Research

Research Projects

1.

Sponsored Project (completed and ongoing), agency, duration and grant amount

Sr. No.

Title of Project

Duration

Completion Date

Project Cost

Sponsoring Organization

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Genetic diversity of polyaromatic hydrocarbon degrading bacteria and their role in biodegradation

Expression of cyclodextrin glucosyl transferase gene in hydrocarbon degrading bacteria for enhancing bioremediation

Anaerobic Digestion of food waste in a horizontal plug flow reactor

Survey of microbial in-situ PAH degradation activity based on Southern hybridization using gene probes

Experimental pilot scale horizontal plug flow reactor for anaerobic digestion of food waste

Biocatalytic Production of a commercial textile dye - Indigo

Analysis of metabolically active bacterial species in anaerobic digesters

Biotransformation of phosphogypsum by sulphate reducing bacteria

Role of environmental toxins in kidney related diseases of Canacona Taluka, Goa – Co investigator

Development and Demonstration of two decentralized wastewater treatment plants

PreTreatment of Nitrogenous WasteWater using Microalgae and its Utilization for

Production of Biofuel and other Value added Products

Anaerobic co-digestion of food waste and organic fraction of municipal solid waste for the production of biogas and concomitant use of biogas as fuel for cooking

Empowered septic tank as decentralized wastewater treatment system”

“Network on Decentralized Grey/Waste Water Treatment & Recycling”

Developing Bioactive Compound-Enriched Functional Food Ingredients from Dillenia indica and valorization of its pomace

On site electrochemical wastewater treatment and recycling technology

Demonstration of River Sal cleaning by Vertical wetlands and river bed filtration

Demonstration of a waste to energy by anaerobic digestion of food waste and septage

Bioremediation and Digital Documentation Towards the Conservation of Cultural Heritage

Enzymatic pretreatment for enhancing Anaerobic Co-digestion of Sewage Sludge / Septage / Food waste / MSW for energy production

Bioleaching of Limestone and clay to remove iron and other transition elements

“Programme of Open Studies on Sanitation, Water and Solid Waste Management” (POS-WASH) - Second Phase and sub title production

Recovery and purification of enzymes

Global Sanitation Graduate School

“‘Empowered septic tank as a decentralized wastewater treatment system’ - Second Phase in collaboration with Ghent University, Belgium

Impact of negative factors and importance of monitoring natural wetland ecosystem

Co-digestion of STP secondary sludge with organic wastes in urban/peri-urban areas; process optimization, scale up and field demonstration

3 years

(Completed)

3 years

6 months

(completed)

3 years

(completed)

3 years

(completed)

3 years

(completed)

1 year

(Completed)

3 years

(completed)

3 years

(completed)

3 years

(completed)

3 years

(completed)

2 years

(completed)

2 years

(completed)

3 years

(Completed)

1 year

(completed)

2 years

completed

2017-2019

2019- 2021

2019 -2020

2019 -2021

2019 -2020

2019 -2024

2020 – 2022

2020 -2020

2020-2020

2011

Feb 2011

Sep 2011

2012

2010

2012

2016

2015

2016

2017

2018

2019

2018

Dec 2019

Ongoing

9.9 lakhs

21 lakhs

11 lakhs

25,000

10 lakhs

5 lakhs

17 lakhs

5 lakhs

22 lakhs

31 lakhs

11 lakhs

3 lakhs

67 lakhs

16 lakhs

27lakhs

68.85 lakhs

161.6 lakhs

32.8 lakhs

12.39 lakhs

11.8 lakhs

9 lakhs

7.15 lakhs

318 lakhs

151.92 lakhs

17 lakhs

5 lakhs

Department of Science and Technology, Government of India

Department of Biotechnology, Government of India

University Grants Commission, Government of India.

International Biodeterioration and Biodegradation Society’s bursary scheme

Goa Energy Development Agency & BITS

Department of Science, Technology & Environment, Goa

Council for Scientific and Industrial Research

Department of Biotechnology

Council for Scientific and Industrial Research

Centre of Research Excellence in waste, Water and Energy management – BITS Pilani

Centre of Research Excellence in waste,

Water and Energy management – BITS Pilani

Centre of Research Excellence in waste, Water and Energy management – BITS Pilani

DBT BIRAC – Bill & Melinda Gates foundation

Indo French CEFIPRA networking project

DBT under North EastTwinning Program in collaboration with Assam Agricultural University

Bill & Melinda Gates foundation project in collaboration with Caltech, USA

Department of Biotechnology, Government of India

Department of Science & Technology, Government of India

Larsen & Toubro

ABSTCPL

EAWAG Switzerland

Zuari foods and Farms Pvt Ltd

IHE Delft & Bill & Melinda Gates foundation

DBT BIRAC and Bill & Melinda Gates foundation

Conservator of Forests, Jharkhand.

