Riju De
PhD: 2013- (Co-advisor Prof. Sharad Bhartiya)
Education:
B.Tech (Chemical
Engineering) in 2010 from Heritage Institute of Technology,
Kolkata.
M.E (Chemical Engineering) in 2012 from
Jadavpur University, Kolkata.
Research:
Advanced model based control of a batch transesterification reactor for biodiesel production
Biodiesel production has been gaining a lot of
attention as a cheap source of fuel in diesel engines. It is made
by reacting oils containing free fatty acids (FFA) with an
alcohol. Various lipid sources such as palm
oil, soyabean oil, linseed oil and, jatropha curcas
oil have been used for the production of biodiesel. Batch
processes are less expensive and require minimum capital cost.
Therefore, Batch reactors are widely used in industries for
biodiesel production. Main factors which are affecting the
biodiesel yield are temperature, stirring, methanol to algal oil
ratio, and concentration of the catalyst. In context to this
study, process engineers are challenged with the task of
mathematical modelling of batch reactors including the kinetic
study associated with the transesterification reaction.
Development of control strategies for the highly non-linear
complexities and time varying dynamics involved in batch processes
during the biodiesel production is essential.
Under
the present research work, studies will be undertaken regarding
the control of parameters like temperature of the batch
transesterification reactor under the effect of disturbances such
as impurities in the feedstock composition, heat transfer rate,
and catalyst deactivation. Optimization objectives such as
maximization of the concentration of methyl esters (Biodiesel) and
minimization of batch reaction time will be performed under the
framework of optimal control. Advanced model based closed loop
control techniques such as batch to batch iterative learning
control (ILC) and within batch control will also be implemented
for product quality trajectory tracking.
Chemical
process modelling and control, mathematics, stability analysis of
process systems, optimisation, reaction engineering
Riju De and Ranjana Chowdhury, Hydrodynamics of a packed bed
biofilm reactor (PBBR) for the removal of Hg2+ion
– RTD experiments with biotic and characteristically similar
abiotic films and axial dispersion model,
Journal of Chemical Technology and Biotechnology, vol 88 (9),
2013.