Dr. Bunushree Behera

Assistant Professor

Specialization

Bioprocess Engineering, Biofuels

Email

bunushree.behera@thapar.edu; Date of Joining: 16-08-2022

Specialization

Bioprocess Engineering, Biofuels

Email

bunushree.behera@thapar.edu; Date of Joining: 16-08-2022

Professional Summary

Dr. Bunushree Behera is currently working as Assistant Professor in Department of Biotechnology at Thapar Institute of Engineering and Technology (TIET), Patiala, Punjab India. Her research expertise includes algal biofuels, bioprocess optimization, wastewater treatment, bioplastics. She has completed her doctoral research in microalgal biotechnology from National Institute of Technology (NIT) Rourkela, Odisha, India. Her doctoral work has also received recognition in the form of news articles in Current Science and Steam India Reports. She has authored 25 peer reviewed publications and 4 book chapters. She has also presented her scientific works in several National and International conferences on bioenergy and sustainability and have received the best paper award in the 1 st and 2 nd International Conference on Bioprocess for Sustainable Energy and Environment in 2018 and 2020 respectively. She earned accolades as the best PhD Research Scholar at NIT Rourkela in the Research Scholar’s week for the year 2019. She is also the recipient of Prof. Dr. Amrit Kumar Pal Memorial Award, 2020-2021 as the best Research Scholar (Engineering disciplines) in the 19 th Convocation at NIT Rourkela. She has also won the reputed AU-CBT Research Excellence Award by the Biotechnology Research Society of India (BRSI) for the best PhD dissertation work in 2020. She got Biotechnology ignition grant for the year 2022 by DBT-BIRAC council. She also got Biotechnology Research Excellence award in 2023 by BRSI and Society of Life Science for recognition of her outstanding academic and research contribution in the field of biotechnology. She has also been serving as journal reviewer in prestigious journals like Journal of Environmental Management, Water Research, and Bioenergy Research.

Research Interest

Microalgal Technology to Bioproducts, Biomass Conversion

  1. Bioenergy
  2. Bioprocess Optimization
  3. Carbon Sequestration
  4. Environmental Bioremediation
  5. Resource Recovery
  6. Wastewater Treatment
  7. Microbial processes and products
  8. Techno-economic assessment

Educational Details

PhD in Microalgal Biofuels- National Institute of Technology Rourkela, Odisha, India [2015-2021]

M-Tech in Biotechnology- National Institute of Technology Durgapur, West Bengal, India [2013-2015]

B-Tech in Biotechnology- College of Engineering and Technology, Bhubaneswar, Odisha, India [2009-2013]

Professional Experience

Assistant Professor (Aug' 2022 - Present) at Department of Biotechnology, Thapar Institute of Engineering and Technology (TIET), Patiala, Punjab, India

Research Associate (Nov' 2020 - Jun' 2022) at Department of Biotechnology and Medical Engineering, National Institute of Technology Rourkela India

Senior Research Fellow (Mar' 2018 - Aug' 2020) at Department of Biotechnology and Medical Engineering, National Institute of Technology Rourkela India

Junior Research Fellow (Jul' 2015 - Feb' 2018) at Department of Biotechnology and Medical Engineering, National Institute of Technology Rourkela, India

M. Tech Research Intern (May' 2014 - May' 2015) at CSIR-Central Mechanical Research Institute (CMERI) Durgapur, and National Institute of Technology Durgapur, West Bengal, India

Courses Taught

Cell Biology and Genetics [UBT 008], Downstream Processing [UBT 606], Environmental Biotechnology [UBT 822], Bioprocess Engineering [UBT 603]

Bioprocess Technology [PBT 307], Post-harvest Technology [PBY 231], Fermentation and Bio-seperation Technology [PBY 108], Enzyme Technology [PBY 232]

Sponsored Projects

Principle Investigator of Biotechnology Industry Research Assistance Council, Department of Biotechnology (DBT-BIRAC) sponsored project grant of Rs. 49.51 lakhs for 18 months [2023-2025]

Principle Investigator of Science and Engineering Board (SERB) sponsored project grant of 28.89 lakhs for 24 months under Startup Research Grant scheme [2024-2026]

Co-Principle Investigator of Anusandhan National Research Foundation sponsored project grant of 54.39 lakhs for 36 months under Core Research Grant scheme [2024-2027]

Research Statistics

Google Scholar citation: 989; h-index: 17; i10-index: 22

Administrative Experience

Member in committee for planning and policy in Department of Biotechnology, TIET [2023-2024]