DST

Annexure II

Funding from Industry (Completed and ongoing)

S. No	Title	Sponsoring Agency	Period	Amount (Rupees in Lakhs)
1	Bioremediation of red mud using acidogenic fermentation and by Biopiling	BITS Pilani and Aditya Birla Science and Technology Pvt Ltd	2018 - 2020	71.50
2	Bioleaching of Limestone and clay to remove iron and other transition elements (titanium, chromium,manganese, nickel and zinc).	Aditya Birla Science and Technology Pvt Ltd	2019 - 2020	10.00
3	Pilot study, testing the use and production of Terra Preta and other soil improving products like Struvite / PROM	German Technical Cooperation	2016 -2017	55.00
4	Analytics Sensor Test-Kit for Advanced Process Control	Bill & Melinda Gates foundation project in collaboration with Cranfield University, UK	2016 – 2018	85.00
5	Hybrid Electrochemical-MFC Waste Processing: Functional blocks for low energy disinfection and denitrification of human waste streams.	Bill & Melinda Gates foundation project sub contracted by RTI international	2017-2018	27.00
6	To establish COD(Cr) quality testing method for sea water	Hitachi India Pvt Ltd	2013 -2016	27.41
7	Knowledge transfer, technical support, research, development as well as for dissemination and commercialization of the Sequencing Batch Reactor.	Tide Technocrats Pvt Ltd	2017 -2018	4,90
8	Technical advice on construction of biogas plants.	DeerTree Technologies Pvt Ltd	2013 -14	0.75
9	“Resource recovery from the spent mushroom substrate.	Zuari Foods & Farms Pvt. Ltd	2016 (2 months)	0.60
10	Vitamin D increase in Mushrooms by exposing to UV light	Tropical Mushrooms private limited	2018 (6 months)	3.06
11	Recovery and Purification of enzymes from Spent Mushroom Substrate	Zycon Biosciences Pvt Ltd	2019 - 2020	7.15
12	Screening of Coliforms and Helminthes eggs in some of the samples of sludge that are treated using their technology	Tide Technocrats Pvt Ltd	2019 (15 days)	0.50
13	Reviewing the course Developing Resource Recovery and Reuse (RRR) business options in the sanitation sector	International Water Management Institute	2019 (21 days)	3.62
14	Waste to Energy Project in Nashik	German Technical cooperation	2011	10.23
15
	Mobile Treatment Unit (MTU) Field Study” with Water, Sanitation and Hygiene Institute (WASH Institute)	WASH Institute	2020	10
16	Generation 2 Reinvented Toilet (G2RT)	Georgia Tech, Bill and Melinda Gates foundation	2020	74.22

Total funding brought = Rs 1442.60 lakhs

Research projects = Rs 1051.66 lakhs

Consultancy projects = Rs 390.94 lakhs

Collaborations

National Research Collaboration

· Experimental Pilot scale horizontal plug flow reactor for anaerobic digestion of food waste – Dr.Hoysall Chanakya, Centre for Sustainable Technologies, Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore

International Research Collaborations

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· Collaboration with Prof. Willy Verstraete and Prof. Korneel Rabaey, Ghent University on Reinvent the toilet Challenge project.

Collaboration with German Technical Cooperation, Technical University, Hamburg and Hamburg Wasser on GTZ-BMU – Waste to Energy project – ongoing. Currently appointed as consultant who will provide scientific back up.

· Sustainable energy production from solid food waste of a small community – Collaboration with Dr. Michel Torrijos, Laboratoire de Biotechnologie de l’Environnement, INRA, Narbonne, France. Under this collaboration funded by French Embassy, Ms.Vidhya Prabhudesai my PhD student will stay nine months in France to start the characterization of the various fractions of the wastes and to measure the methane potentials. Period : May 2009 – Jan 2010.

· Isotope biogeochemical concepts to characterise the fate of organic chemicals in the environment with Dr.Hans Hermann Richnow, Head, Isotope Biogeochemistry, Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research, Leipzig, Germany under bilateral cooperation in Science and Technology funded by International Bureau of the Federal Ministry of Education and Research. Period : Jan 2009 – July 2009.

