Dr. Renuka Ariyawansha

Dr. Ariyawansha is a qualified agricultural and biosystems engineer with more than 15 years of experience in research, education, consulting, project coordination, and administration. Her expertise encompasses environmental technology, sustainable management of solid wastes, wastewater and leachate treatment, bioreactor and biofiltering systems, mitigation and adaptation to climate change, renewable energy sources, life-cycle assessment, greenhouse gas mitigation, resource recovery using biochars, biochar-based organic fertilizers, and biochemical transformation kinetics. For her PhD studies, she worked on the topic of developing interactive mathematical expressions for biochemical transformation kinetics analysis. She has contributed to numerous national and international research and consultancy projects involving waste management, environmental assessment, feasibility studies, sustainable agriculture, and low-carbon technologies. She also serves on the  SLTC Senate, Ethics Review Committee, and postgraduate academic boards and the Quality Assurance Coordinator of the Faculty of Postgraduate Studies and Research.

Agricultural and Biosystems Engineer, Academic, Researcher, and Programme leader with expertise in waste and wastewater management, Biochemical transformation kinetics, organic fertilizer production systems from biochar biocatalyst and from active phase composting with biochar, Assessment of greenhouse gas emissions, life cycle assessment studies. Experienced in undergraduate and postgraduate teaching, multidisciplinary research, quality assurance, curriculum development, consultancy and academic leadership.

PhD, Postgraduate Institute of Agriculture (PGIA), University of Peradeniya, Sri Lanka , 2020

Research Title: Development and Validation of Interactive Mathematical Expressions for Biochemical Transformation Kinetics

Board of study: Agricultural and Bio-systems Engineering

M.Sc. in Agricultural and Bio-Systems Engineering,   Postgraduate Institute of Agriculture, University of Peradeniya, Sri Lanka, 2009

B.Sc. Special Degree in Agriculture (Specialized in Agricultural Engineering), Faculty of Agriculture, University of Peradeniya, Sri Lanka, 2007 Final year research: Evaluation of an odour-controlling biofilter in composting systems

A Life Member of the Institute of Biology, Sri Lanka

A member of the Institute of Environmental Professionals Sri Lanka.

Environmental Management and Sustainable Development/Sustainable Development, Soil and Land Pollution Control Technology, Meteorology and Climate, Climate Change, Mitigation and Adaptation, Green Technology/Sustainable Technology, Pollution Prevention, Waste Management Technology, Sustainable Waste Recycling Processes, Multidisciplinary Project, Seminar in Environmental Technology, Research Skills

Sustainable solid waste management and circular economy,

Wastewater and leachate treatment, anaerobic digestion and UASB reactor development,

Biochemical transformation kinetics,

Biochar biocatalyst, composting and organic fertilizer development,

Greenhouse gas inventories and emission reduction, life cycle assessment, carbon footprint analysis, Climate change mitigation and adaptation,

Energy- and entropy-based environmental modelling,

Renewable energy and waste-to-energy systems,

Environmental impacts assessment,

Pollution control potential of urban forestry,

Resource recovery 

Outputs of research include peer-reviewed articles, book chapters, and papers that deal with the following topics: environmental technology, waste management, biochemical kinetics, biochar, sustainable agriculture, and climate change. Some of the published work includes "Extensions to Michaelis-Menten Kinetics for Single Parameters" in Scientific Reports, studies on UASB reactors and Municipal solid waste management plans in the Journal of Material Cycles and Waste Management, "Strategies to Mitigate Greenhouse Gas Emissions from the Solid Waste Management Sector" in Scientifica, work on nitrogen-enriched compost in Organic Agriculture, and biochar-based biocatalyzed organic fertilizers. Other contributions include book chapters on sustainable waste management, biochar, and biodegradable plastics. Further information on publications can be accessed through her Google Scholar Profile.

Current and recent projects include the ACU Commonwealth Climate Resilience Network project “Establishment of a Sustainable Integrated Solid Waste Management System at SLTC to Sustain an Eco-Campus”; development of an effective site-specific biocatalyzed organic fertilizer derived from biochar under an SLTC Responsive Research Seed Grant; collaboration on an airborne optical-enabled and energy/entropy-based wildfire detection and prediction scheme; development and performance evaluation of UASB and biofilter-liner systems for organic waste treatment; solid-waste greenhouse-gas mitigation and information-platform research; Environmental pollution studies; life-cycle assessment studies of tea and rubber industries; biodiversity, urban-tree and carbon-sequestration assessments; and sustainable resource-recovery systems for institutional waste management.

Excellence in Research Performance Award – Merit Category, SLTC Research & Innovation Awards 2025

NRC (National Research Council Sri Lanka) Merit Award for scientific research as evaluated by peers and published in the year 2018

NSF (National Science Foundation of Sri Lanka) Postgraduate Research Scholarship (Grant No: NSF/SCH/2017/09)

General Chair of 2nd International Research Conference (IRC2022) and General Co-Chair of 3rd International Research Conference IRC2023 at SLTC.

Recipient of ACU Commonwealth Climate Resilience Network Grant for “Establishment of a Sustainable Integrated Solid Waste Management System at The Sri Lanka Technology Campus to Sustain an Eco-Campus” (ACU Reference: 28345)

Collaborator of research project on Airboarned Optical-enabled & Energy Entropy-based Wildfire Detection & & Prediction Scheme” of the research grant of COFAC/ILIND/COPELABS/2/2022, COPELABS,  Lusófona University

A research grant from the Responsive Research Seed Grant (RRSG) 3rd cycle of the SLTC Research University for Development of an Effective Site-Specific Biocatalyzed Organic Fertilizer Derived from Biochar - RRSG.22.0811.2

She has also participated in externally funded environmental research, technical assessment, and consultancy projects involving national agencies, UNOPS, JICA and international research partners.

Solid waste management; wastewater and leachate treatment; anaerobic digestion and bioreactors; biochar and compost-based fertilizers; circular economy and resource recovery; climate change mitigation and adaptation; greenhouse-gas inventories; life-cycle assessment, carbon and water footprints; environmental pollution and microplastics; sustainable agriculture; renewable energy; urban forestry and biodiversity; eco-campus sustainability; environmental impact assessment; biochemical kinetics and environmental modelling.

Integrated waste management, waste and wastewater treatment system design, waste audits and resource recovery planning, environmental impact assessment and initial environmental examination, strategic environmental assessment, composting and organic fertilizer systems, greenhouse gas assessment and mitigation, life cycle assessment, environmental surveys, monitoring, technical training