Secretary for constitution of DPPC/SPPC in Department of Biotechnology, TIET [2023-2025]

Member in committee for admission of PhD candidates in Department of Biotechnology, TIET [2023-2025]

Co-ordinator in committee for admission for B-Tech candidates in Department of Biotechnology, TIET [2023-2025]

Co-ordinator in committee for time table management in Department of Biotechnology, TIET [2024-2025]

Co-ordinator (President) in managing GENE society events and organizing technical talks/workshops [2024-2025]

Dissertation

Master Level

Nandini Thakur - Evaluating the Efficiency of Modified Crop Residues based Flocculants for Harvesting of Microalgae - 2024

Srishti - Development of Modified Biochar Adsorbents for Enhanced Recovery of Phosphorus - 2023

Neha Thakur - An Experimental Investigation of Nitrogen Removal via Heterotrophic Nitrification and Aerobic Denitrification (HNAD) Pathway - 2023

Awards and Recognitions

Awards

Biotechnology Research Excellence Award - 2023: Falicitated by Biotech Research Society of India (BRSI) and Society of Life Science for outstanding academic and research contribution in the field of Biotechnology

Prof. Amrit Kumar Paul Memorial Award-2022: Best PhD thesis award from National Institute of Technology Rourkela

Swachhta Saarthi Fellowship – 2021: Waste to Wealth Mission by the Office of Principal Scientific Advisor to the Prime-Minister, Government of India (GoI) for project entitled “Remediation of sanitary urinal water by native microalgal consortium”

AU-CBT Research Excellence Award – 2019: Falicitated by Biotech Research Society of India (BRSI) for outstanding performance during the doctoral studies. 

Best Research Scholar of the Year – 2019: Selected in Research Scholar Week (RSW) at NIT Rourkela, Odisha, India 

University Gold Medal for Best Graduate in Biotechnology (2009-2013): Selected at Biju Pattnaik University of Technology (BPUT) Odisha, India

National Children’s Science Congress Award – 2003: Sponsored by Department of Science & Technology, Ministry of Human Resources Development and Ministry of Environment & Forests, Government of India

Best Poster Award for “Evaluation of Flocculation Efficiency of Inorganic, Organic and Natural Coagulants for Harvesting Microalgae” at 1st International Conference on Bioprocess for Sustainable Energy and Environment (ICBSEE-India-2018) held from 6-7th Dec, 2018 at NIT Rourkela

Best Poster Award for “Synthesis, Modification and Characterization of Biochar Catalyst for Transesterification of Algal Oil” at 2nd International Conference on Bioprocess for Sustainable Energy and Environment (ICBSEE-India-2020) held from 5-7th Mar, 2020 at NIT Rourkela

Recognitions

Recognition in STEAMindia Reports for Carbon Sequestration for a Coal based Power Plants published on June 18, 2019.

Recognition in news for the research on utilization of natural coagulants for microalgal harvesting [Current science, volume 117, number 1, 10 Jul 2019]

Recognition in news for the research on use of microalgal extracts for tomato cultivation [Current science, volume 119, number 7, 10 Oct 2020]

Editor’s choice of leading articles in Bioresource Technology Reports (2020). “Bioprocess Engineering Principles of Microalgal Cultivation for Sustainable Biofuel Production” [https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biteb.2018.08.001]

