Laboratory "BIOCHEMICAL REACTORS"
INSTITUTE OF CHEMICAL ENGINEERING, SOFIA, BULGARIA
STAFF: Full professor - 1, Associate professor -1, Research fellows - 4, Chemical engineers - 2, PhD students - 4
~ 10 papers published annually
~3 research projects annually
~ 3 applied projects annually
RECENT cooperation with: University of Birmingham (U.K.), Technical University Hamburg-Harburg (Germany), Catholic University of Louvain (Belgium), Pannon Universiry of Veszprem (Hungary)
and a cooperation with:
Biomolecular Sciences and Biotechnology Institute, University of Groningen,(The Netherlands)
Escola Superior de Biotecnologia, Universidade Catolуtica Portuguesa, Porto (Portugal)
Department of Chemical Engineering and Chemical Technology, The Imperial College of Science, Technology and Medicine, London (U.K.)
Gesellschaft für Biotechnologische Forschung mbH, Braunschweig (Germany)
(within the contract HPRN-CT-2002- 00213 (BIOSAP) supported by the European Community's Human Potential Programme, FP5).
RESEARCH AREA ON BIOTECHNOLOGY AND ENVIRONMENT PROTECTION
Enzyme processes (starch processing, cyclodextrins production);
Microbial processes for fine chemicals and new energy resources (lactic acid, enzymes, biogas, glycerin utilization);
Bioelectrochemistry (stimulation of microbial process by constant electric field);
Wastewater treatment from xenobiotics (phenols, aniline, nitrocompounds, halogenated hydrocarbons, ozonation), microbial denitrification;
Integrated processes and downstream processing.
RECENT PAPERS FOR THE LAST FIVE YEARS ON:
Lactic acid fermentation
Yankov D., "Diffusion of glucose and maltose in polyacrylamide gel", Enzyme & Microbial Technology, 34, 603-610 (2004).
Danova S., K. Petrov, P. Pavlov and P. Petrova, "Isolation and characterization of Lactobacillus strains involved in koumiss fermentation", International Journal of Dairy Technology, 58 (2) 100-105, May 2005.
Petrov K.K., D.S. Yankov, V.N. Beschkov, Lactic acid fermentation by cells of Lactobacillus rhamnosus immobilized in polyacrylamide gel, World Journal of Microbiology &Biotechnology, 22 (4) 337-345 (2006).
Petrov K., P.P. Petrova, V.N. Beschkov, Improved immobilization of Lactobacillus rhamnosis ATCC 7469 in polyacrylamide gel, preventing cell leakage during lactic acid fermentation, World Journal of Microbiology & Biotechnology, 23, 423-428 (2007).
Petrov K., Z. Urshev, P. Petrova "L (+) - Lactic acid production from starch by a novel amylolytic Lactococcus lactis subsp. lactis B84" Food Microbiology Vol. 25, Issue 4 - June 2008, p. 550-557.
Petrov K.K., P.M. Petrova, V.N. Beschkov, Continuous process of lactic acid production using Lactobacillus rhamnosis ATCC 7469 immobilised in polyacrylamide gel, Bulgarian Chemical Communications, 37 (3) 173-177 (2005).
Petrova P., K. Petrov, G. Stoyancheva, Probiotic properties of Bulgarian vaginal Lactobacillus isolates", Comptes rendus de l'Academie Bulgare des Sciences, vol. 60 (8) 873-878 (2007).
Bioelectrochemistry (stimulation of microbial process by constant electric field)
Beschkov V., Velizarov S., Agathos S.N., Lukova V., "Bacterial denitrification of wastewater stimulated by constant electric field". Biochemical Engineering Journal, 17 (2), 141-145 (2004).
Ts. Parvanova-Mancheva, V. Beschkov, Microbial denitrification by immobilized bacteria Pseudomonas denitrificans stimulated by constant electric field, The Biochemical Engineering Journal, 44, 208-213 (2009).
Ts. Parvanova-Mancheva, V. Beschkov, Ts. Sapundzhiev, Modeling of biochemical nitrate reduction in constant electric field, Chemical and Biochemical Engineering Quarterly, 23 (1) 67-75 (2009).
Environment protection (Wastewater treatment)
Natcheva M., Beschkov V., "Thermophile Denitrifikation - Beobachtung einiger Probleme im Laborfermenter und Möglichkeiten ihrer Beseitigung". KA- Abwasser, Abfall, 51 (12), 1362-1366 (2004).
Natcheva M., V. Beschkov, Ts. Sapundzhiev, Mathematical modelling of thermophilic denitrification by bacterial consortium under anaerobic conditions, Research Journal of Chemistry & Environment, 9 (2), 34-37 (2005).
M. Torz, V. Beschkov, Biodegradation of monochloroacetic acid used as a sole carbon and energy source by Xanthobacter autotrophicus GJ10 strain in batch and continuous culture, Biodegradation, 16 (5), 423-433 (2005).
