[object Object]

Photochemical & Photobiological Sciences • 2020

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Nature Catalysis • 2024

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Water Research • 2019

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Chemical Engineering Journal • 2022

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Polymers • 2023

Conductive polymers and their composites are excellent materials for coupling biological materials and electrodes in bioelectrochemical systems. It is assumed that their relevance and introduction to the field of bioelectrochemical devices will only grow due to their tunable conductivity, easy modification, and biocompatibility. This review analyzes the main trends and trends in the development of the methodology for the application of conductive polymers and their use in biosensors and biofuel elements, as well as describes their future prospects. Approaches to the synthesis of such materials and the peculiarities of obtaining their nanocomposites are presented. Special emphasis is placed on the features of the interfaces of such materials with biological objects.

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International Journal of Hydrogen Energy • 2017

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Water Research • 2015

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Applied Energy • 2020

The microbial fuel cell (MFC) technology relies on energy storage and harvesting circuitry to deliver stable power outputs. This increases costs, and for wider deployment into society, these should be kept minimal. The present study reports how a MFC system was developed to continuously power public toilet lighting, with for the first time no energy storage nor harvesting circuitry. Two different stacks, one consisting of 15 and the other 18 membrane-less MFC modules, were operated for 6 days and fuelled by the urine of festival goers at the 2019 Glastonbury Music Festival. The 15-module stack was directly connected to 2 spotlights each comprising 6 LEDs. The 18-module stack was connected to 2 identical LED spotlights but going through 2 LED electronic controller/drivers. Twenty hours after inoculation the stacks were able to directly power the bespoke lighting system. The electrical energy produced by the 15-module stack evolved with usage from ≈280 mW (≈2.650 V at ≈105 mA) at the beginning to ≈860 mW (≈2.750 V at ≈300 mA) by the end of the festival. The electrical energy produced by the LED-driven 18-module stack increased from ≈490 mW at the beginning to ≈680 mW toward the end of the festival. During this period, illumination was above the legal standards for outdoor public areas, with the 15-module stack reaching a maximum of ≈89 Lx at 220 cm. These results demonstrate for the first time that the MFC technology can be deployed as a direct energy source in decentralised area (e.g. refugee camps).

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Chemosphere • 2021

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Biomass and Bioenergy • 2015

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Science Advances • 2023

Artificial photosynthesis can provide a solution to our current energy needs by converting small molecules such as water or carbon dioxide into useful fuels. This can be accomplished using photochemical diodes, which interface two complementary light absorbers with suitable electrocatalysts. Nanowire semiconductors provide unique advantages in terms of light absorption and catalytic activity, yet great control is required to integrate them for overall fuel production. In this review, we journey across the progress in nanowire photoelectrochemistry (PEC) over the past two decades, revealing design principles to build these nanowire photochemical diodes. To this end, we discuss the latest progress in terms of nanowire photoelectrodes, focusing on the interplay between performance, photovoltage, electronic band structure, and catalysis. Emphasis is placed on the overall system integration and semiconductor-catalyst interface, which applies to inorganic, organic, or biologic catalysts. Last, we highlight further directions that may improve the scope of nanowire PEC systems.

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Biomass • 2023

Lignin is one of the important components of lignocellulosic cell walls, which endows plant cell walls with rigidity and strength and protects them from microbial invasion. The presence of lignin is thought to hinder the conversion of biomass to bioenergy, so understanding enzyme-lignin interactions is very important in order to reduce the inhibition of lignin and improve the hydrolysis yields. Conversion of lignocellulosic raw materials into bioethanol is divided into pretreatment, enzymatic hydrolysis, and fermentation. In this paper, both pretreatment and enzymatic hydrolysis of lignocellulose are described in detail. Finally, the reasons why lignin hinders enzymatic hydrolysis efficiency, mainly from forming spatial barriers and interacting with cellulase, are discussed, and the influencing factors and mechanisms of action of cellulase hydrolysis are explored with a view to targeted regulation of lignin structure to improve lignocellulosic saccharification.