Publications

REFERRED BOOK CHAPTERS

  1. Kaur, S., Guleria, P., Chauhan, A., Rout, P. R., Mohanty, A., Meena, S. S., & Behera, B. (2024). Lignocellulosic Biomass as Replenishable Source for the Derivation of Biofuel and Value-Added Products of Global Significance. In Biotechnological Advances in Biorefinery (pp. 1-22). Singapore: Springer Nature Singapore.
  2. Haldar, N., Supraja, K. V., Anamika, Achhoda, M., Mayank, M., Sharma, M., ... & Behera, B. (2024). Production of Value-Added Products Using Microalgae: A Zero-Waste Biorefinery Approach. In Biotechnological Advances in Biorefinery (pp. 97-126). Singapore: Springer Nature Singapore.
  3. Behera, B., Supraja, K. V., Mari Selvam, S., Kinger, S., & Rout, P. R. (2024). Transesterification of Waste Cooking Oil Through Microwave Technology: Recent Advances and Challenges. Circular Bioeconomy Perspectives in Sustainable Bioenergy Production, 117-141.
  4. Behera, B., Mishra, S., Thakur, N., & Mehta, J. (2024). Phycoremediation of heavy metals in wastewater: Insights into algal-based resource recovery and circular bioeconomy. In Bio-organic Amendments for Heavy Metal Remediation (pp. 121-134). Elsevier.
  5. Sikri, N., Dutta, D., Behera, B., Dhaka, S., & Mehta, J. (2024). Plant biomarkers for environmental monitoring. In Biomarkers in Environmental and Human Health Biomonitoring (pp. 185-203). Academic Press.
  6. Dey, B., Behera, B., Parvathy, K. K., Jayaraman, S., & Paramasivan, B. (2023). Functionalized Bacterial Cellulose-Based Biopolymers for Biomedical Applications: Current Research Trends and Challenges. Biotic Resources, 175-191.
  7. Bunushree Behera, Suman Nayak, S. Rangabhashiyam, R. Jayabalan, and P. Balasubramanian. (2021). Microalgae as a Viable Bioresource for Sustainable Biofuel Production through Biorefinery Technologies. In Bioresource Utilization in Therapeutics, Biofuel, Agriculture and Environmental protection. Apple Academic Press Inc., Canada, a Taylor & Francis group
  8. Behera, B., Selvanayaki, S., Jayabalan, R., & Balasubramanian, P. (2019). An in-silico approach for enhancing the lipid productivity in microalgae by manipulating the fatty acid biosynthesis. In Soft Computing for Problem Solving (pp. 877-889). Springer, Singapore.
  9. Behera, B., Aly, N., Rajkumar, M. A., & Balasubramanian, P. (2019). Theoretical estimation of the microalgal potential for biofuel production and carbon dioxide sequestration in India. In Soft Computing for Problem Solving (pp. 775-790). Springer, Singapore.

REFERRED SCI JOURNALS

  1. Achhoda, M., Halder, N., Thakur, N., Ratha, D., Behera, B., & Rout, P. R. (2024). Assessing the efficacy of waste organic solids as carbon sources in denitrification bio-filters for abating nitrate toxicity from wastewater. Biomass Conversion and Biorefinery, 1-14.

  2. Kumar, V., Vaid, K., Johns, T., Negi, A., Misra, M., Behera, B., & Kim, K. H. (2024). Advancements in metal organic framework-based materials for the detection of antioxidants in food and biological fluids. TrAC Trends in Analytical Chemistry, 117522.

