Faculty Publications
Permanent URI for this communityhttps://idr.nitk.ac.in/handle/123456789/18736
Publications by NITK Faculty
Browse
16 results
Search Results
Item Continuous operation of fluidized bed bioreactor for biogenic sulfide oxidation using immobilized cells of Thiobacillus sp(Asian Network for Scientific Information, 2007) Ravichandra, P.; Mugeraya, G.; Anupoju, G.R.; Ramakrishna, M.; Jetty, A.In the present study, obligate autotrophic Thiobacillus sp. was isolated from aerobic sludge distillery effluent treatment plant and the experiments were conducted in a fluidized bed bioreactor for the biological oxidation of sulfide using Ca-alginate immobilized Thiobacillus sp. All the experiments were conducted in continuous mode at different sulfide loading rates 0.018, 0.02475, 0.03375, 0.03825 and 0.054 and different hydraulic retention times 5, 3.67, 2.67, 2.35 and 1.67 h by varying flow rates 2.4×10-4, 3.3×10-4, 4.5×10-4, 5.1 × 10-4 and 7.2×10-4. Sulfide conversions higher than 90% were obtained at almost all sulfide loading rates and hydraulic retention times. All the experiments were conducted at constant pH of around 6 and temperature of 30±5°C. © 2007 Asian Network for Scientific Information.Item Biological sulfide oxidation using autotrophic Thiobacillus sp.: Evaluation of different immobilization methods and bioreactors(2009) Ravichandra, P.; Gopal, M.; Jetty, A.Aims: Evaluation of various immobilization methods and bioreactors for sulfide oxidation using Thiobacillus sp. was studied. Methods and Results: Ca-alginate, K-carrageenan and agar gel matrices (entrapment) and polyurethane foam and granular activated carbon (adsorption) efficacy was tested for the sulfide oxidation and biomass leakage using immobilized Thiobacillus sp. Maximum sulfide oxidation of 96% was achieved with alginate matrix followed by K-carrageenan (88%). Different parameters viz. alginate concentration (1%, 2%, 3%, 4% and 5%), CaCl2 concentration (1%, 2%, 3%, 4% and 5%), bead diameter (1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 mm), and curing time (1, 3, 6, 12 and 18 h) were studied for optimal immobilization conditions. Repeated batch experiments were carried out to test reusability of Ca-alginate immobilized beads for sulfide oxidation in stirred tank reactor and fluidized bed reactor (FBR) at different sulfide concentrations. Conclusions: The results proved to be promising for sulfide oxidation using Ca-alginate gel matrix immobilized Thiobacillus sp. for better sulfide oxidation with less biomass leakage. Significance and Impact of the Study: Biological sulfide oxidation is gaining more importance because of its simple operation. Present investigations will help in successful design and operation of pilot and industrial level FBR for sulfide oxidation. © 2009 The Society for Applied Microbiology.Item Oxygen mass transfer coefficients in a three-phase pulsed plate bioreactor(Berkeley Electronic Press, 2010) Shetty K, K.V.; Srinikethan, G.Volumetric oxygen mass transfer coefficient is a decisive parameter for the selection of any contactor as an aerobic bioreactor. A pulsed plate column with fixed bed of solids in interplate spaces is a recent innovation in the field of immobilized cell bioreactors. Volumetric oxygen mass transfer coefficients are determined in a three-phase pulsed plate column involving air and water phases and with a fixed bed of glass particles, which can serve as a surface for cell immobilization packed in the interplate spaces. The volumetric mass transfer coefficients obtained in this column range from 0.067 to 0.1495 s-1la with these variables was developed. The volumetric oxygen mass transfer coefficient values in the three-phase pulsed plate column are found to be similar or higher than the literature reported values for conventional two-phase pulsed plate columns. The values of volumetric oxygen mass transfer coefficients in the three-phase pulsed plate column are of higher order of magnitude than the literature reported values of volumetric oxygen mass transfer coefficient for many other three-phase gas-liquid-solid reactors. The pulsed plate column with fixed bed of solids is proven to have all the potential to be used as an aerobic bioreactor with immobilized cells due to its better gas-liquid mass transfer characteristics. Copyright © 2010 The Berkeley Electronic Press. All rights reserved.Item Mixing and solid-liquid mass transfer characteristics in a three phase pulsed plate column with packed bed of solids in interplate spaces-a novel aerobic immobilized cell bioreactor(2011) Shetty K, V.S.; Srinikethan, G.Background: The pulsed plate column (PPC) with packed bed of solids in the interplate spaces finds use as a three phase aerobic bioreactor and is a potential heterogeneous catalytic reactor. Good knowledge of the extent of mixing in the liquid phase and solid-liquid mass transfer coefficient are essential for modeling, design and optimization of these columns. The present work aims at the