
Deepak PantFlemish Institute for Technological Research | VITO · Sustainable Chemistry
Deepak Pant
Ph.D.
CO2 electroreduction and electrosynthesis
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323
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Introduction
My research interests are Sustainable Chemistry, CO2 Conversion (CCU), Bioelectrochemical systems, Electrosynthesis, Bioenergy, Biomass, Bioeconomy, Biowaste valorization, Life cycle analysis and Resource recovery.
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Education
August 2002 - December 2006
Publications
Publications (323)
The oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) is an electrochemical process of the utmost importance in energy conversion and storage, corrosion and chemical technologies. The ORR plays a major role in biological processes (such as respiratory biochemical chain reactions) and is being incorporated into numerous bioelectrochemical devices and systems, such as...
There are a lot of myths (and facts) out there on Carbon Capture and Utilization (CCU). In this paper in JOULE, we try to highlight 3 myths and 3 facts on CCU.
Myth 1: We must decarbonise to achieve our climate goal
Fact 1: Carbon Capture and Utilisation always requires large amounts of (renewable) energy
Myth 2: CCU just delays CO2 emissions and...
This work has found that, among low-temperature eCO2R technologies that produce syngas, the route integrating capture with conversion is more economical than the sequential routes, although differences are modest and context dependent. The poorer cell performance of the integrated route, leading to higher electricity costs, was found to be more tha...
A Koutecký–Levich study was performed at a Pb rotating disc electrode to determine the diffusion coefficients of CO2 in four solvents within a temperature range of 5–50 °C. Acetonitrile (AcN), dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO), dimethylformamide (DMF), and propylene carbonate (PC) were investigated as solvents. The diffusion coefficients DCO2 at 20 °C were...
Fermented sugarcane vinasse is a volatile fatty acids-rich wastewater with great potential to supply electrons in microbial electrolysis cells (MEC). This work reports the hydrogen production in a single-chambered MEC started-up with voltage of 0.8 V at 37 • C using activated sludge as inoculum. Electroactive microbes were established with current...
Sustainability is an imperative requirement in this era, with electrocatalytic power into fuels technologies emerging as a significant route toward sustainable chemistry. One of the focus areas within the chemical industry is capture of carbon dioxide (CO2) and its electrochemical reduction (eCO2RR) into economically viable commodities through the...
Sustainable production of solar-based chemicals via solar-powered bioelectrosynthesis is crucial for the role of third generation biorefineries in achieving a resilient future. However, the limited conversion efficiency and poor selectivity of solar-powered bioelectrosynthesis pose significant challenges to the development of solar-to-chemicals con...
The world today is experiencing adverse effects of climate change due to the escalated levels of greenhouse gases such as CO2 in the atmosphere. Consequently, there is an urgent need for minimizing the CO2 level to tackle climate change. Utilization of CO2 for synthesizing valuable commodities, such as biofuel and biochemical, is an effective strat...
Reporting coulombic efficiency (CE$\text{CE}$) is the common way to assess the performance of electrochemical carbon dioxide (CO2) reduction reaction (eCO2RR) in literature, whereas its carbon conversion efficiency (CCE$\text{CCE}$) is frequently neglected. Herein, the importance of reporting both efficiencies when evaluating the eCO2RR is discusse...
Among the available CO2 conversion processes, electrochemical technologies have proven to be efficient approaches in which electrodes play a crucial role. Currently, electrochemical CO2 reduction processes are used for a variety of products such as fuels, basic chemicals, and fine chemicals. Proof-of-concept studies are underway for bio/electrochem...
The chemical catalysis and biological catalysis both play important roles in producing various fuels, chemicals, and materials conventionally. In view of renewable resources (biomass and CO2) utilization, combining both chemical...
Over the past decades, the electrochemical CO 2 reduction (eCO 2 R) into industrially valuable products has become one of the most promising technologies to valorize anthropogenic CO 2 emission , while also providing a means of energy storage for intermittent renewable sources. A wide variety of products , such as formic acid/formate (HCOOH/HCOO ⁻...