Events organized and other professional activities

Convenor of International conference on “Terra preta sanitation and decentralized wastewater systems” in collaboration with Technical University Hamburg, Harburg, Germany, November 19 – 20, 2015
- Convenor of National conference “Decentralized biogas digesters and their slurry management” in collaboration with Institute of Agricultural and Urban Ecological Projects affiliated to Berlin Humboldt-University (IASP), Department of Biogene Resources, Berlin, Germany, during November 20 – 21, 2014
- Short course on Wastewater Treatment october 11 - 13 2011 for public works department, Goa in collaboration with Dr.Michel Torrijos Laboratoire de Biotechnologie de l’Environnement, INRA, Narbonne, France.
Organizing secretary of International Water Association’s international conference on “Microbes in Wastewater & Waste Treatment, Bioremediation and Energy Production”. This conference is scheduled during January 24 – 27, 2011 at Birla Institute of Technology and Science – Pilani, Goa campus, Goa, India.
Organizing Secretary of American Society for Microbiology sponsored International Workshop on Bioremediation. Jan 4 – Jan 16^th 2010 in association with Prof. Max Haggblom, Rutgers University, USA
National Conference on Anaerobic Digestion and Renewable Energy through Microbes Jan 13 – 15 2009

Consultancy

S. No	Title	Sponsoring Agency	Period	Amount (Rupees in Lakhs)
1	Bioremediation of red mud using acidogenic fermentation and by Biopiling	BITS Pilani and Aditya Birla Science and Technology Pvt Ltd	2018 - 2020	71.50
2	Bioleaching of Limestone and clay to remove iron and other transition elements (titanium, chromium,manganese, nickel and zinc).	Aditya Birla Science and Technology Pvt Ltd	2019 - 2020	10.00
3	Pilot study, testing the use and production of Terra Preta and other soil improving products like Struvite / PROM	German Technical Cooperation	2016 -2017	55.00
4	Analytics Sensor Test-Kit for Advanced Process Control	Bill & Melinda Gates foundation project in collaboration with Cranfield University, UK	2016 – 2018	85.00
5	Hybrid Electrochemical-MFC Waste Processing: Functional blocks for low energy disinfection and denitrification of human waste streams.	Bill & Melinda Gates foundation project sub contracted by RTI international	2017-2018	27.00
6	To establish COD(Cr) quality testing method for sea water	Hitachi India Pvt Ltd	2013 -2016	27.41
7	Knowledge transfer, technical support, research, development as well as for dissemination and commercialization of the Sequencing Batch Reactor.	Tide Technocrats Pvt Ltd	2017 -2018	4,90
8	Technical advice on construction of biogas plants.	DeerTree Technologies Pvt Ltd	2013 -14	0.75
9	“Resource recovery from the spent mushroom substrate.	Zuari Foods & Farms Pvt. Ltd	2016 (2 months)	0.60
10	Vitamin D increase in Mushrooms by exposing to UV light	Tropical Mushrooms private limited	2018 (6 months)	3.06
11	Recovery and Purification of enzymes from Spent Mushroom Substrate	Zycon Biosciences Pvt Ltd	2019 - 2020	7.15
12	Screening of Coliforms and Helminthes eggs in some of the samples of sludge that are treated using their technology	Tide Technocrats Pvt Ltd	2019 (15 days)	0.50
13	Reviewing the course Developing Resource Recovery and Reuse (RRR) business options in the sanitation sector	International Water Management Institute	2019 (21 days)	3.62
14	Waste to Energy Project in Nashik	German Technical cooperation	2011	10.23
15
	Mobile Treatment Unit (MTU) Field Study” with Water, Sanitation and Hygiene Institute (WASH Institute)	WASH Institute	2020	10
16	Generation 2 Reinvented Toilet (G2RT)	Georgia Tech, Bill and Melinda Gates foundation	2020	74.22

Publications

Journals

1. Degradation of anthracene and pyrene supplied by microcrystals and by non-aqueous phase liquids - Srikanth Mutnuri, N.Vasudevan and Matthias Kaestner*, Applied Microbiology and Biotechnology, Vol. 67 (2005), pp. 569 - 576

2. Changes in Fatty Acid Composition of Chromohalobacter israelensis with varying Salt Concentrations - Srikanth Mutnuri, N.Vasudevan, Matthias Kaestner and Hermann Heipeiper*. Current Microbiology, Vol. 50 (2005), pp. 1–5.

