Bio-Processing and Biochemical Engineering

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

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 August 2020) | Viewed by 6715

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Department of Biology, Hood College, 401 Rosemont Avenue, Frederick, MD 21701, USA
Interests: biofuels; fermentation; enzyme catalysis; agricultural and biological sciences; biochemical conversion
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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

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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

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Published Papers (2 papers)

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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 2718
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)
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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 18 | Viewed by 3527
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)
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