Copper-based electrocatalysts possess the unique ability to convert CO 2 to multicarbon products such as ethylene – a precursor in many industrial processes. However, their stability and product selectivity remain insufficient. A promising approach to overcome these shortcomings and design better CO 2 RR electrocatalysts is to tune Cu selectivity b...
Renewable energy-driven electrochemical CO 2 conversion to value-added chemicals is a prospective strategy for addressing global carbon emission and energy consumption issues worldwide. Until today, only copper-based electrocatalysts can successfully transform CO 2 into C 2 H 4 or other desirable C 2+ products, but their stability and product selec...
Transforming CO2 through electrochemical methods into useful chemicals and energy sources may contribute to solutions for globalenergy and ecological challenges. Copper chalcogenides exhibit unique properties that make them potential catalysts for CO2 electroreduction. In this review, we provide an overview and comment on the latest advances made i...
The unprecedented recent expansion in usage of paracetamol (AAP) has increased the need for suitable wastewater treatment technology. Furthermore, direct interspecies electron transfer promotion (DIET) offers simple and efficient approach for enhancing anaerobic digestion (AD). In this work, using AAP-containing domestic wastewater as feed, control...
Bioethanol is an appropriate alternate energy option due to its renewable, nontoxic, environmentally friendly, and carbon-neutral nature. Depending upon various feedstocks, bioethanol is classified in different various generations. First-generation ethanol created a food vs fuel problem, which was overcome by second-generation, third-generation and...
The water sector is in the middle of a paradigm shift from focusing on treatment and meeting discharge permit limits to integrated operation that also enables a circular water economy via water reuse, resource recovery, and system level planning and operation. While the sector has gone through different stages of such revolution, from improving ene...
The development of earth-abundant and high-performance bifunctional catalysts for both the oxygen evolution reaction (OER) and the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) in alkaline electrolytes is required to efficiently produce hydrogen by electrochemical water splitting, but remains a challenge. We have fabricated mesoporous cobalt iron oxide inverse...
The release of carbon dioxide (CO2) into the atmosphere is threatening the environment and ecosystems, resulting in major challenges to sustainable development for modern industry. In this context, CO2 electrochemical reduction (CO2 ECR) is one of the most promising technologies to mitigate the effects of high CO2 content in the atmosphere. Electro...
The industrial adoption of microbial electrosynthesis (MES) is hindered by high overpotentials deriving from low electrolyte conductivity and inefficient cell designs. In this study, a mixed microbial consortium originating from an anaerobic digester operated under saline conditions (∼13 g L−1 NaCl) was adapted for acetate production from bicarbona...
Although most state‐of‐the‐art Sn‐based electrocatalysts yield promising results in terms of selectivity and catalyst activity, their stability remains insufficient to date. Here, we demonstrate the successful application of the recently developed pomegranate‐structured SnO2 (Pom. SnO2) and SnO2@C (Pom. SnO2@C) nanocomposite electrocatalysts for th...
Chemical fertilizers boost crop production, however, their continued use decreases soil fertility in the long run. Nutrient recycling by the beneficiation of poultry manure into biochar and application as a soil amendment is a long-term solution for plant nutrition. The effect of poultry manure, poultry biochar and crop irrigation with 50% and 100%...
Low power output due to poor anode kinetics is minimized by modifying the anode with rGO-Zeolite to improve the electrochemical redox reactions in biophotovoltaics (BPV). Higher power production and N/P- recovery is successfully achieved in horizontal Torch separator-based urine fed BPV modified with rGO-Zeolite anodes than bare graphite anode. Amo...
The current enthusiasm for the circular economy (CE) offers a unique opportunity to advance the impact of research on sustainability transitions. Diverse interpretations of CE by scholars, however, produce partly opposing assessments of its potential benefits, which can hinder progress. Here, we synthesize policy-relevant lessons and research direc...
Carbon Capture and Utilisation (CCU) is a broad term that covers processes that capture CO2 from flue and process gases or directly from the air and convert it into a variety of products such as renewable electricity-based fuels, chemicals, and materials. No precise estimate of the potential mitigation role of CCU technologies exists to date, becau...
Integrating alkaline capture of CO2 from air with electrochemical conversion of the obtained (bi)carbonate solution is among the most promising strategies in carbon capture and utilization (CCU) technologies. Thus far, this approach has received little or no attention because of the challenging conversions of CO2 from bicarbonate solutions because...