3. Influence of bioaugmentation with wheat bran on bioremediation of anthracene contaminated soil - Srikanth Mutnuri, N.Vasudevan* and D.Beck, Asian Journal of Microbiology, Biotechnology and Environmental Sciences, 2005.

4. Biocatalytic production of a commercial textile dye (Indigo) from a xenobiont – Srikanth Mutnuri*, Chanakya Bandi and Anasuya Ganguly, Research Journal of Microbiology, Vol 4, Is 3 (2009), pp 82 – 88.

5. Effect of caffeine and saponin on anaerobic digestion of food waste – Vidhya Prabhudesai, Anasuya Ganguly and Srikanth Mutnuri* “Annals in Microbiology” Vol 59, Is 4 (2009), pp 643 – 648.

6. Biodegradation of hydrocarbons in the presence of cyclodextrins - Sivaraman C, Anasuya Ganguly and Srikanth Mutnuri* "World Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology" Vol 26, Is 2 (2010), pp 227 - 232.

7. Biogas Generation Potential by Anaerobic Digestion for Sustainable Energy Development in India – P.Venkateswara Rao, Ranjay Dey, S.S.Baral and Srikanth Mutnuri. Renewable and Sustainable Energy reviews Volume 14, Issue 7, September 2010, Pages 2086-2094.

8. Isolation of Hydrocarbonoclastic bacteria from Bilge oil contaminated water - Sivaraman C, Anasuya Ganguly, Marcell Nikolauszand Srikanth Mutnuri. Accepted in International Journal of Environmental Science and Technology Vol 8, No.3, Summer 2011. (Impact factor 3.157)

9. “Cloning and expression of catechol 2, 3 dioxygenase and cyclodextrin glucanotransferase gene in E.Coli and its role in biodegradation“ C.Sivaraman, Anasuya Ganguly and Srikanth Mutnuri “International Journal of life Science and Pharma Research” Vol 2/Issue 3/Jul-Sept 2012 pp L10 – L19.

10. Role of Cyclodextrin Glucanotransferase Enzyme in Biodegradation C.Sivaraman, Anasuya Ganguly and Srikanth Mutnuri “Advances in Environmental Research” (2012), Vol. 1, No. 2 pp97-108.

11. Study of a Marine Microbial Fuel Cell on a Pilot Scale. G. Chithralekha and Srikanth Mutnuri, “Chemical Sciences Transactions”., 2013

12. Biochemical Methane Potential of Agro Wastes," Vidhya Prabhudesai, and Srikanth Mutnuri Journal of Energy, vol. 2013, Article ID 350731, 7 pages, 2013.

13. Role of additional carbon substrate on biodegradation of 1,4 dioxane using bacterial consortium enriched from industrial sludge P.Arulazhagan, I.T. Yeom, Sivaraman C, Srikanth Mutnuriand Rajesh Banu, accepted in Advances in Environmental Biology (2013).

14. Biodegradation of crude oil by Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Escherichia fergusonii isolated from Goan coast. Rajesh Pasumarthi, Sivaraman Chandrasekharan, Srikanth Mutnuri. Accepted in Marine Pollution Bulletin 76(1-2):276-82 (2013).

15. Terra Preta as an Alternative for the Management of Sludge from Wastewater Treatment Plants M. Prabhu, M. Horvat, L. Lorenz, R. Otterpohl, T. Bettendorf and S.Mutnuri in: Bettendorf, T Wendland, C.; Otterpohl, R. 2014. Terra Preta Sanitation handbook. (2014) Publisher: Deutsche Bundesstiftung Umwelt ISBN 978-3-00-046586-4.

16. Effect of terra preta compost on growth of Vigna radiate M. Prabhu, M. Horvat, L. Lorenz, R. Otterpohl, T. Bettendorf and S.Mutnuri in: Bettendorf, T Wendland, C.; Otterpohl, R. 2014. Terra Preta Sanitation handbook. (2014) Publisher: Deutsche Bundesstiftung Umwelt ISBN 978-3-00-046586-4.

17. Cow urine as a potential source for struvite production Meghanth Prabhu and Srikanth Mutnuri accepted in International Journal of recycling of organic waste in agriculture (2014).

18. "Pre-treatment of Cottage Cheese to Enhance Biogas production," by Vidhya Prabhudessai, Bhakti Salgaonkar, Judith Braganca and Srikanth Mutnuri accepted in BioMed Research International (2014)

19. Comparison of bacterial diversity from solar salterns and a simulated laboratory study by Kabilan Mani, Bhakti Salgaonkar, Srikanth Mutnuri and Judith Braganza accepted in Annals of Microbiology (2014)

20. Biocatalytic production of indigo using biphasic organic solvent by Vaishnavi Unde and Srikanth Mutnuri, Vol5, No.13 2014 pp.3-10, 2014 in Discovery Biotechnology.

