Bioelectrochemical CO2 Reduction, Renewable Fuels and High Value Chemical Production from Wastewater in bio-electrochemical system (BES)
Host institute:
The Flemish Institute for Technological Research (VITO) is looking for candidates interested in a post doc position (2 years). VITO will help those candidates in preparing a Marie Curie proposal with a deadline of 11 August 2011. The call for Marie Curie fellowships (IEF and IIF) is now open, more information on
http://cordis.europa.eu/fp7/dc/index.cfm?fuseaction=UserSite.PeopleDetailsCallPage&call_id=395
http://cordis.europa.eu/fp7/dc/index.cfm?fuseaction=UserSite.PeopleDetailsCallPage&call_id=396
VITO is a leading research centre in Flanders (Belgium) in the field of sustainable environmental and (bio)process technology development. More information on www.vito.be.
Project Description
The threat of global warming and the diminishing fossil fuel resources are creating an ever increasing drive to implement new technologies for integrating CO2 reduction and renewable fuels production. In addition, wastewaters are increasingly recognized as a substantial, but largely untapped, renewable resource. Microbial fuel cells (MFCs) are bio-electrochemical systems (BESs) which facilitate direct transformation of chemical energy stored in bioconvertible material/wastewater to electrical energy via a series of bio-electrochemical reactions in defined fuel cell. Apart from treating wastewater(s) with simultaneous power generation, these BES also facilitates synthesis of various other products viz., hydrogen, methane, hydrogen peroxide or ethanol by slightly altering the design and supplying additional voltage. Production of specific products/chemicals in BES is gaining interest more recently. Product formation in BESs is scientifically novel but still in many ways not well understood. The focus of this proposal is on high-value product generation rather than energy vectors (electricity and/or hydrogen) by understanding and optimizing process based on biocatalyst activity.
This proposal aims at investigating and developing an innovative and versatile bioelectrochemical process for CO2 reduction and renewable fuels such as ethanol and butanol production from wastewater. This will be done by developing novel biocathode systems with mixed cultures and integrating these with bioanodes in dedicated bioelectrochemical systems. To achieve this goal, we will bring together the necessary skills, i.e., (bio)electrochemistry, microbiology, membrane science, and wastewater engineering, through national and international collaboration.
The work consists of a literature study on different types of bioelectrochemical reactions, component (electrodes, membranes and their combinations) development, cell design and operation and efficient recovery (downstream processing) of the formed product. Parameters to be investigated include electrode type and specification, cell design and operation conditions and biofilm properties. These studies will take place on lab scale reactors.
Required education/discipline: Phd in microbial fuel cells, bioelectrochemistry, microbial electrosynthesis
Contact persons for more information: Deepak Pant (deepak.pant[ at ]vito.be) or Karolien Vanbroekhoven (karolien.vanbroekhoven[ at ]vito.be)
Generic EU Marie Curie Actions Eligibility Criteria:
Applicants should not be either (i) a national of; or (ii) resident for greater than 12 months of the last 36 months in the country of the host institution unless they have spent more than 4 of the last 5 years outside the EU and Associated States.
Link:
Bioelectrochemical CO2 Reduction, Renewable Fuels and High Value Chemical Production from Wastewater in bio-electrochemical system (BES)
Host institute:
The Flemish Institute for Technological Research (VITO) is looking for candidates interested in a post doc position (2 years). VITO will help those candidates in preparing a Marie Curie proposal with a deadline of 11 August 2011. The call for Marie Curie fellowships (IEF and IIF) is now open, more information on
http://cordis.europa.eu/fp7/dc/index.cfm?fuseaction=UserSite.PeopleDetailsCallPage&call_id=395
http://cordis.europa.eu/fp7/dc/index.cfm?fuseaction=UserSite.PeopleDetailsCallPage&call_id=396<
Country: Belgium