To valorize waste and atmospheric CO2, carbon capture and utilization (CCU) technologies are currently receiving a lot of attention. Alkali base solutions have shown to be efficient capture solutions, and the electrochemical CO2 reduction (eCO2R) is a promising approach to convert CO2 using renewable energy. However, the capture and conversion have...
Tubular water splitting electrolyzer was adapted to neutral pH conditions for the in-situ H2 supplying microbial electrosynthesis design. The electrolyzer was optimized to reduce ohmic losses and provide adequate gas separation. Direct membrane deposition was applied on a thin anionic exchange membrane for the membrane-electrode-assembly fabricatio...
A meta-analysis approach was used, to study the microbiomes of biofilms and planktonic communities underpinning microbial electrosynthesis (MES) cells. High-throughput DNA sequencing of 16S rRNA gene amplicons has been increasingly applied to understand MES systems. In this meta-analysis of 22 studies, we find that acetogenic and methanogenic MES c...
Microorganisms include a diversity of bacteria, fungi, viruses, yeast, algae, cyanobacteria, actinomycetes. Microorganisms are regarded as efficient tools for tackling the severe environmental challenges of the next decades. This chapter focuses on issues related to climate change, environmental pollution, and sustainable development, as well as th...
A comprehensive mathematical modeling of wastewater-fed microbial fuel cells (MFC) demands an in-depth process understanding of the main electrical and bioelectrochemical interactions at both electrodes. In this study, a novel holistic simulation approach using a low-parameterized model was applied to predict pollutant transport, conversion, and el...
Onion skin waste (OSW) is common waste in developing countries, which can cause severe environmental pollution when not properly treated. Value-added products can be chemically extracted from OSW; however, that process is not economically feasible. Alternatively, dry anaerobic digestion (DAD) of OSW is a promising approach for both energy recovery...
Constructed wetland (CW) systems have proven to be one of the panaceas to the water crisis that can contribute to environmental protection and human health security. Considering the popularity of CW in wastewater treatment, its broader application , especially for remediation of contaminants of emerging concerns in the real-world scenario, is limit...
Integrating the alkaline capture of CO2 from the air with the electrochemical conversion of the obtained (bi)carbonate solution in one and the same system is among the most promising strategies in the field of Carbon Capture & Utilization (CCU) technologies. Thus far this approach has received little or no attention as a consequence of the challeng...
Oxygen reduction reactions (ORRs) are unanimously a key factor of system performances in bioelectrochemical systems (BESs), low-temperature fuel cells, and generally in several electrochemical platforms. Platinum (Pt)-based catalyst is the finest electrocatalyst for ORR in BESs; however, it is constrained by its low abundance, high price, and poor...
Biomethanization of crude rice straw (RS) was enhanced by a coupled effectiveness of sulphonated graphene (SGR) with sludge rich anaerobes (SRA). A reduction of 19.2±1.32% for cellulose, 40.8±3.7% for hemicellulose and 30.8±2.4% for lignin was achieved with addition of SRA after fermentation of 60 days. The abundance of hydrolytic microbes in SRA i...
Microbial extracellular electron transfer-based processes are rapidly progressing toward real-world wastewater treatment applications, but their technological progress as an electric power source remains elusive. It is mainly due to low and unstable power density and high internal resistance of the bioelectrochemical systems. In a recent Energy & E...
CO2 electrolyzers require gaseous CO2 or saturated CO2 solutions to achieve high energy efficiency (EE) in flow reactors. However, CO2 capture and delivery to electrolyzers are in most cases responsible for the inefficiency of the technology. Recently, bicarbonate zero-gap flow electrolyzers have proven to convert CO2 directly from bicarbonate solu...
In order to achieve a carbon-efficient circular economy, a paradigm shift is required to valorize carbon dioxide (CO2) and organic wastes to value-added products. Among others, microbial electrosynthesis (MES) and electrofermentation (EF) technologies have shown the potential to contribute to the circular carbon economy. Besides carbon conversion,...