21. Biodegradation of Aliphatic hydrocarbons in the presence of Hydroxy Cucurbit[6]uril Rajesh Pasumarthi, Vikas Kumar, Sivaraman Chandrasekharan, Mainak Banerjee, Anasuya Ganguly, Srikanth Mutnuri. Marine Pollution Bulletin 88 (1), 148-154, (2014).

22. Identification of metabolically active methanogens in anaerobic digester by DNA Stable-Isotope Probing using 13C-acetate V. Gowdaman and Srikanth Mutnuri Carbon – Science and Technology 7/2 (2015) 8 - 16.

23. Digestate from anaerobic reactor as a potential fertilizer Navodita Bhatnagar and Srikanth Mutnuri ,Carbon – Science and Technology 7/2 (2015) 17 - 24.

24. Anaerobic co-digestion of food waste and septage – A waste to energy project in Nashik city Meghanath Prabhu, Sachin Waigaonkar, Regina Dube, Dirk Walther and Srikanth Mutnuri. Carbon – Science and Technology 7/2 (2015) 87 - 98.

Book Chapters

“Hydrocarbonoclastic capability of a Bacillus sp. Isolated from marine waters” Srikanth Mutnuri and Vasudevan Namasivayam Published in Water and Environment Management Series.2003. Ed. by Rema Devi and Naved Ahsan. IWA publishing, Pg No 691 – 694.

“Biosurfactant production by an extremely halophilic bacterium” Srikanth Mutnuri Vasudevan Namasivayam and Matthias Kästner Published in Water and Environment Management Series.2003. Ed. by Rema Devi and Naved Ahsan. IWA publishing, Pg No 761 – 768.

conferences

Conferences

Invited speaker to our 16th World Conference on Anaerobic Digestion (AD-16) to be held in Delft, the Netherlands, between June 23-27, 2019.
Chair for the Session: Innovative Treatment Technologies & Applications - Control and applications of biological processes and Poster Presentation “Single household greywater recycling using Constructed wetland in developing countries” at 12th IWA International Conference on Water Reclamation and Reuse, being held on June 16 -20, 2019 in Berlin, Germany
Oral presentation titled “Vertical Wetland in combination with an Electrochemical system for septic tank wastewater treatment” at The 16th IWA International Conference Wetland Systems for Water Pollution Control (ICWS2018), being held on 30 September to 4 October 2018, in Valencia, Spain.

· Invited talk “A Online based Certificate Course between EAWAG and BITS Pilani” in conference titled “Going digital in research & education partnerships: opportunities, challenges, risks Organized by Swiss universities Development and Cooperation Network (SUDAC). 1 December 2017 at Swiss National Science Foundation in Bern.

· Oral Presentation “Empowered septic tank as decentralized treatment system” and poster presentation “Pilot study of testing the use and production of Terra Preta and Phosphate Rich Organic Manure (PROM) for improving agricultural productivity” at The IWA S2Small2017 Conference on Small Water & Wastewater Systems and Resources Oriented Sanitation, Nantes, France, October 22 -26, 2017.

· Oral Presentation “Resource Recovery from Wastewaters for Sustainable Development” at INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE On Contemporary Issues in Integrating Climate-The Emerging Area of Agriculture, Horticulture, Biodiversity, Forestry; Engineering Technology, Applied Science and Business Management for Sustainable Development (AGROTECH-2017) Kalimpong Science Centre, Kalimpong, 8th May till 12th May 2017.

Oral Presentation Biodegradation of Paracetamol from Industrial wastewater by Pseudomonas mendocina. at 13th IWA Specialized Conference on Small Water and Wastewater Systems and of the 5th IWA Specialized Conference on Resources Oriented Sanitation, September 14- 16, 2016 Athens, Greece.

· Invited talk “Empowered septic tank for decentralized wastewater systems” at Transformative Technologies portfolio, July 18 -22, 2016, Seattle, USA, organized by Bill and Melinda Gates foundation

· Invited talk "Terra Preta sanitation and digestate from biogas digestors for soil nutrient management and productivity", in the National Seminar on “Soil Pollution and Paradigms for Sustainable Soil Management” organised by the Dept. of Environmental Sciences, University of Kerala, Thiruvananthapuram, December 4^th 2015.