  3. Supraja, K.V., Kachroo, H., Viswanathan, G., Verma, V.K., Behera, B., Doddapaneni, T.R.K.C., Kaushal, P., Ahammad, S.Z., Singh, V., Awasthi, M.K. and Jain, R., (2023). Biochar production and its environmental applications: Recent developments and machine learning insights. Bioresource Technology, 387, p.129634.
  4. Pradhan, S., Prabhakar, M. R., Karthika Parvathy, K. R., Dey, B., Jayaraman, S., Behera, B., & Paramasivan, B. (2023). Metagenomic and physicochemical analysis of Kombucha beverage produced from tea waste. Journal of Food Science and Technology, 60(3), 1088-1096.
  5. Behera, B., Selvam, S. M., & Balasubramanian, P. (2022). Hydrothermal processing of microalgal biomass: Circular bio-economy perspectives for addressing food-water-energy nexus. Bioresource Technology, 359, 127443.
  6. Behera, B., Selvam S.M., & Paramasivan, B. (2022). Research Trends and Market Opportunities of Microalgal Biorefinery Technologies from Circular Bioeconomy Perspectives. Bioresource Technology, 127038. 
  7. Behera, B., Laavanya D., Balasubramanian, P. (2021). Techno-economic feasibility assessment of bacterial cellulose biofilm production during the Kombucha fermentation process, Bioresource Technology, 126659. 
  8. Behera, B., & Paramasivan, B. (2021). Uncertainty analysis and stochastic studies of techno-economics of algal carbon sequestration at Indian coal powered plants. Environmental Technology & Innovation, 101897. 
  9. Behera, B., Supraja, K. V., & Paramasivan, B. (2021). Integrated microalgal biorefinery for the production and application of biostimulants in circular bioeconomy. Bioresource Technology, 125588. 
  10. Behera, B., & Balasubramanian, P. (2021). Experimental and modelling studies of convective and microwave drying kinetics for microalgae. Bioresource Technology, 125721. 
  11. Behera, B., Unpaprom, Y., Ramaraj, R., Maniam, G. P., Govindan, N., & Paramasivan, B. (2021). Integrated biomolecular and bioprocess engineering strategies for enhancing the lipid yield from microalgae. Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, 148, 111270. 
  12. Patil, S. S., Behera, B., Sen, S., & Balasubramanian, P. (2021). Performance evaluation of bubble column photobioreactor along with CFD simulations for microalgal cultivation using human urine. Journal of Environmental Chemical Engineering, 104615. 
  13. Supraja, K. V., Behera, B., & Balasubramanian, P. (2020). Performance evaluation of hydroponic system for co-cultivation of microalgae and tomato plant. Journal of Cleaner Production, 122823. 
  14. Supraja, K. V., Behera, B., & Balasubramanian, P. (2020). Efficacy of microalgal extracts as biostimulants through seed treatment and foliar spray for tomato cultivation. Industrial Crops and Products, 151, 112453.
  15. Behera, B., Aly, N., & Paramasivan, B. (2020) Theoretical modeling of algal productivity and carbon capture potential in selected places of Odisha, India. Journal of the Institute of Engineers (India) Series A, 1-10.
  16. Behera, B., Nageshwari, K., Darshini, M., & Balasubramanian, P. (2020). Evaluating the harvesting efficiency of inorganic coagulants on native microalgal consortium enriched with human urine. Water Science and Technology, 82(6), 1217-1226.
  17. Behera, B., Mari Selvam S., Dey, B., & Balasubramanian, P. (2020). Algal biodiesel production with engineered biochar as a heterogeneous solid acid catalyst. Bioresource Technology, 123392. 
  18. Behera, B., Patra, S., & Balasubramanian, P. (2020). Biological nutrient recovery from human urine by enriching mixed microalgal consortium for biodiesel production. Journal of Environmental Management, 260, 110111.
  19. Supraja, K. V., Behera, B., & Paramasivan, B. (2019). Optimization of process variables on two-step microwave-assisted transesterification of waste cooking oil. Environmental Science and Pollution Research, 1-12.
  20. Behera, B., Ravichandra, B., Rangabhashiyam, S., Jayabalan, R., & Balasubramanian, P. (2019). Qualitative analysis of biodiesel produced by alkali catalyzed transesterification of waste cooking oil using different alcohols. Indian Journal of Chemical Technology (IJCT), 26(4), 330-336.
  21. Behera, B., Aly, N., & Balasubramanian, P. (2019). Biophysical model and techno-economic assessment of carbon sequestration by microalgal ponds in Indian coal based power plants. Journal of Cleaner production, 221, 587-597.
  22. Behera, B., & Balasubramanian, P. (2019). Natural plant extracts as an economical and ecofriendly alternative for harvesting microalgae. Bioresource technology, 283, 45-52.
  23. Behera, B., Aly, N., & Balasubramanian, P. (2018). Biophysical modeling of microalgal cultivation in open ponds. Ecological Modelling, 388, 61-71.

REFERRED NON-SCI JOURNALS

  1. Jain, A., Behera, B., & Paramasivan, B. (2021). Evaluation of physicochemical procedures for pigment extraction from mixed microalgal consortium. Bioresource Technology Reports, 100775
  2. Behera, B., Acharya, A., Gargey, I. A., Aly, N., & Balasubramanian, P. (2019). Bioprocess engineering principles of microalgal cultivation for sustainable biofuel production. Bioresource Technology Reports, 5, 297-316.
  3. Rangabhashiyam, S., Behera, B., Aly, N., & Balasubramanian, P. (2017). Biodiesel from microalgae as a promising strategy for renewable bioenergy production-A review. Journal of Environment & Biotechnology Research, 6(4), 260-269.
  4. Behera, B., Mukherjee, A., Basak, A. K., Aikat, K., Ganguly, A., & Chatterjee, P. K. (2015). Utilisation of the spent biomass from the old thatched roofs for production of bioethanol. European Journal of Biotechnology and Bioscience. 3(4), 49-55.
  5. Basak, A. K., Behera, B., Mukherjee, A., Aikat, K., Ganguly, A., & Chatterjee, P. K. (2015). Comparative Study of Using Sodium Chlorite and Tartaric Acid Pretreatment on Waste Rice Straw for Enhanced Production of Bioethanol. IOSR-Journal of Pharmacy and Biological Sciences, 10(4), 37-45.

Conferences, Workshops and Training Programs

  • Participated and presented a poster entitled “Feasibility and Sustainability of Microalgal Hydroponic Co-Cultivation System: Economic and Life-cycle Impact Assessment” at International Conference on Biotechnology for Resource Efficiency, Energy, Environment, Chemicals and Health organized by CSIR-IIP, Dehradun from 1st-4th Dec, 2021.