The performance of biophotovoltaics (BPVs) having clay separators modified with 10%, 15%, and 20% of Fuller's earth-material (FEM) to improve the cation exchange capacity was assessed on the basis of wastewater treatment and electrochemical analyses. Among the three variants of clay separators other than the commercial proton exchange membrane (PEM...
In this study, four different polymeric binders - polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE), two-component epoxy (epoxy), polyvinyl alcohol (PVA), and polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) - were used to fabricate a surface-modified stainless-steel electrode. The polymeric binders were used to bond highly conductive carbon-black to a stainless-steel support using a...
Urine is a ‘valuable waste’ that can be exploited to generate bioelectricity and recover key nutrients for producing NPK-rich biofertilizers. In recent times, improved and innovative waste management technologies have emerged to manage the rapidly increasing environmental pollution and to accomplish the goal of sustainable development. Microbial fu...
This work reviews technologies that can be used to develop low-temperature solid oxide cells (LT-SOCs) and can be applied in fuel cells and electrolyzers operating at temperatures below 500°C, thus providing a more cost-effective alternative than conventional high-temperature SOCs. Two routes showing potential to reduce the operating temperature of...
The water sector is in the middle of a paradigm shift from focusing on treatment and meeting discharge permit limits to integrated operation that also enables a circular water economy via water reuse, resource recovery, and system level planning and operation. While the sector has gone through different stages of such revolution, from improving ene...
Implicit interaction of electroactive microbes with solid electrodes is an interesting phenomenon in nature, which supported development of bioelectrochemical systems (BESs), especially the microbial fuel cell (MFCs) for valorization of low-value waste streams into bioelectricity. Intriguingly, the metabolism of interacted microbes with electrode i...
The water sector is in the middle of a paradigm shift from focusing on treatment and meeting discharge permit limits to integrated operation that also enables a circular water economy via water reuse, resource recovery, and system level planning and operation. While the sector has gone through different stages of such revolution, from improving ene...
Microbial fuel cell (MFC) with live diatoms (Nitzschia palea) displacing bacteria in the anodic chamber generated electrical potential. Unlike other microalgae, diatoms fix 25% of atmospheric CO2, thus releasing O2. They perform photolysis of water by photosynthesis in the plastid during light photoperiod and cellular respiration in the mitochondri...
Microbial electrochemical approach is an emerging technology for biogas upgrading through carbon dioxide (CO2) reduction and biomethane (or value-added products) production. There are limited literature critically reviewing the latest scientific development on the Bioelectrochemical (BES) based biogas upgrading technology, including CO2 reduction e...
Experimental data that allow for a precise identification of the total ammonia nitrogen (TAN) elimination pathways in single-chamber microbial fuel cells (SC-MFCs) are still very rare. However, nitrification-denitrification and ammonia volatilization are commonly reported as the two main removal mechanisms. This work presents a mathematical model t...
Lignocellulosic biomass generated from different sectors (agriculture, forestry, industrial) act as biorefinery precursor for production of second-generation (2G) bioethanol and other biochemicals. The integration of various conversion techniques on a single platform under biorefinery approach for production of biofuel and industrially important ch...
This study aimed at recovering nutrients from human urine as valorized products through chemical and biological mineralization, and assessing their fertilizer potential. Chemosynthesis of struvite (MgNH4PO4 ⋅6H2O) was accomplished from fresh human urine through chemical mineralization using magnesia, whereas biogenic synthesis was achieved through...
To valorize waste CO2, capturing and utilizing it to produce chemical building blocks is currently receiving a lot of attention. In this respect, amine and alkali base solutions have shown to be efficient CO2 capturing solutions and electrochemical CO2 conversion is a promising technology to convert CO2 and as such reduce greenhouse gas emissions....
The ability of microalgae to grow in a broad spectrum of wastewaters manifests great potentials for removing contaminants from effluents of industries and urban areas. Since the post-treatment microalgae biomass is also a significant source of high-value products, microalgae-based wastewater treatment is an economical and sustainable solution to wa...
Application of power management system (PMS) in microbial fuel cell (MFC) for potential energy harvesting is coming up as an emerging trend for field level applications. Though the energy recovery and environment benefits of MFC are well recognized, still scaling-up challenges are confronted during onsite applications for sufficient power generatio...
