Alessandro Carmona

• PhD (dr.re.nat)
• Researcher at CIRCE - Technology Centre

In the quest for a sustainable future, energy-intensive industries (EIIs) stand at the forefront of Europe’s decarbonisation mission. Despite their significant emissions footprint, the path to comprehensive decarbonisation remains elusive at EU and national levels. This study scrutinises key sectors such as non-ferrous metals, steel, cement, lime,...

The energy-intensive industry (EIIs) is responsible for significant CO2 emissions, which must be limited to avoid irreversible consequences. Implementing renewable energy (RE) technologies and avoiding CO2 emissions by EIIs are necessary steps towards decarbonization. A potential solution for using renewable energy is to transform CO2 into syntheti...

The current climatic and geopolitical situation leads to strong decarbonisation policies in several industries worldwide. Moreover, the European Union is pushing intensive industries to achieve a 55% reduction in CO2 emissions towards 2030. Among them, the steel manufacturing sector is at the lead of alternative projects that can help achieve this...

The production of biogas through the conversion of organic waste into energy and bio-products of added value has the potential to play a significant role in the transition towards a more sustainable and decarbonized energy system [...]

The present review provides a catalogue of relevant renewable energy (RE) technologies currently available (regarding the 2030 scope) and to be available in the transition towards 2050 for the decarbonisation of Energy Intensive Industries (EIIs). RE solutions have been classified into technologies based on the use of renewable electricity and thos...

A METland is an innovative treatment wetland (TW) that relies on the stimulation of electroactive bacteria (EAB) to enhance the degradation of pollutants. The METland is designed in a short-circuit mode (in the absence of an external circuit) using an electroconductive bed capable of accepting electrons from the microbial metabolism of pollutants....

This study evaluates the effects of the varying substrate to inoculum ratios (S:I) of 0.5, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6 (volatile solids/VS basis) on the kinetics of biogas production during batch mesophilic (35 ± 1 °C) anaerobic digestion (AD) of simulated food waste (FW), using anaerobic digestate as the inoculum. Kinetic parameters during biogas product...

Anaerobic digestion (AD) is a robust biotechnology for the valorisation of organic waste into biogas. However, the rapid decrease in renewable electricity prices requires alternative uses of biogas. In this context, the engineering of innovative platforms for the bio-production of chemicals from CH4 has recently emerged. The extremolyte and osmopro...

Three innovative operational strategies were successfully evaluated to improve the quality of biomethane in an outdoors pilot scale photobioreactor interconnected to an external absorption unit: i) the use of a greenhouse during winter conditions, ii) a direct CO2 stripping in the photobioreactor via air stripping during winter conditions and iii)...

Considering the complexity associated with bioelectrochemical processes, the performance of a microbial fuel cell (MFC) is governed by input operating parameters. For scaled-up applications, a MFC system needs to be modeled from engineering perspectives in terms of optimum operating conditions to get higher performance and energy recovery. Several...

The circular bioeconomy aims to use resources in the most efficient manner. This includes the conversion of waste and residues, such as organic wastes, into new materials. However, the heterogeneity of organic wastes makes it very difficult to process. In this context, anaerobic digestion has emerged as a core technology to transform this complex o...

Considering the complexity associated with bioelectrochemical processes, the performance of a microbial fuel cell (MFC) is governed by input operating parameters. For scaled-up applications, a MFC system needs to be modeled from engineering perspectives in terms of optimum operating conditions to get higher performance and energy recovery. Several...

Four different types of biogas diffusers (metallic of 2 µm, porous stone, and two ceramic membranes of 0.2 and 0.4 µm) were evaluated to improve the quality of biomethane in an outdoor pilot scale photobioreactor interconnected to an external biogas absorption unit. Each type of diffuser was tested independently using three different liquid to biog...

Available online xxx Keywords: Microbial electrolysis cell Full biological system Mode of operation Hydrogen production Onset potential a b s t r a c t The recent interest in microbial electrolysis cell (MEC) technology has led the research platform to develop full biological MECs (bioanode-biocathode, FB-MEC). This study focused on biohydrogen pro...

Even with an increasing interest in scaling-up Microbial Electrochemical Technologies (MET), it is still common to focus on their “fundamentals”. An important example is the production of current density (jmax) by microbial anodes in a three-electrode arrangement (3 EA) configuration, e.g.: a graphite plate of well-defined projected (or geometric)...

The aim of this work is to evaluate biohydrogen production from agro-industrial wastewaters and by-products, by combining dark fermentation and microbial electrolysis in a two-step cascade process. Such coupling of both technologies constitutes a technological building block within a concept of environmental biorefinery where sustainable production...

Industry of table olives is widely distributed over the Mediterranean countries and generates large volumes of processing wastewaters (TOPWs). TOPWs contain high levels of organic matter, salt, and phenolic compounds that are recalcitrant to microbial degradation. This work aims to evaluate the potential of bioelectrochemical systems to simultaneou...

Biofilms are used in wastewater treatment and in the production of valuable compounds. Bioelectrochemical system (BES) technology represents one practical application of biofilms. In these systems, bioelectrogenic biofilms are a bacterial consortium capable of performing electron transfer to the conductive material on which they are grown. This cap...

The aim of this work is the development of a feasible, cascade two-step BioH2 production process from Organic Wastewater (WW), combining dark fermentation (DF) and Microbial Electrolysis Cells (MECs). Such coupling of DF and ME constitutes a technological cornerstone within the concept of an environmental biorefinery. Five different WW coming from...

Up to date a few electroactive bacteria embedded in biofilms are described to catalyze both anodic and cathodic reactions in bioelectrochemical systems (i.e. bidirectional electron transfer). How these bacteria transfer electrons to or from the electrode is still uncertain. In this study the extracellular electron transfer mechanism of bacteria wit...