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Sustainability • 2023

With the growing demand for clean and safe water, there is a pressing need to explore novel materials for water treatment applications. In this regard, bio-based polymeric materials have emerged as a promising solution for water purification. This article highlights the numerous advantages offered by bio-based polymeric materials, including their biodegradability, low cost, and renewable nature. Moreover, it discusses in depth the two primary applications of these materials in water treatment, namely flocculation and adsorption, showcasing their effectiveness in removing contaminants. Furthermore, this review addresses the future prospects and challenges associated with the development of bio-based polymeric materials for water treatment applications. This review provides valuable insights for researchers in the field, driving further advancements in the utilization of bio-based polymeric materials to ensure clean and sustainable water resources.

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IEEE Access • 2020

The exhaustion of natural energy and oil reserves has initiated the concept of renewable energy systems (RESs). This has expanded the vision of energy sector towards a diversified power grid while introducing the distributed energy resources (DERs) and distributed generation (DG). Though, this diversification is achieved by adding new energy generation sources and a two-way power flow, it opens the channel of production and trading with alternating current (AC) and direct current (DC) energy formats. But DC-based energy, due to its sporadic nature, can be further stored easily by energy storage devices. However, in recent years, a compelling need has arisen to understand the communication systems in distributed generation (DG) for better performance management, control and parallel power transfer. In this article, a bibliographic review on communication systems in distributed generations (DGs) is provided. The study identifies various communication technologies, standards, and protocols used in AC and DC-based DGs. Moreover, it contains the classification of different frameworks and methods involved. The methodology of different approaches and their likely combination are discussed for different types of communication networks. This study also represents useful information for readers, thereby demonstrate the complete life-cycle of digital data in sensors/actuators, transmitter, receiver, filter, decoder for control of DG elements and identifies future challenges as well. A comprehensive list of publications to date are compiled to provide a complete picture of different developments in this area.

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Journal of Industrial Microbiology & Biotechnology • 2020

Microbes exchange electrons with their extracellular environment via direct or indirect means. This exchange is bidirectional and supports essential microbial oxidation-reduction processes, such as respiration and photosynthesis. The microbial capacity to use electrons from insoluble electron donors, such as redox-active minerals, poised electrodes, or even other microbial cells is called extracellular electron uptake (EEU). Autotrophs with this capability can thrive in nutrient and soluble electron donor-deficient environments. As primary producers, autotrophic microbes capable of EEU greatly impact microbial ecology and play important roles in matter and energy flow in the biosphere. In this review, we discuss EEU-driven autotrophic metabolisms, their mechanism and physiology, and highlight their ecological, evolutionary, and biotechnological implications.

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Scientific Reports • 2016

Increasing interest in homoacetogenic bacteria for the production of biochemicals and biofuels requisites the development of new genetic tools for these atypical production organisms. An attractive host for the conversion of synthesis gas or electricity into multi-carbon compounds is Clostridium ljungdahlii. So far only limited achievements in modifying this organism towards the production of industrially relevant compounds have been made. Therefore, there is still a strong need for developing new and optimizing existing genetic tools to efficiently access its metabolism. Here, we report on the development of a stable and reproducible transformation protocol that is applicable to C. ljungdahlii and several other clostridial species. Further, we demonstrate the functionality of a temperature-sensitive origin of replication in combination with a fluorescence marker system as important tools for future genetic engineering of this host for microbial bioproduction.