· Invited talk ““Decentralized biogas digesters for waste management” in the ISTE workshop on “Engineering Management Strategies for Sustainable Development”at Don Bosco College of Engineering, Goa on 10th May 2016.

· Invited talk “Types of hazardous wastes, their treatment and disposal” One- Day Seminar on Hazardous and Medical Waste organized by Goa Chamber of Commerce and Industry on 19^th February 2016.

· Invited talk on “Anaerobic co digestion of different substrates” at 2nd National Biogas Convention 2015: Current and Emerging Trends in Indian Biogas and Bio–Fertilizer Development, Sep 15 – 16^th 2015 at IIT New Delhi, India

Invited talk on ANAEROBIC DIGESTION OF SEPTAGE AND FOOD WASTE – A WASTE TO ENERGY PROJECT IN NASHIK” AD Technology and Microbial Ecology for Sustainable Development 3-6 February, 2015, Chiang Mai, Thailand
Oral Presentation Biodegradation of Paracetamol from Industrial wastewater by Pseudomonas mendocina. at 12th Specialized Conference on Small Water and Wastewater Systems & 4th Specialized Conference on Resources Oriented Sanitation, November 2- 4, 2014 Muscat, Sultanate of Oman
Invited talk “Bioelectrochemical systems for nutrient recovery from wastewaters””at 2^nd AP-ISMET held at National University of Singapore, 21- 24^th July 2014.
Invited talk “Bioremediation as a possible solution for oil spills” at 3^rd Oil spill India conference, Goa, India 18 -20^th September 2014.
Key note lecture titled “Terra Preta as an Alternative for the Management of Sludge from Waste Water Treatment Plant” at 1st International Terra Preta Conference at Hamburg University of Technology, 29 – 30 August 2013
Poster presentation titled “Microbial diversity in a pilot scale horizontal plug flow reactor set up for anaerobic digestion of food waste” at Elsevier’s Water Research conference held during 20^th January 2013 – 23^rd January 2013 at Singapore Expo, Singapore.
Oral presentation “Anaerobic digestion of septage and food waste – A waste to energy project in Nashik” at National Convention on “Current and Emerging Trends in Indian Biogas and Bio-fertilizer Development” during 15-16 September, 2012 at IIT Delhi
Oral presentation “Biomethanation potential of cashew apple waste” at International conference on Agricultural Biotechnology in Sustainable Development” Colombo, SriLanka from March 12 – 13^th 2012.
Oral Presentation at at the 3^rd International Conference on Ecotoxicology and Environmental Sciences held during 28-30 November, 2011.at Miramar Residency, Miramar, Panji, Goa. Organized by INSTITUTE OF ECOTOXICOLOGY AND ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES titled Purification and Characterization of Cyclodextrin Glucanotransferase Enzyme and Its Role in Biodegradation of Diesel Oil Contaminated Soil
Oral presentation “Anaerobic co digestion of sewage and food waste” at 1^st International conference on Biogas Microbiology” held at Leipzig, Germany from September 14 – 16^th 2011.
Presented a poster titled” Role of cyclodextrin glucanotransferase in enhancing biodegradation” at the Gordon Research Conference on Applied and Environmental Microbiology - Functional Interactions from Molecules to Biomes” held at Mount Holyoke College, South Hadley, Massachusetts, July 10-15, 2011.
Presented a poster titled “Biomethanation potential of agro wastes” at The 3rd Asia Pacific Young Water Professionals Conference November 21 – 24, 2010, Singapore.
Participated in 1^st International Terra Preta Sanitation organized by Technical University, Hamburg during 26 – 29^th September 2010
Poster Presentation at FLOURESCENCE 2009, An International Conference of Fluorescence in Biology March 16th - 19th 2009 – Mumbai, India titled “ROLE OF FLUORESCENCE IN STUDYING MICROBIAL DIVERSITY”
Poster Presentation at 14th International Symposium on Biodeterioration and Biodegradation (IBBS-14), October 6th - 11th 2008– S. Alessio Siculo (ME, Italy) titled “ISOLATION OF HYDROCARBONOCLASTIC BACTERIA (MSK1) FROM BILGE OIL CONTAMINATED WATERS”
Oral Presentation at Golden Jubilee of Indo-German Cooperation in Higher Education on September 8-9 2008 titled “MICROBIAL FUEL CELLS”
Poster Presentation at 8^th IWA Specialized Conference on Small Water and Wastewater Systems and 2^nd IWA Specialized Conference on Decentralized Water and Wastewater International Network, February 05 - 09, 2008– Coimbatore, India titled “ANTHRACENE DEGRADATION BY BACTERIA PRESENT IN BILGE OIL”