En el presente trabajo mostramos la posibilidad de producir moléculas de interés industrial (p.ej. acetato) mediante un nuevo concepto biotecnológico recientemente acuñado como “electrosíntesis microbiana” (ESM). La ESM se basa en la capacidad que han mostrado ciertos microorganismos para transferir electrones a un electrodo como aceptor de electro...

A biofilm-based 4 L two chamber microbial electrolysis cell (MEC) was continuously fed with acetate under saline conditions (35 g/L NaCl) for more than 100 days. The MEC produced a biogas highly enriched in H2 (≥90%). Both current (10.6 ± 0.2 A/m(2)Anode or 199.1 ± 4.0 A/m(3)MEC) and H2 production (201.1 ± 7.5 LH2/m(2)Cathode·d or 0.9 ± 0.0 m(3)H2/...

Two different saline sediments were used to inoculate potentiostatically controlled reactors (a type of microbial bioelectrochemical system, BES) operated in saline conditions (35 gNaCl l-1). Reactors were fed with acetate or a mixture of acetate and butyrate at two pH values: 7.0 or 5.5. Electroactive biofilm formation lag-phase, maximum current d...

In this study the characterization of Geoalkalibacter subterraneus is presented, which is a novel halophilic anode respiring bacterium (ARB) previously selected and identified in a potentiostatically controlled bioelectrochemical system (BES) inoculated with sediments from a salt plant. Pure culture electroactive biofilms of Glk. subterraneus were...

We present the electrochemical and microscopic characterization of pure culture biofilms of Geoalkalibacter subterraneus, a novel anode-respiring bacterium (ARB) previously selected and identified in an MEC inoculated with sediments from a salt plant (Pierra, et al., 2012). This novel ARB is capable of forming a visible reddish biofilm and producin...

This thesis tackled various aspects within the electron transfer (ET) mechanisms of electrochemically active microbial biofilms in Bioelectrochemical systems (BESs). In Part I, ET mechanisms of pure culture biofilms of Shewanella spp. were investigated. Chronoamperometry (CA) and cyclic voltammetry (CV) were used to investigate extracellular ET m...

Shewanellaceae are among the most widely studied electroactive microorganisms. In this report, we studied the influence of the applied electrode potential on the anodic current production of Shewanella putrefaciens NCTC 10695 under anoxic conditions. Furthermore, we used cyclic voltammetry (CV) and confocal laser scanning mi-croscopy (CLSM) to inve...

The pH-value played a crucial role for the development and current production of anodic microbial electroactive biofilms. It was demonstrated that only a narrow pH-window, ranging from pH 6 to 9, was suitable for growth and operation of biofilms derived from pH-neutral wastewater. Any stronger deviation from pH neutral conditions led to a substanti...

Three-dimensional carbon fiber electrodes prepared by electrospinning and solution blowing are shown to be excellent electrode materials for bioelectrochemical systems such as microbial fuel cells or microbial electrolysis cells. The bioelectrocatalytic anode current density is shown to reach values of up to 30 A m-2, which represents the highest r...

Shewanella is frequently used as a model microorganism for microbial bioelectrochemical systems. In this study, we used cyclic voltammetry (CV) to investigate extracellular electron transfer mechanisms from S. oneidensis MR-1 (WT) and five deletion mutants: membrane bound cytochrome (ΔmtrC/ΔomcA), transmembrane pili (ΔpilM-Q, ΔmshH-Q, and ΔpilM-Q/Δ...

The objective of this work was to evaluate the effect of inoculum type on the production of electricity and general performance of a lab scale microbial fuel cell (MFC), fed with a model of extracts from spent solids generated in fermentative hydrogenogenic process using two different inocula (methanogenic and sulfate-reducing consortia). All varia...

In the last 10 years, generation of biofuels by anaerobic fermentation of organic solid wastes has gained increased attention. This type of processes also generates a significant amount of spent extracts with high contents of soluble organic matter such as low molecular weight organic acids and solvents. On the other hand, developing countries face...

Coupling of hydrogen production from the anaerobic fermentation of organic solid wastes with post-treatment of its spent extracts in microbial fuel cells, can substantially increase the energy efficiency from municipal organic wastes. Therefore, the aim of this work was to evaluate the electricity production and the general performance of a lab sca...

La humanidad ha utilizado a los combustibles fósiles como el medio por el cuál se cubre el mayor porcentaje de la demanda energética mundial. El uso de los combustibles fósiles presenta las desventajas de su inminente escasez y los daños al ambiente que su uso genera, es por esto que es indispensable encontrar fuentes alternativas de energía. En es...

Two types of induction treatments (heat-shock pretreatment, HSP, and acetylene, Ac), inocula (meso and thermophilic) and incubation temperatures (37 and 55°C) were tested according to a full factorial design 23 with the aim of assessing their effects on cumulative H2 production (PH, mmol H2/mini-reactor), initial H2 production rate (Ri,H, μmol H2/(...

Headspace of batch minireactors was intermittently vented and gas flushed with N2 in order to enhance H2 production (PH) by anaerobic consortia degrading organic solid wastes. Type of inocula (meso and thermophilic), induction treatment (heat-shock pretreatment, HSP, and acetylene, Ac), and incubation temperature (37 and 55 degrees C) were studied...

Debido a la escasez de combustibles fósiles como petróleo, gas natural y carbón y al daño ambiental que causa su combustión, son necesarias nuevas fuentes de energía limpias, costeables y renovables, como el H2. El objetivo de este trabajo fue evaluar la producción biológica de hidrógeno a partir de la fermentación de la fracción orgánica de residu...