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Process Biochemistry • 2015

In this study we investigated the use of electric potential to bioelectrochemically ferment glycerol, a cheap by-product of biodiesel production, into valuable 1,3-propanediol (1,3-PDO). The 1,3-PDO production rates were increased up to 6 times in electrofermentations, compared to non-electrochemical fermentations, and high concentrations up to 42 g 1,3-PDO/l were achieved in fed-batch mode. Extensive growth of the well-known 1,3-PDO producers Clostridiaceae (55–57%) was observed when an appropriate potential (−1.1 V vs. SHE) was constantly applied since the start. Potential propionate producers (Veillonellaceae) were also among the dominant families (20–21%); however, surprisingly enough, propionate production was not observed. On the contrary, Clostridiaceae were absent, Veillonellaceae dominated (56–72%), and propionate was produced when electric potential was not sufficient for current production since the beginning. In all cases, glycerol consumption ceased and electrocatalytic activity was lost when we replaced the biofilm electrodes with electrodes lacking a biofilm, clearly demonstrating that glycerol electrofermentation was mostly supported by the bacteria located in the biofilm. In the non-electrochemical systems the performance and the titers achieved were poor; only 18 g 1,3-PDO/l was achieved in more than twice the time, and lactate producing Lactobacillaceae became dominant.

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Journal of Hazardous Materials • 2015

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Chemosphere • 2018

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Bioresource Technology • 2021

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Molecules • 2022

Microbial fuel cells (MFCs) are an environmentally friendly technology and a source of renewable energy. It is used to generate electrical energy from organic waste using bacteria, which is an effective technology in wastewater treatment. The anode and the cathode electrodes and proton exchange membranes (PEM) are important components affecting the performance and operation of MFC. Conventional materials used in the manufacture of electrodes and membranes are insufficient to improve the efficiency of MFC. The use of nanomaterials in the manufacture of the anode had a prominent effect in improving the performance in terms of increasing the surface area, increasing the transfer of electrons from the anode to the cathode, biocompatibility, and biofilm formation and improving the oxidation reactions of organic waste using bacteria. The use of nanomaterials in the manufacture of the cathode also showed the improvement of cathode reactions or oxygen reduction reactions (ORR). The PEM has a prominent role in separating the anode and the cathode in the MFC, transferring protons from the anode chamber to the cathode chamber while preventing the transfer of oxygen. Nanomaterials have been used in the manufacture of membrane components, which led to improving the chemical and physical properties of the membranes and increasing the transfer rates of protons, thus improving the performance and efficiency of MFC in generating electrical energy and improving wastewater treatment.

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The ISME Journal • 2016

Manganese (Mn) is an important metal in geochemical cycles. Some microorganisms can oxidize Mn(II) to Mn oxides, which can, in turn, affect the global cycles of other elements by strong sorption and oxidation effects. Microbe-microbe interactions have important roles in a number of biological processes. However, how microbial interactions affect Mn(II) oxidation still remains unknown. Here, we investigated the interactions between two bacteria (Arthrobacter sp. and Sphingopyxis sp.) in a co-culture, which exhibited Mn(II)-oxidizing activity, although neither were able to oxidize Mn(II) in isolation. We demonstrated that the Mn(II)-oxidizing activity in co-culture was most likely induced via contact-dependent interactions. The expressed Mn(II)-oxidizing protein in the co-culture was purified and identified as a bilirubin oxidase belonging to strain Arthrobacter. Full sequencing of the bilirubin oxidase-encoding gene (boxA) was performed. The Mn(II)-oxidizing protein and the transcripts of boxA were detected in the co-culture, but not in either of the isolated cultures. This indicate that boxA was silent in Arthrobacter monoculture, and was activated in response to presence of Sphingopyxis in the co-culture. Further, transcriptomic analysis by RNA-Seq, extracellular superoxide detection and cell density quantification by flow cytometry indicate induction of boxA gene expression in Arthrobacter was co-incident with a stress response triggered by co-cultivation with Sphingopyxis. Our findings suggest the potential roles of microbial physiological responses to stress induced by other microbes in Mn(II) oxidation and extracellular superoxide production.

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The Science of The Total Environment • 2015

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Bioresource Technology • 2017

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Journal of Environmental Management • 2019

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Eco-Environment & Health • 2023

Compared to single microbial strains, complex interactions between microbial consortia composed of various microorganisms have been shown to be effective in expanding ecological functions and accomplishing biological processes. Electroactive microorganisms (EMs) and degradable microorganisms (DMs) play vital roles in bioenergy production and the degradation of organic pollutants hazardous to human health. These microorganisms can strongly interact with other microorganisms and promote metabolic cooperation, thus facilitating electricity production and pollutant degradation. In this review, we describe several specific types of EMs and DMs based on their ability to adapt to different environments, and summarize the mechanism of EMs in extracellular electron transfer. The effects of interactions between EMs and DMs are evaluated in terms of electricity production and degradation efficiency. The principle of the enhancement in microbial consortia is also introduced, such as improved biomass, changed degradation pathways, and biocatalytic potentials, which are directly or indirectly conducive to human health.

