Dr. Dibakar BHATTACHARYYA
University Alumni Professor
Dept. of Chemical and Materials Engineering
University of Kentucky
Lexington, USA
ABSTRACT: Membrane processes are finding wide applications ranging from water treatment to reactors to advanced bio-separations. The development of biomimetic, tunable (singe layer and multi-layer assembly in pores) membranes provide added opportunities in permeate flux and separation selectivity control. The attachment of selected types of polypeptides and the in-situ synthesis of nanoparticles in membranes allows highly effective separations at low pressures and toxic organic destruction at room temperature. For example, the use of polypeptides with helix-coil transitions allows nano-domain interactions in membrane pores for selective environmental separations (using layer-by-layer nano-assembly in pores), for the capture of various toxic metals, and for enzymatic reactions. Electrostatic LBL assembly in pores is achieved through alternate adsorption of cationic and anionic poly-aminoacids under convective flow conditions. The presentation will include the role of nano-domain interactions for selective separations, polypeptide assembly in membrane pores for bio and environmental applications, synthesis methods of nano-structured (25-30 nm) metals (bimetallic systems) in membrane domain. Brief Bio: Prof. Dibakar Bhattacharyya is the University of Kentucky Alumni Professor of Chemical Engineering and a Fellow of the American Institute of Chemical Engineers. He is the Co-Founder of the Center for Membrane Sciences at the University of Kentucky. He was the Meeting Program Chair of the 2005 AICHE Annual Meeting. He has published over 160 refereed journal articles and 20 book chapters, and has recently received four U.S. Patents (Functionalized Membranes, and one on hazardous waste destruction technology). Dr. Bhattacharyya has mentored many graduate and undergraduate students in the area of environmental research and membrane separation. He has worked with several industries in projects dealing with wastewater, material recovery, and membrane separations. Dr. Bhattacharyya has received a number of awards for his research and educational accomplishments, including the 2004 Kirwan Prize for Outstanding Research, Larry K. Cecil AIChE Environmental Division Award, the Kentucky Academy of Sciences Distinguished Scientist Award, Henry M. Lutes Award for Outstanding Undergraduate Engineering Educator, AIChE Outstanding Student Chapter Counselor Awards, and the University of Kentucky Great Teacher (1984 and 1996) Awards. He is the Editor (with Butterfield as Co-Editor) of a recently published(Elsevier) book on “New Insights Into Membrane Science and Technology: Polymeric and Biofunctional Membranes”.