There is an urgent need to reduce the burgeoning carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, usually caused by burning fossil fuels, and convert it into products that could be used in generating renewable energy. The global use of fossil-based non-renewable fuels is being diminished as more green and sustainable methods are being employed for energy producti...
Greenhouse gases are the major cause of global warming. Carbon dioxide, a major greenhouse gas, is released into the atmosphere because of fossil fuel burning and deforestation. Researchers are trying to control escalating level of CO2 by a global approach of carbon capture, storage, and utilization (CCSU) methodology. Bioelectrochemical system (BE...
From the standpoint of a circular bioeconomy, recycling carbon dioxide into organic products and efficient wastewater treatment through microbial electrosynthesis (MES) is appealing. However, before MES applications can be scaled up, a variety of associated issues must be resolved. The recent developments in electrode materials, microbe-catalyzed C...
With escalating global demand for renewable energy, exploitation of farm wastes (i.e., agriculture straw wastes (ASWs), livestock wastewater (LW) and sewage sludge (SS)) has been considered to attain maximum methane yield (MY) via anaerobic digestion (AD). Results pointed that mixture of SS and LW as anaerobes’ source with 20 g of ASWs/300 mL of wo...
Typical reactions in bioelectrochemical systems (BESs) promote the phenomenon of the pH split between anode and cathode. The pH split results in an undesirable phenomenon which has stimulated several technological solutions to limit its effects, particularly for energy-producing bioelectrochemical systems (BESs). On the other hand, several applicat...
Biomass as a resource is present in large quantities and offers environmental benefits from sequestration of carbon to bioenergy production. Production of renewable and sustainable biofuel (bioethanol) from biomass is gaining overwhelming interest globally. Biofuels are important and beneficial from environmental and economic points of view. The ga...
Microbial electrochemical processes are primary platforms for generating electricity or value-added products by relying on the interaction between electroactive microorganisms and electrodes by utilizing electron carriers like hydrogen and enzyme through the oxidation–reduction reactions. Microbial electrosynthesis (MES), initially introduced as el...
Nanosized metal-derivatives are widely utilized in the augmentation of biogas production. A review on how they can be synthesized, utilized, and disposed in a more sustainable way is presented.
In this study, a novel efficient cathode electrode was fabricated to convert inorganic carbon to volatile fatty acids (VFAs) through microbial electrosynthesis (MES) in a single chamber reactor. The cathode catalyst was made up of mesoporous silica (mS) coated cerium oxide (CeO2) and carbonized cellulose (C) in which mS acts as core material and bo...
General Discussion on Emerging technologies at the Faraday Discussion on Carbon dioxide utilisation
General Discussion on Thermal catalytic conversion at the Faraday Discussion on Carbon dioxide utilisation
Discussion of the accelerated mineralisation session at the Faraday Discussion on Carbon dioxide utilisation (2021)
General discussion on Life cycle and upscaling at the Faraday Discussion on Carbon dioxide utilisation (2021)
The current enthusiasm for circular economy (CE) offers a unique opportunity to advance the impact of research on sustainability transitions. Diverse interpretations of CE by scholars, however, produce partly opposing assessments of its potential benefits, which can hinder progress. Here, we synthesize policy-relevant lessons and research direction...
The electrochemical CO2 reduction to oxalic acid in aprotic solvents could be a potential pathway to produce carbon-neutral oxalic acid. One of the challenges in the aprotic CO2 reduction are limited achievable current densities under standard conditions, despite the increased CO2 solubility compared to aqueous applications. The application of apro...
Gaseous CO2 solutions are widely used for CO2 electrochemical conversion to various valuable products. However, capture, liberation and storage of gaseous CO2 prior to reduction is cumbersome and costly. CO2 electrocatalytic reduction from captured CO2 (in the form of concentrated bicarbonate solution) offers an option to optimize CO2 reduction pro...
The present invention discloses a membrane-less reactor design for microbial electrosynthesis of alcohols from carbon dioxide (CO2). The membrane-less reactor design thus facilitates higher and efficient CO2 transformation to alcohols via single pot microbial electrosynthesis. The reactor design operates efficiently avoiding oxygen contact at worki...