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The Scientific World JOURNAL • 2015

This study aims to construct an MFC with a photosynthetic algae cathode, which is maintained by self-capturing CO2 released from the anode and utilizing solar energy as energy input. With this system, a maximum power density of 187 mW/m(2) is generated when the anode off gas is piped into the catholyte under light illumination, which is higher than that of 21 mW/m(2) in the dark, demonstrating the vital contribution of the algal photosynthesis. However, an unexpected maximum power density of 146 mW/m(2) is achieved when the anode off gas is not piped into the catholyte. Measurements of cathodic microenvironments reveal that algal photosynthesis still takes place for oxygen production under this condition, suggesting the occurrence of CO2 crossover from anode to cathode through the Nafion membrane. The results of this study provide further understanding of the algae-based microbial carbon capture cell (MCC) and are helpful in improving MCC performance.

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PLoS ONE • 2015

Arsenic (As) mobilization in alluvial aquifers is caused by a complex interplay of hydro-geo-microbiological activities. Nevertheless, diversity and biogeochemical significance of indigenous bacteria in Bengal Delta Plain are not well documented. We have deciphered bacterial community compositions and metabolic properties in As contaminated groundwater of West Bengal to define their role in As mobilization. Groundwater samples showed characteristic high As, low organic carbon and reducing property. Culture-independent and -dependent analyses revealed presence of diverse, yet near consistent community composition mostly represented by genera Pseudomonas, Flavobacterium, Brevundimonas, Polaromonas, Rhodococcus, Methyloversatilis and Methylotenera. Along with As-resistance and -reductase activities, abilities to metabolize a wide range carbon substrates including long chain and polyaromatic hydrocarbons and HCO3, As3+ as electron donor and As5+/Fe3+ as terminal electron acceptor during anaerobic growth were frequently observed within the cultivable bacteria. Genes encoding cytosolic As5+ reductase (arsC) and As3+ efflux/transporter [arsB and acr3(2)] were found to be more abundant than the dissimilatory As5+ reductase gene arrA. The observed metabolic characteristics showed a good agreement with the same derived from phylogenetic lineages of constituent populations. Selected bacterial strains incubated anaerobically over 300 days using natural orange sand of Pleistocene aquifer showed release of soluble As mostly as As3+ along with several other elements (Al, Fe, Mn, K, etc.). Together with the production of oxalic acid within the biotic microcosms, change in sediment composition and mineralogy indicated dissolution of orange sand coupled with As/Fe reduction. Presence of arsC gene, As5+ reductase activity and oxalic acid production by the bacteria were found to be closely related to their ability to mobilize sediment bound As. Overall observations suggest that indigenous bacteria in oligotrophic groundwater possess adequate catabolic ability to mobilize As by a cascade of reactions, mostly linked to bacterial necessity for essential nutrients and detoxification.

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MethodsX • 2023

Norfloxacin (NRFX) is one of a class of antibiotics known as broad-spectrum fluoroquinolone antibiotic that is frequently used to treat infectious disorders in both animals and humans. NRFX is considered an emergent pharmaceutical contaminate. This review's objective is to evaluate empirical data on NRFX's removal from aqueous medium. The environmental danger of NRFX in the aquatic environment was validated by an initial ecotoxicological study. Graphene oxide/Metal Organic Framework (MOF) based composite, followed by Magnesium oxide/Chitosan/Graphene oxide composite gave the highest NRFX adsorption capacities (Qmax) of 1114.8 and 1000 mg/g, respectively. The main adsorption mechanisms for NRFX uptake include electrostatic interactions, H-bonds, π-π interactions, electron donor-acceptor interactions, hydrophobic interactions, and pore diffusion. The adsorptive uptake of NRFX were most suitably described by Langmuir isotherm and pseudo-second order implying adsorbate-to-adsorbent electron transfer on a monolayer surface. The thermodynamics of NRFX uptake is heavily dependent on the makeup of the adsorbent, and the selection of the eluent for desorption from the solid phase is equally important. There were detected knowledge gaps in column studies and adsorbent disposal method. There's great interest in scale-up and industrial applications of research results that will aid in management of water resources for sustainability.