· Poster Presentation at 48^th Annual conference of Association of Microbiologists of India during 18^th December – 21^st December 2007 – Chennai, India titled “ISOLATION OF A BACTERIAL STRAIN WITH BIODEGRADATION AND BIODESULPHURIZATION CAPABILITY”

Oral Paper presentation at National seminar on New trends in Biotechnology during 11^th & 12^th January 2007 - Goa, India titled “EFFECT OF VARYING SALT CONCENTRATIONS ON CHROMOHALOBACTER ISRAELENSIS WITH VARYING CONCENTRATIONS OF PHENOL”.
Oral Paper presentation at National Conference on Environmental Conservation during 1^st September till 3^rd September 2006 - Pilani, India titled “MINERALIZATION OF ANTHRACENE AND PYRENE IN THE PRESENCE OF BIOAVAILABILITY MODIFYING COMPOUNDS”.
Poster Presentation at International conference on Environmental Biotechnology during 9^th July till 13^th July 2006 – Leipzig Germany titled “MINERALIZATION OF ANTHRACENE BY SPHINGOMONAS XENOPHAGA BA2 IN THE PRESENCE OF SOLUBILITY MODIFYING COMPOUNDS”.
Oral Paper presentation at International Conference on Water and Wastewater perspectives of Developing countries during 11^th December till 13^th December 2002 – New Delhi, India titled “HYDROCARBONOCLASTIC CAPABILITY OF A BACILLUS SP. ISOLATED FROM MARINE WATERS” and “BIOSURFACTANT PRODUCTION BY AN EXTREMELY HALOPHILIC BACTERIUM”.

Honors / Awards

Achievements & Awards

Received Belgian Committee of the International Water Association's Water Development Collaboration award for the year 2018 along with Prof. Korneel Rabaey, Ghent University, Belgium
Reinvent the Toilet Challenge Grant recipient 2014 from DBT BIRAC and Bill & Mellinda Gates foundation.
Member of Goa University’s “Internal Quality Assurance Cell”
Appointed by the Government of Goa as the Member of Expert committee constituted for technical evaluation of bids for the Municipal solid waste (MSW) processing facility going to be set up at Bainguinim, North Goa.
Mentor for Sustainable Biosolutions LLP , a BITS incubate company and they have won 1^st prize of 50 K at“TiE 50K Big Idea Business Plan Competition” final round held on 22nd May 2013 at TiE Hubli. The business plan was on an organic fertilizer developed in my lab (Applied and Environmental Biotechnology).
Two month fellowship from German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) under reinvitation programme for DAAD alumni. Worked with Dr.Marcell Nikolausz, Bioenergy department, Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research, Leipzig, Germany from 20^th May 2012 till 18^th July 2012.
Recipient of American Society for Microbiology & Indo US Science and Technology Forum (ASM IUSSTF) Indo US Research Professorship October 2010 . Carried out Stable isotope probing at Rutgers University in the summer (June – July 2011).
Appointed as nodal officer by the Goa Government for monitoring Pollution in Comba well waters.
Two month fellowship from German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) under reinvitation programme for DAAD alumni. Worked under Prof. Matthias Kastner, Bioremediation department, Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research, Leipzig, Germany from 20^th May 2008 till 20^th July 2008.
Received FEMS young Scientist award to present paper at the 14^th International Biodeterioration and Biodegradation symposium 2008.
Helmholtz association’s junior scientist award to present a poster at International conference on Environmental Biotechnology, Leipzig, Germany. 2006
Best paper award at National conference on Environmental Conservation, 2006 held at BITS-Pilani.
Recipient of German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD – UGC) sandwich model fellowship for the year 2001 – 2002 and 2002 – 2003. Under this fellowship carried out laboratory work at UFZ – Centre for Environmental Research, Germany and obtained Ph.D degree from Anna University, India.

Research Students

No. of Ph.D guidance: Completed and ongoing (Provide details with titles etc.)