Mileva A., V. Beschkov, "On the dechlorination capacity of the strain Klebsiella oxytoca on 1,2-dichloroethane", Comptes rendus de l'Academie Bulgare des Sciences, 59 (9), 959-964, (2006)
Torz M.S., D.S. Yankov, V.N. Beschkov, "Biodegradation of mono- and dihaloacetic acids by Moraxella sp.B", Comptesrendus de l'Academie Bulgare des Sciences, 59(3), 295-300, (2006)
Beschkov V., Ts. Sapundzhiev, M. Torz, P. Wietzes and D.B. Janssen, Modeling of 1,2-dichloroethane biodegradation by Xanthobacter autotrophicus GJ10 under shock loading of other halogenated compounds in continuous stirred tank bioreactor, Chemical & Biochemical Engineering Quarterly, 22 (3) 339-348 (2008).
Torz M., P. Wietzes, V. Beschkov, D. B. Janssen, Metabolism of mono- and dihalogenated C1 and C2 compounds by Xanthobacter autotrophicus growing on 1,2-dichloroethane, Biodegradation, 18 (2), 145-157 (2007).
Mileva A., Ts. Sapundzhiev, V. Beschkov, Modelling 1,2-dichloroethane biodegradation by Klebsiella oxytoca VA 8391 immobilized on granulated activated carbon, Bioprocess & Biosystems Engineering, 31, 75-85 (2008).
Cyclodextrin-glucano-transferase and cyclodextrin production
Burhan N., Ts. Sapundzhiev, V. Beschkov, Mathematical modeling of cyclodextrin-glucano-transferase production by batch cultivation, Biochemical Engineering Journal, 24, 73-77 (2005).
Vassileva, A., V. Beschkov, V. Ivanova and A. Tonkova, Continuous cyclodextrin glucanotransferase production by free and immobilized cells of Bacillus circulans ATCC 21783 in bioreactors, Process Biochemistry, 40 (10), 3290-3295 (2005).
Burhan N., Ts. Sapundzhiev, V. Beschkov, Mathematical modelling of cyclodextrin-glucano-transferase production by immobilised cells of Bacillus circulans ATCC 21783 at batch cultivation, Biochemical Engineering Journal, 35 (2), 114-119 (2007).
Atanasova N., P. Petrova, V. Ivanova, D. Yankov, A. Tonkova, "Isolation of novel alkaliphilic Bacillus strains for cyclodextringlucanotransferase production", Applied Biochemistry and Biotechnology, 2008, 149, 155-167
Burhan N., V. Beschkov, "Kinetics study of cyclodextrin production by crude cyclodextrin glucan transferase", Bulgarian Chemical Communications, 38 (2), (2006)
Downstream processing
Yankov D., J. Molinier, J. Albet, G. Malmary, G. Kyuchoukov, Lactic acid extraction from aqueous solution with tri-n-octylamine dissolved in decanol and dodecane, Biochemical Engineering Journal, 21, 63-71, 2004
Kyuchoukov,G., Yankov, D., Albet, J., Molinier, J., Mechanism of lactic acid extraction with quaternary ammonium chloride (Aliquat 336) Industrial and Engineering Chemistry Research, 44 (15) , 5733-5739, (2005)
Yankov, D., Molinier, J., Kyuchoukov, G., Albet, J., Malmary, G. Improvement of the lactic acid extraction. Extraction from aqueous solutions and simulated fermentation broth by means of mixed extractant and TOA, partially loaded with HCI, Chemical and Biochemical Engineering Quarterly, 19 (1), 17-24, (2005)
Yankov D.S., J.P. Martin Trussler, B.Y. Yordanov, R.P. Stateva, Influence of Lactic Acid on the Formation of Aqueoues Two-phase Systems Containing Poly(ethylene glycol) and Phosphates, J. Chem. Eng. Data, 53, 1309-1315 (2008).
Miscellaneous
S. Stefanov, D. Yankov V. Beschkov, "Biotransformation of phytosterols to androstenedione in two phase water-oil systems", Chemical & Biochemical Engineering Quarterly, 20(4), 421-427 (2006)
Nedeltchev S., A. Shaikh and M. Al-Dahhan, "Prediction of the Kolmogorov Entropy Derived from Computed Tomography Data in a Bubble Column Operated Under Transition Regime and Ambient Pressure", Chemical Engineering & Technology 30, 1445-1450 (2007).
Nedeltchev S., U. Jordan and A. Schumpe, "Correction of the Penetration Theory Based On Mass Transfer Data from Bubble Columns Operated in the Homogeneous Regime Under High Pressure", Chemical Engineering Science 62, 6263-6273 (2007)
P. Petrova, K. Petrov, V. Beschkov "Production of 1,3-propanediol from glycerol by newly isolated strains of Klebsiella pneumoniae", Comptes Rendus de l'Academie Bulgare des Sciences, 62 (2), 233-242 (2009).
Applied research