Sustainable Technologies Laboratory
We develop technically feasible, economically viable, resource sustainable, environmentally less impactful and socially acceptable technologies.
कालेवर्षतु पर्जन्यः,पृथिवी सस्यशालिनी
देशोयं क्षोभरहितोः, ब्राम्हणाः सन्तु निर्भयाः||
May the rains come on time, the earth be verdant,
this country be free of distress and intellectuals be fearless.
Vision
We develop sustainable solutions for a resource-constrained world.
Sustainable solutions are technically feasible, economically viable, resource sustainable, environmentally less impactful and socially acceptable.
We employ a combination of experimental and theoretical approaches using bioprocessing technologies, control theory, systems biology, process modeling, techno-economic analysis and life cycle analysis techniques to conduct molecular, cellular, bench and industrial scale and systems-level analyses.
Research Focus
We live in a resource-constrained world subjected to uncertain climate variations. We must address the challenges of meeting increasing demands of water, food, and energy from growing populations in the context of nutrient-food-energy-water-land nexus. A systems perspective considering the nexus of technology, economic, environment and policy is at the heart of our research program.
Our research is focused on understanding the linkages at the systems level to perform integrated analysis and developing sustainable technologies and resilient strategies.
Research Topics
Sustainable Technologies Development
Design and implement bioprocess control systems
Integrate waste water treatment with the algae production to reduce production costs.
Evaluate use of algae in bioremediation applications.
Develop novel strategies for hydrothermal liquefaction of wet micro-algal biomass.
Develop novel strategies for use of algal biomass as aquatic feed ingredients.
Model, optimize and control enzymatic hydrolysis of cellulose.
Develop strategies for high solid fermentation of pretreated cellulosic biomass.
Engineering Systems Analysis
Comprehensive integrated techno-economic analysis and life cycle assessment of biofuels and bioproducts.
Understanding resilence of global food networks through systems analysis.
Engineering and analysis of resilient agrioecological systems.
Studying carbon partitioning in algae under different growth regimes, environmental and nutrient conditions.
Development of control systems for automated management of algal cultures.
Understanding metabolic network bottlenecks for xylose utilization in Saccharomyces cerevisiae.
Understanding and quantifying key sources of uncertainty in LCA of biofuels and bioproducts.
Perform realistic assessment of biofuels/bioproducts potential under various scenarios.
Current Projects
We are actively looking for students in these areas.. Drop us an email if you are interested!
Biofuels/Bioproducts
We develop technologies for first, second and third generation biofuels and bioproducts.Our research focus is on bioethanol, bioplastics and biofertilizers.
Peer reviewed publications
For the most updated list of publications, please follow this link.
Dissertations
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Deepak Kumar. 2014. Biochemical conversion of lignocellulosic biomass to ethanol: experimental, enzymatic hydrolysis modeling, techno-economic and life cycle assessment studies. Oregon State University.
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Abraham Asmare. 2014. Investigation the potential of the microalgae consortium for algal biomass productivity, carbon sequestration and nutrient recovery from dairy manure. Addis Ababa University, Ethiopia.
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Ankita Juneja. 2015. Model predictive control for optimum algal growth. Oregon State University.
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William Hohenschuh. 2016. The path forward: Using high throughput data and dynamic flux balance modeling to identify bottlenecks in the carbon metabolism of industrial microbes and suggest solutions to improve product yield Oregon State University.
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S.M.H. Tabatabaie. 2017. Integrated spatio-temporal sustainability analysis of biofuels using biogeochemistry, economic and life cycle analysis. Oregon State University.
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Haider J. Kadhum. 2019. Novel system design and operational strategies for the production of biofuels and bioproducts. Oregon State University.
Patents
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Patent: A dynamic optimal controller for control of fermentation processes. Office of technology management, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. US Patent No: 7,862,992. Issued 4th January, 2011. Inventors: Ganti S. Murthy and Vijay Singh. This technology has been successfully tested in two commercial dry-grind corn plants, licensed and installed in several corn dry-grind ethanol plants in the US.
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Provisional Patent: A multi-scale control framework for sustainable management of engineered algae production systems. Office for Commercialization and Corporate Development, Oregon State University. US Provisional Patent No: 62/190642. Filed 9th July, 2015. Inventors: Ganti S. Murthy and Ankita Juneja.
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Provisional Patent: Wastwater treatment system and method. Office for Commercialization and Corporate Development, Oregon State University. US Provisional Patent No: 62/738,806. Filed 28th September, 2018. Inventors: Ganti S. Murthy and Steven White.
Publications
Learning Resources
ज्ञानं प्रसारणाय, सत्यं आत्मशुद्धये
"We learn a quarter from the teacher, a quarter from discussions with our fellow students, a quarter from self-reflection and a quarter from experience"----Vedas
Biofuels Production Technologies
Biofuels technologies course.
Course notes and slides are freely available on GitHub.
A short video (Starting at 2:30 min) on biofuels from Green Science Oregon Channel.
Team
At Sustainable Technologies Laboratory, we know that education transforms lives.
We are a highly interdisciplinary group of researchers working to solve some of the most intractable problems that our world faces. We are always looking for dedicated, diligent, hardworking and collegial team members who have a passion to contribute while bettering themselves.
Ganti S. Murthy
Professor
Ganti S. Murthy is a Professor in the Biosciences and Biomedical Engineering at the Indian Institute of Technology-Indore. Before coming to IIT-Indore, he was a tenured full professor at the Biological and Ecological Engineering Department at Oregon State University. He is the co-founder of GRW Engineering LLC, a resource recovery company focusing on landfill leachate. Dr. Murthy’s research is broadly focused on sustainable bioprocessing and resilient agroecological systems. He founded the Sustainable Technologies Laboratory at OSU in 2007.
Opportunities
We are building our team at IIT Indore!!
We have openings for up to five Ph.D. students, several opportunities for M.Tech, B.Tech and internship students. If interested in joining our team, please send your CV to Prof. Murthy (ganti.murthy@iiti.ac.in)
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
We are looking for talented students for research in the following areas:
1. Sustainable wastewater treatment.
2. The resilience of agroecological systems.
3. Advanced bioprocess control systems.
4. Understanding the partitioning of carbon flux in photosynthetic organisms.
5. Improving soil health through novel biofertilizers.
6. Bioremediation of toxic wastes.
Master's Students
We have opportunities to work on meaningful real-world projects.
Example topics:
1. Design of fluidized bed systems.
2. Fermentation control using low-cost microcontrollers.
3. Low-cost wastewater treatment systems.
4. A realistic assessment of biofuels potential.
B.Tech Projects and Internships
We are passionate about undergraduate education. We will provide opportunities to work on some real-world problems.
Example research areas:
1. Biofuels and Bioproducts.
2. Bioprocess control.
3. Food-energy-water nexus.
4. Wastewater treatment
Funding support from the following organizations is gratefully acknowledged.
Contact Us
Funding Support
504 E (Manganese) Building, IIT Indore
ganti.murthy@iiti.ac.in +91-732-430-6332