Pawinee Chaiprasert
Environmental Science, Ph.D.
Associate Professor
Email: pawinee.cha@kmutt.ac.th
Phone: (+66)2-470-7525 Office: RD1-A4-10, PDTI
Curriculum Vitae

Research Group

Research Focus

Assoc. Prof. Dr. Pawinee Chaiprasert, with an expertise of biotechnology along with food technology, has been leading the multi-disciplinary team of researchers/lecturers working on biogas technology research and development since 1996.  Dr. Pawinee and her research group, called “Biogas Laboratory” then, changed the name to “Excellent Center of Waste Utilization and Management (ECoWaste) in 2006, passionately focus their research theme on the R&D of a high-rate biogas technology named “Anaerobic Fixed Film Reactor: AFFR”.  The AFFR technology, the Center’s first generation technology, is suitable for various agro-industrial wastes and wastewaters, such as tapioca starch, rice starch, palm oil, food processing wastewaters, with its advantages of high system stability and excellent treatment efficiency. Dr. Pawinee directs ECoWaste to excel in four key research areas: (i) microbiological and biochemical aspect, (ii) reactor and process development,   (iii) computational aids and process optimization, and (iv) environmental research and management.  Research has been conducted in lab-scale, pilot-scale, and industrial-scale levels. The AFFR-technology-transferred factories benefit directly from their generated biogas for heat and electricity generation. Dr. Pawinee is currently a senior advisor to the ECoWaste with her role to guide and mentor this multi-disciplinary team as well as to develop the group’s second generation biogas technology, the Anaerobic Hybrid Reactor (AHR) to answer the country’s agro-industrial environmental and energy needs.