  • Presented a virtual poster entitled “Microalgae based Nutrient Recovery from Source-separated Urine: Perspectives towards Low Carbon Circular Bioeconomy” at Nature Conference on Waste Management and Valorization for a Sustainable Future at Seoul, Korea from 26th-28th October, 2021.

  • Participated and presented E-paper on “Evaluation of Drying and Cell Disruption Techniques for Sustainable Microalgal Biodiesel Production” at International Conference on Biotechnology for Sustainable Agriculture, Environment and Health (BSAEH-2021) Malaviya National Institute of Technology, Jaipur, India from 4th-8th April, 2021.

  • Participated in a 5-day TEQUIP sponsored International Faculty Development Program cum Workshop on “Sustainable Environmental Engineering Practices” at NIT Rourkela, India from 21st-25th September, 2020.

  • Participated in AICTE Sponsored Short Term Course on “Advancement in Sustainable Waste Management (ASWM-2021)” at IIT Bhubaneswar, India from 24th-30th June, 2021.

  • Participated in “C5: Crash Course on Climate Change and its Consequences” organized by the Unnat Bharat Abhiyan, NIT Rourkela on 10th October, 2020.

  • Participated in 5-day online Faculty Development Program on “Biofuels and its Application in IC Engines” organized by Mechanical Engineering College, Perinthalmanna, Kerela from 1st-5th June, 2020.

  • Participated and presented the poster “Algal Biodiesel Production with Biochar as a Heterogeneous Solid Acid Catalyst” at International Conference on New Horizons in Biotechnology (NHBT 2019) at CSIR-NIIST, Thiruvananthapuram from 20th-24th November, 2019.

  • Attended a 5-day short term course sponsored by Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) and Indian National Science Academy (INSA) on “Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS – 2019)” during 15th -19th July, 2019 at NIT Rourkela.

  • Participated and presented paper on “Economic Analysis on Evaluating the Natural Coagulants for Harvesting Microalgal Biomass” at the International Conference on Biotechnological Research and Innovation for Sustainable Development (BioSD-2018) at CSIR-IICT, Hyderabad, India from 22nd-25th November, 2018.

  • Participated in International Workshop-cum Course on “Techno-economic and Life-cycle Assessment as Tools for Sustainability Analysis” at CSIR-CDRI, Lucknow from 6th-10th August, 2018.

  • Presented a paper titled “Theoretical Estimation of the Microalgal Potential for Biofuel Production and Carbon dioxide Sequestration in India” during 7th International Conference on Soft Computing for Problem Solving (SocProS 2018) held at IIT Bhubaneswar, India from 23rd-24th December, 2018.

  • Presented a paper titled “An in-silico Approach for Enhancing the Lipid Productivity in Microalgae by Manipulating the Fatty Acid Biosynthesis” during 7th International Conference on Soft Computing for Problem Solving (SocProS 2018) held at IIT Bhubaneswar, India from 23rd-24th December, 2018.

  • Participated and presented the poster “Assessing the Feasibility of Microalgal Biorefinery Strategies by Evaluating Net Energy Ratio and Greenhouse Gas Emissions” at 8th International Conference on Algal Biomass, Biofuels and Bioproducts (Algal BBB 2018) from 11th-13th June, 2018, Seattle, USA.

  • Participated in the Workshop on “Awareness Generation on Intellectual Property Rights” organized by the Department of Science and Technology, Government of Odisha at NIT Rourkela on 27th December, 2017.

  • Participated in Indo-German Centre for Sustainability Winter School 2016 on “Sustainable Application of Liquid Biofuel” at IIT Madras from 22nd Feb-5th Mar, 2016.

INVITED LECTURE

  • Invited lecture on "Modified Biochar Adsorbents for Enhanced Recovery of Phosphorous from Wastewater" at 2nd International Conference on Advances and Innovations in Biotechnology for Sustainable Bioresources and Bioeconomy (AI-BSBB2023) organized by AKS University, Satna and Biotech Research Society, India together with the Centre for Energy and Environmental Sustainability (CEES)- India from Nov 22-25, 2023 
  • Invited lecture on “Research Trends and Market Opportunities of Microalgal Biorefinery Technologies from Circular Bioeconomy Perspectives” at International Conference on Biotechnology for Resource Efficiency, Energy, Environment, Chemicals and Health organized by CSIR-IIP from Dec 01-04, 2021

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