IITKGP
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Agricultural and Food Engineering

Faculty

Nirupama Mallick, IIT Kharagpur

Nirupama Mallick

Professor

Agricultural and Food Engineering

+91-3222-283166

nm@agfe.iitkgp.ac.in

Awards and Accolades

Personal Webpage Bio Sketch

Research Areas

  • Microalgal Biofuels
  • Bioactives from microalgae
  • Algal Refinery
  • Climate Change and Soil Health
  • Sustainability and Circular Economy
Research Area: Algal Biotechnology
The major focus of our research is as follows:
1)  Microalgal biofuels
World is facing formidable challenges in meeting the energy demands. Our trial at IIT Kharagpur resulted into identification of some microalgal species yielding oil ~50% of their dry weight. Aiming for an ‘Algal Refinery’, simultaneous extraction of various co-products, viz. glycerol, β-carotene, PUFAs, and use of the protein-rich spent biomass for aqua-feed are standardized.  Trial for large-scale production is underway.
2)  Biodegradable films and C-PC
Over the past three decades there has been a growing public and scientific interest regarding the development of eco-friendly polymers.  Our research team is able to identify a few cyanobacterial species which can accumulate polyhydoxyalkanoates (PHAs) polymer up to 80% of their dry cell weight.  We are also pioneer in reporting a novel SCL-LCL PHA co-polymer with superior material properties from a strain of Pseudomonas.
C-phycocyanin (C-PC) has immense potential as a natural colourant in food and cosmetics industries, and in pharmaceutical industry for its antioxidant and anti-immflamatory properties, and fluorescence tags in immunolabelling studies. Our research team has developed a low-cost process for extraction of C-PC from cyanobacterial biomass. Large-scale production of these high-value compounds is one of our focuses.
3)  Climate Change and Soil Health
The unique ability of cyanobacteria to fix elemental nitrogen made them a very important agricultural asset. Indian rice field is organically maintained to some extent due to the proliferation of cyanobacteria in the soil. The climate change significantly influences current temperature and moisture conditions, which will have a large impact on cyanobacteria community structure, and also on their in situ ecophysiological performance such as photochemical processes and nitrogen fixation. Another concern of our group is to develop climate-resilient cyanobacterial consortia with high N2-fixing potential for improving soil health.
 
All Publications
  • Unraveling C-phycocyanin extraction by dark incubation from marine cyanobacterium Leptolyngbya valderiana by Maity S., Mallick N. Sustainable Chemistry and Pharmacy 31 100929- (2023)
  • Kinetic modelling for prediction of biomass concentration of Chlorella minutissima in open raceway pond cultivation: A pilot-scale study by Devadiga S., Tiwari R. , Sonkar S. , Mallick N. Biomass and Bioenergy 173 106797- (2023)
  • Predicting microalgal biomass yield in outdoor raceway pond cultivation with the empirical modeling approach by Tiwari R., Devadiga S. , Mallick N. Biochemical Engineering Journal 198 109038- (2023)
  • Cultivation of Chlorella minutissima under a novel phosphate application strategy for biodiesel production: A pilot scale study by Sonkar S., Tiwari R. , Devadiga S. , Koley S. , Mallick N. Renewable Energy 217 119141- (2023)
Completed Projects
  • Co-Principal Investigator
Alumni members

Ph. D. Students

Anjali P S

Area of Research: Algal Biotechnology

Avinash Kumar

Area of Research: Algal Biotechnology

Daibaki Kumar

Area of Research: Algal Biotechnology

Devadiga Sagar Chandrashekhar Sunita

Area of Research: Algal Biotechnology

Manisha

Area of Research: Algal Biotechnology

Neha Sharma

Area of Research: Algal Biotechnology

Onaiza Nazneen

Area of Research: Algal Biotechnology

Rahul Tiwari

Area of Research: Algal Biotechnology