with coal tar creosote containing complex mixtures of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), many of which are persistent, carcinogenic, and environmentally toxic. Under EU law, CTW is classified as absolute hazardous waste, currently restricting its disposal to incineration or controlled landfilling with no material recovery. My PhD addresses this problematic waste and investigates the way to develop technologies for its sustainable circular valorization into biobased products.