S.No	Name	ID No.	Title	Ongoing / completed	Date of completion / Date of registration
1	Sivaraman Chandrasekaran	2008PHXF009G	Biodegradation Of hydrocarbons by using cyclodextrins	Completed	2012
2	Vidhya Prabhudessai	2010PHXF440G	Anaerobic Digestion of food waste in a horizontal plug flow reactor	Completed	2015
3	Meghanath Shambhu Prabhu	2011PHXF012G	Resource recovery from wastewaters for sustainable development	Completed	July 2016
4	Rajesh Pasumarthi	2010PHXF433G	Hydrocarbonoclastic bacteria and the strategies for improving biodegradation	Completed	Sep 2016
5	Vaishnavi Unde	2008PHXF005G	Biocatalytic production of commercial textile dye - Indigo	Completed	Sep 2016
6	Guruprasad V Talekar	2015PHXF0402G	Design and Development of Electrochemical system for decentralized wastewater treatment and energy recovery	Submitted	Date of registration: Dec 2016
7	Rajashree Yaragal R.	2018PHXF0419G	Constructed wetlands for the treatment of micropollutants from wastewater and establishing circular economy	Ongoing	Date of registration: Jan 2019
8	Ravikiran K	2017PHXF0406G	Demonstration of waste to energy by anerobic co-digestion of food waste and septage	Ongoing	Date of registration: Jan 2018
9	Ram Chavan	2014PHXF0406G	Treatment of wastewater by using microalgae and its utilization for the production of value added products	Completed	Date of registration: Jan 2014
10	Ravindra G .Mane	2015PHXF0027G	Struvite formation and it's use as an alternative to chemical fertilizers for crop production	Ongoing	August 2015
11	Swapnil Punyapwar	2017PHXF0401G	Development of Sustainable Greywater recycling methods	Ongoing	Date of registration: Jan 2018
12	Prajakta Patil	2017PHXF0405G	Development of appropriate techniques for detection and control of Helminth eggs in wastewater	Ongoing	Date of registration: January 2018
13	Anant Yadav	2014PHXF0407G	Development and demonstration of constructed wetlands as decentralized wastewater treatment system	Completed	Date of registration: January 2015
14	Priya Sharma	2015PHXF0003G	Microbial Diversity and Nutrient Recovery using Microbial Fuel Cell	Completed	Nov 2020
15	Anumeha Vats	2015PHXF0004G	Developing bioactive compound enriched functional food ingredients from Dillenia indica and valorization of its pomace	Ongoing	Date of registration: August 2015
16	Shaikh Aatiya		Methanosarcina based Anaerobic digestion	Ongoing	Date of registration: August 2019
17	Jayant Gogoi		Integrated wastewater treatment system	Ongoing	Date of registration: October 2020
18	Mamta Kodarkar		Bioremediation of Heritage sites	Ongoing	Date of registration: October 2020
19	Sanam Prabhudessai		Bioremediation of Heritage sites	Ongoing	Date of registration: October 2020
20	Prabhu Shamik Chodenekar		Covid 19 surveillance in wastewater	Ongoing	Date of registration: October 2020

Master's

V.R.S.Lakshmi. "Purification of biogas using algae"

Rashmi Dash " Biomethantion potential of hydrocarbons"

Malte Esra Horvat from University of Leipzig, Germany "Terra Preta composting"

Linus Lorenz from Technical University, Hamburg "Case study on a new sanitation approach" in collaboration with Prof. Ralf Otterpohl and Mr.Torsten Bettendorf.

Mr.RaghavendarPrasad Suryavanshi and Mr. Akshat Tyagi -Dissertation on "production of organic fertilizers". - also started an incubatee company based on the work done.

Mr Oliver Konzock from Technical University of Braunschweig "isolation of anaerobic bacteria" under DAAD RISE programme

Ms. Garima Singh Dissertation on "Isolation of sulphate reducing bacteria

Ms. Navodita Bhatnagar - Research practice on Nutrient removal by microalgae

Mr. Shubham Chajjed, Mr. Arjit Yadav and Mr. Vamsi Kaja on Microbial fuel cell for their LOP and SOP

Mr. Pratik "Toilet Design"

Mr. Vaishnav Parth Hitarthbhai "Ïndigo production by bacteria"

Ms.Mugdha Dicholkar "Algal Biofuels"

Ms. Tanvi Walwalkar Prasanna "Algal Biofuels"

BITS Pilani

Research

Research Projects

Research Projects

Bioleaching of Limestone and clay to remove iron and other transition elements (titanium, chromium,manganese, nickel and zinc).

To establish COD(Cr) quality testing method for sea water

Collaborations

Events organized and other professional activities

Consultancy

Bioleaching of Limestone and clay to remove iron and other transition elements (titanium, chromium,manganese, nickel and zinc).

To establish COD(Cr) quality testing method for sea water

Publications

conferences

Conferences

Honors / Awards

Research Students

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