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Biosensors and Bioelectronics • 2019

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Bioelectrochemistry • 2017

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Science China Materials • 2015

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Electrochimica Acta • 2018

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Green Energy & Environment • 2020

Soil pollution endangers human health and ecological balance, which is why finding a highly efficient way to deal with pollutants is necessary. Biological method is an environmentally friendly treatment method. Bioelectrochemical systems (BESs), which combine electrochemistry with biological methods, have been widely used to remediate polluted environments, including wastewater, sludge, sediment, and soil. In BESs, redox reactions occur on electrodes with electroactive bacteria, which convert pollutants into low-polluting or nonpolluting substances. With BESs being a promising technology in the remediation field, the decontamination mechanisms and applications in soil conducted by BESs have attracted much attention. Therefore, to better understand the research progress of BESs, this paper mainly summarizes the mechanism of different classified BESs. The applications of microbial fuel cells (MFCs) in four pollutants (petroleum, heavy metals, pesticides, antibiotics) and the possible applications of microbial electrolysis cells (MECs) in soil are discussed. The main problems in BESs and possible future development directions are also evaluated.

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AMB Express • 2015

Understanding of how operational parameters affect the composition of exoelectrogenic microbes is an important step in the development of efficient microbial fuel cells (MFCs). In the present study, single-chamber MFCs were inoculated with rice paddy-field soil and continuously supplied with an acetate medium containing different concentrations of NaCl (0-1.8 M). Polarization analyses showed that power output increased as the NaCl concentration increased to 0.1 M, while it was markedly diminished over 0.3 M. The increase in power output was associated with an increased abundance of anode microbes as assessed by protein assays. Notably, the power increase was also accompanied by an increase in the abundance ratio of Geobacter bacteria to total anode bacteria as assessed by pyrosequencing of 16S rRNA gene amplicons and specific quantitative PCR. Although most Geobacter species are known to exhibit high growth rates in freshwater media without NaCl, the present study shows that 0.1 M NaCl facilitates the growth of Geobacter in MFC anode biofilms. This result suggests that the optimum salt concentration in MFC is determined by the balance of two factors, namely, the solution conductivity and salt tolerance of exoelectrogens.

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Applied Water Science • 2016

Macadamia nutshell biosorbents treated in three different activating agents [raw Macadamia nutshell powder (RMN), acid-treated Macadamia nutshell (ATMN) and base-treated Macadamia nutshell (BTMN)] were investigated for the adsorption of hexavalent chromium [Cr(VI)] from aqueous solutions. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy spectra of free and Cr(VI)-loaded sorbents as well as thermogravimetric analysis revealed that the acid and base treatments modified the surface properties of the sorbent. Surface characteristics were also evaluated by the scanning electron microscopy and surface area analyzer. The optimum conditions for the adsorption of Cr(VI) by sorbents were pH 2, contact time 10 h, adsorbent mass 0.2 g and concentration 100 mg L−1. The equilibrium data were fitted into the Langmuir, Freundlich, Redlich–Peterson and Sips isotherms, and no single model could clearly explain the sorption mechanism. Maximum binding capacities of 45.23, 44.83 and 42.44 mg g−1 for RMN, ATMN and BTMN, respectively, were obtained. The kinetic data were analyzed using the pseudo-first, pseudo-second and Elovich kinetic models, and it was observed that the pseudo-second-order model produced the best fit for the experimental data. Macadamia nutshell sorbents showed potential as low-cost adsorbent for the removal of Cr(VI) from aqueous solution.

