Bio-Processing and Biochemical Engineering

A special issue of ChemEngineering (ISSN 2305-7084).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 August 2020) | Viewed by 7248

Special Issue Editor


E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Biology, Hood College, 401 Rosemont Avenue, Frederick, MD 21701, USA
Interests: biofuels; fermentation; enzyme catalysis; agricultural and biological sciences; biochemical conversion
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Lignocellulosic biomass bioenergy production, commonly referred to as Second Generation biofuels, using agricultural residues, forest residues, energy feedstocks, municipalities, and other waste crop solids, is considered to be a promising alternative energy source in order to minimize reliance on limited fossil sources, greenhouse gas emissions, and environmental pollutions. A plentiful availability of lignocellulosic materials encourages the production of numerous commodities and applications to foods, chemicals, textiles, and biofuel sources. The versatility of lignocellulosic feedstocks to be processed into value-added products combined with a valuable opportunity to maximize their returns from the crops presents an important research topic. We would like to invite submissions to this Special Issue of ChemEngineering addressing this abovementioned area of research. Potential research topics include, but are not limited to, biological materials processing; process engineering for food, biofuels and bioproducts, renewable materials, bio-based product quality assessment, biomaterials, and biochemical catalysts; and value-added processing for agriculture, food systems, natural resources, and potential crops.

Dr. Daehwan Kim
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. ChemEngineering is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 1600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • biological materials processing
  • biochemical engineering
  • process engineering for food, biofuels and bioproducts, renewable materials, bio-based products, biomaterials, and biochemical catalysts
  • agriculture processing
  • food systems processing
  • natural resources processing

Benefits of Publishing in a Special Issue

  • Ease of navigation: Grouping papers by topic helps scholars navigate broad scope journals more efficiently.
  • Greater discoverability: Special Issues support the reach and impact of scientific research. Articles in Special Issues are more discoverable and cited more frequently.
  • Expansion of research network: Special Issues facilitate connections among authors, fostering scientific collaborations.
  • External promotion: Articles in Special Issues are often promoted through the journal's social media, increasing their visibility.
  • e-Book format: Special Issues with more than 10 articles can be published as dedicated e-books, ensuring wide and rapid dissemination.

Further information on MDPI's Special Issue polices can be found here.

Published Papers (2 papers)

Order results
Result details
Select all
Export citation of selected articles as:

Research

15 pages, 2336 KiB  
Article
Insights from Mathematical Modelling into Process Control of Oxygen Transfer in Batch Stirred Tank Bioreactors for Reducing Energy Requirement
by John J. Fitzpatrick, Franck Gloanec and Elisa Michel
ChemEngineering 2020, 4(2), 34; https://doi.org/10.3390/chemengineering4020034 - 26 May 2020
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 2950
Abstract
Significant energy savings can be made in aerobic stirred tank batch bioreactors by the manipulation of agitator power (Pag) and air flowrate per unit working volume (vvm). Control is often implemented to maintain the oxygen concentration in the bioreaction [...] Read more.
Significant energy savings can be made in aerobic stirred tank batch bioreactors by the manipulation of agitator power (Pag) and air flowrate per unit working volume (vvm). Control is often implemented to maintain the oxygen concentration in the bioreaction liquid (COL) at a constant value. This work used model simulations to show that controlling the Pag and vvm continuously over time, such that it is operated at or near the impeller flooding constraint results in the minimum energy requirement for oxygen transfer (strategy Cmin); however, this might prove impractical to control and operate in practice. As an alternative, the work shows that dividing the bioreaction time into a small number of constant Pag time segments (5–10), where a PID controller is used to control vvm to maintain COL constant in each segment, can achieve much of the energy saving that is associated with Cmin. During each time segment, vvm is increased and a sudden decrease in COL is used to detect the onset of flooding, after which there is a step increase in Pag. This sequence of Pag step increases continues until the bioreaction is completed. This practical control approach was shown to save most of the energy that is associated with Cmin. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Bio-Processing and Biochemical Engineering)
Show Figures

Figure 1

19 pages, 6928 KiB  
Article
Integration of Microalgae Cultivation in a Biogas Production Process from Organic Municipal Solid Waste: From Laboratory to Pilot Scale
by Santiago Barreiro-Vescovo, Elena Barbera, Alberto Bertucco and Eleonora Sforza
ChemEngineering 2020, 4(2), 25; https://doi.org/10.3390/chemengineering4020025 - 10 Apr 2020
Cited by 19 | Viewed by 3792
Abstract
In this study, the feasibility of integrating microalgae cultivation in a biogas production process that treats the organic fraction of municipal solid waste (OFMSW) was investigated. In particular, the biomass growth performances in the liquid fraction of the digestate, characterized by high ammonia [...] Read more.
In this study, the feasibility of integrating microalgae cultivation in a biogas production process that treats the organic fraction of municipal solid waste (OFMSW) was investigated. In particular, the biomass growth performances in the liquid fraction of the digestate, characterized by high ammonia concentrations and turbidity, were assessed together with the nutrient removal efficiency. Preliminary laboratory-scale experiments were first carried out in photobioreactors operating in a continuous mode (Continuous-flow Stirred-Tank Reactor, CSTR), to gain preliminary data aimed at aiding the subsequent scaling up to a pilot scale facility. An outdoor experimental campaign, operated from July to October 2019, was then performed in a pilot scale raceway pond (4.5 m2), located in Arzignano (VI), Italy, to assess the performances under real environmental conditions. The results show that microalgae could grow well in this complex substrate, although dilution was necessary to enhance light penetration in the culture. In outdoor conditions, nitrification by autotrophic bacteria appeared to be significant, while the photosynthetic nitrogen removal was around 12% with respect to the inlet. On the other hand, phosphorus was almost completely removed from the medium under all the conditions tested, and a biomass production between 2–7 g m−2 d−1 was obtained. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Bio-Processing and Biochemical Engineering)
Show Figures

Figure 1

Back to TopTop