study of liquid phase mixing and solid-liquid mass transfer characteristics in a three phase PPC. Results: Residence time distribution studies were performed. Dispersion number was found to increase with increase in liquid superficial velocities, frequency of pulsation, amplitude of pulsation and the vibrational velocities. Increase in frequency and amplitude of pulsation, and hence increase in vibrational velocity, resulted in increase of the solid-liquid mass transfer coefficient. Conclusions: The mixing behaviour in this contactor approximated a mixed flow behaviour. The three phase PPC was found to outperform many other kinds of three phase contactors in terms of solid liquid mass transfer characteristics. Empirical correlations developed can be used for the determination of solid-liquid mass transfer coefficients for three phase PPC and hence can facilitate the design, scale-up and modeling of these columns, when used as chemical or biochemical reactors. © 2011 Society of Chemical Industry.Item Characterization of heat transfer of large orbitally shaken cylindrical bioreactors(Elsevier, 2014) Raval, K.; Kato, Y.; Büchs, J.Disposable shaking bioreactors are a promising alternative to other disposable bioreactors owing to their ease of operation, flexibility, defined hydrodynamics and characterization. Shaken bioreactors of sizes 20. L and 50. L are characterized in terms of heat transfer characteristics in this research work. Water and an 80% glycerol-water system were used as fluid. Results indicated large heat generation due to shake mixing which was observed by temperature difference between the fluid inside the vessel and the surrounding air outside the vessel. Maximum temperature difference of ca. 30. K was encountered for a 50. L vessel, at 300. rpm and 20. L filling volume. Outside heat transfer rate was governing the overall heat transfer process. Lateral air flow did increase heat transfer rates to large extent. An empirical correlation of overall heat transfer coefficient was obtained in terms of filling volume, rotational speed and lateral air flow rate. However, as the vessel thickness increased, the overall heat transfer process was limited by vessel wall resistance. © 2014 Elsevier B.V.Item Effect of dilution rate on dynamic and steady-state biofilm characteristics during phenol biodegradation by immobilized Pseudomonas desmolyticum cells in a pulsed plate bioreactor(Higher Education Press, 2016) Rangappa, V.B.; Shetty K, K.V.; Bharthaiyengar, S.M.Pulsed plate bioreactor (PPBR) is a biofilm reactor which has been proven to be very efficient in phenol biodegradation. The present paper reports the studies on the effect of dilution rate on the physical, chemical and morphological characteristics of biofilms formed by the cells of Pseudomonas desmolyticum on granular activated carbon (GAC) in PPBR during biodegradation of phenol. The percentage degradation of phenol decreased from 99% to 73% with an increase in dilution rate from 0.33 h–1 to 0.99 h–1 showing that residence time in the reactor governs the phenol removal efficiency rather than the external mass transfer limitations. Lower dilution rates favor higher production of biomass, extracellular polymeric substances (EPS) as well as the protein, carbohydrate and humic substances content of EPS. Increase in dilution rate leads to decrease in biofilm thickness, biofilm dry density, and attached dry biomass, transforming the biofilm from dense, smooth compact structure to a rough and patchy structure. Thus, the performance of PPBR in terms of dynamic and steady-state biofilm characteristics associated with phenol biodegradation is a strong function of dilution rate. Operation of PPBR at lower dilution rates is recommended for continuous biological treatment of wastewaters for phenol removal. [Figure not available: see fulltext.] © 2016, Higher Education Press and Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg.Item Selenium Biosorption and Recovery by Marine Aspergillus terreus in an Upflow Bioreactor(American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) onlinejls@asce.org, 2016) Raja, C.P.; Jacob, J.M.; Mohan Balakrishnan, R.M.Experiments were conducted to study the Selenium (Se) biosorption and recovery by marine Aspergillus terreus in an upflow bioreactor for a period of 8 days. The Se tolerance of the marine fungus was initially confirmed by visual and microscopic observations that evinced intact fungal cells in an Se-amended medium with sparse changes in the spore texture and cellular number by the seventh day of biosorption studies in the upflow bioreactor. Further, the effect of pH and contact time on the percentage of Se biosorption, in an upflow bioreactor containing fungal pellets, was investigated. It was analyzed that pH ranges of 6-7 and a contact time of 5 days resulted in 85-87% biosorption of Se by the fungal biomass. The interaction of the fungus with the induced Se stress in the medium was monitored regularly for studying the uptake of the metalloid and the possible biosynthesis of Se nanoparticles. Analyses using ultraviolet visible (UV-Vis) spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and X-ray diffraction (XRD) studies revealed the formation of crystalline Se nanocrystals with an average diameter of 500 nm on the fungal cell wall. Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopic analysis indicated the possible involvement of fungal protein groups that aid the binding of the biosorbed Se nanoparticles on to the fungal cell wall. © 2015 American Society of Civil Engineers.Item Artificial neural network based modeling to evaluate methane yield from biogas in a laboratory-scale anaerobic bioreactor(Elsevier Ltd, 2016) Nair, V.V.; Dhar, H.; Kumar, S.; Thalla, A.K.; Mukherjee, S.; Wong, J.W.C.The performance of a laboratory-scale anaerobic bioreactor was investigated in the present study to determine methane (CH4) content in biogas yield from digestion of organic fraction of municipal solid waste (OFMSW). OFMSW consists of food waste, vegetable waste and yard trimming. An organic loading between 40 and 120 kg VS/m3 was applied in different runs of the bioreactor. The study was aimed to focus on the effects of various factors, such as pH, moisture content (MC), total volatile solids (TVS), volatile fatty acids (VFAs), and CH4 fraction on biogas production. OFMSW witnessed high CH4 yield as 346.65 L CH4/kg VS added. A target of 60–70% of CH4 fraction in biogas was set as an optimized condition. The experimental results were statistically optimized by application of ANN model using free forward back propagation in MATLAB environment. © 2016 Elsevier LtdItem Bioleaching of copper from electronic waste using Acinetobacter sp. Cr B2 in a pulsed plate column operated in batch and sequential batch mode(Elsevier Ltd, 2017) Jagannath, A.; Shetty K, V.K.; Saidutta, M.B.The amount of metal content present in electronic waste (e-waste) such as printed circuit boards (PCBs) exceeds that present in rich minerals thus allowing the use of PCBs as artificial ores. The copper content in PCBs is 10-30 mass %, which is the highest among all the metallic elements. The recovery of copper from e-waste serves dual fold benefit of conservation of metal resources and overcoming environmental hazard due to e-waste accumulation. In the currently reported study, a pulsed plate bioreactor in which the inter-plate spaces were packed with e-waste material was effectively employed for bioleaching of copper from e-waste using Acinetobacter sp. Cr B2. Various factors such as inoculum size, e-waste loading, frequency and amplitude of pulsation that significantly affected the bioleaching efficiency were studied. Inoculum size of 9% (v/v), frequency of 0.2 s-1, amplitude of 6.5 cm and total e-waste loading of 40 g with 10 g/stage were found to provide maximum bioleaching of Cu. Around 23% of Cu bioleaching was achieved under these conditions by batch mode of operation. Increasing the number of sequential cycles of operation in sequential batch mode further improved the bioleaching efficiency, by overcoming the maximum copper solubility and growth limitations of the single batch operation. With five cycles of sequential batch operation around 63% leaching of Cu could be achieved. The bioleaching was found to be mediated both by the action of extracellular enzymes and metabolites. The study demonstrated the potential application of pulsed plate bioreactor for larger scale application of copper bioleaching from PCBs. © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.Item Application and Evaluation of Random Forest Classifier Technique for Fault Detection in Bioreactor Operation(Taylor and Francis Ltd. michael.wagreich@univie.ac.at, 2017) Shrivastava, R.; Mahalingam, H.; Dutta, N.N.Bioreactors and associated bioprocesses are quite complex and nonlinear in nature. A small change in initial condition can greatly alter the output product quality. It is pretty difficult at times to model the system mathematically. In this work, the fault detection problem is studied in the context of bioreactors, mainly, a reactor from the penicillin production process. It is very important to identify the faults in a live process to avoid product quality deterioration. We have focused on the process history-based methods to identify the faults in a bioreactor. We want to introduce random forest (RF), a powerful machine learning algorithm, to identify several types of faults in a bioreactor. The algorithm is simple, easy to use, shows very good generalization ability without compromising much on the classification accuracies, and also has an ability to give variable importance as a part of the algorithm output. We compared its performance with two popular methods, namely support vector machines (SVM) and artificial neural networks (ANN), and found that the overall performance is superior in terms of classification accuracies and generalization ability. © 2017, Copyright © Taylor & Francis Group, LLC.