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Journal of Korean Society of Environmental Engineers • 2020

Objective:Seawater has a potential for managing the intensive potable drinking water demand. The recentconventional desalinating technologies are environmentally unsustainable and energy intensive. Thus, in the quest to find an alternative to the traditional desalination technologies, microbial desalination cells (MDC) have come into limelight. MDCs are considered the promising technologies for treating wastewater while simultaneously producing electricity, which can be utilized for desalinating seawater along with production of some value added products. However, some technical limitations associated with the practical usage of MDCs are pH maintenance at the cathodic side, internal resistance along with membrane fouling and its durability.Methods:These challenges can be dealt by utilizing various integrated configurations.Results and Discussion:Based on the study, the conventional technologies require less operational and maintenance cost but also less environmentally sustainable in comparison to these integrated MDC configurations.Conclusion:This review summarizes the basic working principles of MDCs, its types and factors affecting its performance and also several other applications associated with MDCs. This review also highlights various integrated MDC configurations which can be utilized for reducing the limitations associated to the conventional MDC system.

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Frontiers in Sustainability • 2022

Techno-economic analysis (TEA) has been considered an important tool to evaluate the economic performance of industrial processes. Recently, the application of TEA has been observed to have exponential growth due to the increasing competition among businesses across various industries. Thus, this review presents a deliberate overview of TEA to inculcate the importance and relevance of TEA. To further support the aforementioned points, this review article starts with a bibliometric analysis to evaluate the applicability of TEA within the research community. Conventional TEA is widely known to be conducted via software modeling (i.e., Python, AMIS, MATLAB, Aspen HYSYS, Aspen Plus, HOMER Pro, FORTRAN, R, SysML and Microsoft Excel) without involving any correlation or optimization between the process and economic performance. Apart from that, due to the arrival of the industrial revolution (IR) 4.0, industrial processes are being revolutionized into smart industries. Thus, to retain the integrity of TEA, a similar evolution to smart industries is deemed necessary. Studies have begun to incorporate data-driven technologies (i.e., artificial intelligence (AI) and blockchain) into TEA to effectively optimize both processes and economic parameters simultaneously. With this, this review explores the integration of data-driven technologies in the TEA framework. From literature reviews, it was found that genetic algorithm (GA) is the most applied data-driven technology in TEA, while the applications of blockchain, machine learning (ML), and artificial neural network (ANN) in TEA are still considerably scarce. Not to mention other advanced technologies, such as cyber-physical systems (CPS), IoT, cloud computing, big data analytics, digital twin (DT), and metaverse are yet to be incorporated into the existing TEA. The inclusion of set-up costs for the aforementioned technologies is also crucial for accurate TEA representation of smart industries deployment. Overall, this review serves as a reference note for future process engineers and industry stakeholders who wish to perform relevant TEA, which is capable to cover the new state-of-art elements under the new modern era.

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Scientific Reports • 2015

The macromolecular pigment-protein complex has the merit of high efficiency for light-energy capture and transfer after long-term photosynthetic evolution. Here bio-dyes of A. platensis photosystem I (PSI) and spinach light-harvesting complex II (LHCII) are spontaneously sensitized on three types of designed TiO2 films, to assess the effects of pigment-protein complex on the performance of bio-dye sensitized solar cells (SSC). Adsorption models of bio-dyes are proposed based on the 3D structures of PSI and LHCII, and the size of particles and inner pores in the TiO2 film. PSI shows its merit of high efficiency for captured energy transfer, charge separation and transfer in the electron transfer chain (ETC), and electron injection from FB to the TiO2 conducting band. After optimization, the best short current (JSC) and photoelectric conversion efficiency (η) of PSI-SSC and LHCII-SSC are 1.31 mA cm(-2) and 0.47%, and 1.51 mA cm(-2) and 0.52%, respectively. The potential for further improvement of this PSI based SSC is significant and could lead to better utilization of solar energy.

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Energy • 2019