Selected Publications

  1. Suvajittanont, W. and CHAIPRASERT, P. (2003) “Potential of Biogas Recirculation to Enhance Biomass Accumulation on Supporting Media,” Bioresource Technology, 88 (2003), 157-162.
  2. CHAIPRASERT, P., Suvajittanont, W., Suraraksa, B., Tanticharoen, M., and Bhumiratana, S. (2003) “Nylon Fiber as Supporting Media in Anaerobic Hybrid Reactors: Its Effects on System’s Performance and Microbial Distribution,” Water Research, 37: 4605-4612.
  3. Suraraksa, B., Nopharatana, A., CHAIPRASERT, P., Tanticharoen, M. and Bhumiratana, S. (2003) “Microbial Activity of Biofilm during Start-up Period of Anaerobic Hybrid Reactor at Low and High Upflow Feeding Velocity,” Water Science and Technology, 48(8): 79-87.
  4. Jupputtasri, W., Cheevadhanarak, S., CHAIPRASERT, P., Tanticharoen, M., and Techkarnjanaruk, S. (2004) “Use of  Fluorchrome-labeled rRNA Targeted Oligonucleotide Probe and Tyramide Signal Amplification to Improve Sensitivity of Fluorescence in Situ Hybridization,”  The Journal of Bioscience and Bioengineering (JBB), 98 (4): 282-286.
  5. Jupraputtasri, W., Boonapatcharoen, N., Cheevadhanarak, S., CHAIPRASERT, P., Tanticharoen, M. and Techkarnjanaruk, S. (2005) “Use of an Alternative Archaea-Specific probe for Methanogen Detection,” Journal of Microbiological Methods, 61: 95-104.6.       Jolanun, B., Tripetchkul, S., Chiemchaisri C., CHAIPRASERT, P. and Towprayoon, S. (2005) “Effect of Moisture Content on Fed Batch Composting Reactor of Vegetable and Fruit Wastes,” Environmental Technology, 26: 293-301.7.       Sanpoti, N., Towprayoon, S., CHAIPRASERT, P., and Nopharatana, A. (2006) “Enhancing Waste Decomposition and Methane Production in Simulated Landfill Using Combined Anaerobic Reactors,” Water Science and Technology, 53 (8): 243-251. 8.       Sanpoti, N., Towprayoon, S., CHAIPRASERT, P., and Nopharatana, A. (2006) “The Effects of Leachate Recirculation with Supplemental Water Addition on Methane Production and Waste Decomposition in a Simulated Tropical Landfill,” Journal of Environmental Management, 81(1): 27-35.9.       Boonapatcharoen, N., Meepian, K., CHAIPRASERT, P., and Techkarnjanaruk, S. (2007) “Molecular Monitoring of Microbial Population Dynamics During Operational Periods of Anaerobic Hybrid Reactor Treating Cassava Starch Wastewater,” Microbial Ecology, 54(1): 21-30.
  6. Laowansiri, S., Vinitnantharat, S., Chaiprasert, P. and Ha, S.R., 2008, “Anaerobic Degradation Kinetics of Reactive Dye with Different Carbon Sources,” Journal of Environmental Biology, 29(3), 309-314.
  7. Chawanakul, S., CHAIPRASERT, P., Towprayoon, S., and Tanticharoen, M. (2009), “Contributions of Available Substrates and Activities of Trophic Microbial Community to Methanogenesis in Vegetative and Reproductive Rice Rhizospheric Soil,” Journal of Environmental Biology, 30(1), 119-127.
  8. Romsaiyud, A., Songkasiri, W., Nopharatana, A., and CHAIPRASERT, P. (2009), “The Combination Effect of pH and Acetate on the Enzymatic Cellulose Hydrolysis,” Journal of Environmental Sciences, 21, 965-970.
  9. Fusuwankaya, K., CHAIPRASERT, P., and Suraraksa, B. (2009), “Treatment of Modified Starch Wastewater with high Sodium Chloride (NaCl) Concentration Using an Anaerobic Hybrid Reactor,” Desalination and Water Treatment, 4, 224-228.
  10. Panichnumsin, P., Nopharatana, A., Ahring, B.K. and CHAIPRASERT, P. (2010), “Production of Methane by Co-digestion of Cassava Pulp with Various Concentrations of Pig Manure,” Biomass and Bioenergy, 34 (8), 1117 – 1124.
  11. Limkhuansuwan, V. and CHAIPRASERT, P. (2010), “Decolorization of Molasses Melanoidins and Palm Oil Mill Effluent (POME) Phenolic Compounds by Fermentative Lactic Acid Bacteria,” Journal of Environmental Sciences, 22 ( 8), 1209-1217.
  12. Panichnumsin, P., Ahring, B.K., Nopharatana, A. and CHAIPRASERT, P. (2010), “Comparative Performance and Microbial Community of Single Phase and Two Phase Anaerobic Systems Co-Digesting Cassava Pulp and Pig Manure,” World Academy of Science, Engineering and Technology, 62, 721-726.
  13. Waewsak C., Nopharatana A. and CHAIPRASERT, P. (2010), “Neural-Fuzzy Control System Application for Monitoring Process Response and Control of Anaerobic Hybrid Reactor in Wastewater Treatment and Biogas Production,” Journal of Environmental Sciences, 22 (12), 1883-1890.
  14. Panichnumsin, P., Ahring, B.K., Nopharatana, A. and CHAIPRASERT, P. (2012), “Microbial Community Structure and Performance of an Anaerobic Reactor Digesting Cassava Pulp and Pig Manure,” Water Science and Technology, 66 (7), 1590-1600.
  15. Hudayah, N., Suraraksa, B. and CHAIPRASERT, P. (2012), “The Effect of Synthetic Cationic Polymer Addition on Nucleation of Anaerobic Granules under Different Organic Loading Rate,” International Journal of Bioscience, Biochemistry and Bioinformatics, 2 (4), 264-269.
  16. Meesap, K., Techkarnjanaruk, S. and CHAIPRASERT, P. (2012), “Microbial Communities and Their Performances in Anaerobic Hybrid Sludge Bed-Fixed Film Reactor for Treatment of Palm Oil Mill Effluent Under Various Organic Pollutant Concentrations,” Journal of Biomedicine and Biotechnology, 2012, Article ID 902707, 11 p.
  17. Tuesorn, S., Wongwilaiwalin, S., Champreda, V., Leethochawalit, M., Nopharatana, A., Techkarnjanaruk, S., and Chaiprasert, P. (2013) “Enhancement of Biogas Production from Swine Manure by a Lignocellulolytic Microbial Consortium,” Bioresource Technology, 144, 579-586.
  18. Auphimai,C., Rukruam, W., and Chaiprasert, P. (2014) “Efficacies of various inoculum sources on methane production from agro-industrial wastewaters,” Energy Procedia, DOI information: 10.1016/j.egypro.2014.07.067.

Awards

Dr. Pawinee and Team received the Research Award in Industrial Research and Engineering Field on  “High Rate Anaerobic Fixed Bed Reactor for Agro-Industrial Wastewater Treatment” from the National Research Council of Thailand in 2002 and the Award on Best Program on New and Renewable Sources of Energy (Off-grid) on “Thai Biogas Plants – High Rate Anaerobic Fixed Film Technology for Agro-Industrial Wastewater” from the Department of Alternative Energy Development and Efficiency (DEDE), Ministry of Energy in 2003.   Not only receiving the national recognitions, the ECoWaste’s AFFR technology was selected to be a winner of the prestigious 2005 SEED International Environmental Award on the “Cow-to-kilowatts” project from the UNDP to construct a biogas plant for slaughterhouse wastewater in Nigeria.

Dr. Pawinee received the 2008 Outstanding SBT alumni awards in the field of technical service and social publicity from School of Bioresources and Technology (SBT), KMUTT and the 2009 Outstanding KMUTT alumni awards in the professional area of biotechnology at The Occasion of the 4th Cycle Celebration of KMUTT. Recently, she received the 2012 Ajinomoto Lecture Award in Biotechnology from Ajinomoto Foundation and Thai Society for Biotechnology on “Biogas Technology: RDD (Research Development and Demonstration) on High Rate Anaerobic Reactor for Thai Agro-Industries”.