BIO-ELECTRORECYCLING OF CARBON DIOXIDE INTO VALUABLE PRODUCTS
type: CreativeWork
description: Carbon dioxide (CO2) is largely emitted during the combustion of fossil fuels for transportation, electricity generation, and other industrial processes. CO2 is an inorganic compound that naturally exists on Earth, but its concentration has increased exponentially since the industrial revolution, leading to the acceleration of global warming and, consequently, the climate change. Bioelectrochemical systems (BES) are among several platforms that have been proposed to capture and convert CO2. The primary system widely applied for this purpose is microbial electrosynthesis (MES), in which microorganisms serve as catalysts in the reduction of CO2 to target compounds, without the need for expensive and precious materials. In this regard, this PhD thesis addresses the challenges of improving microbial electrosynthesis of acetate (HA) from CO2 by testing different sources of inoculum in various reactor setups. Biocharbased electrodes were fabricated through the pyrolysis of waste feedstocks (woody chips (WC) and organic wastes (OW)). Their performances, after being applied to a carbon cloth cathode, were tested in MES systems. Additionally, a review of the state of the art of carbon capture technologies will provide an initial understanding of the context. My PhD project was divided into four different work packages: 1) selection and enrichment of bacterial consortia, 2) production of biochar-based electrodes, 3) production of HA by testing different MES setups, while modulating the applied potential and changing cathode materials, 4) analysis of possible applications in a pilot-scale scenario. In MES reactors equipped with a carbon cloth electrode (CC) and an inoculum from brewery wastewater, the best applied potential was -1.0 V with a conversion of 60.37% of CO2 in HA with a daily production rate of 97.05 mg HA L-1 d -1 . Considering these results, it has been calculated that, 8 using all the CO2 produced by the biogas plants in Italy after upgrading of biogas could app…
abstract: Carbon dioxide (CO2) is largely emitted during the combustion of fossil fuels for transportation, electricity generation, and other industrial processes. CO2 is an inorganic compound that naturally exists on Earth, but its concentration has increased exponentially since the industrial revolution, leading to the acceleration of global warming and, consequently, the climate change. Bioelectrochemical systems (BES) are among several platforms that have been proposed to capture and convert CO2. The primary system widely applied for this purpose is microbial electrosynthesis (MES), in which microorganisms serve as catalysts in the reduction of CO2 to target compounds, without the need for expensive and precious materials. In this regard, this PhD thesis addresses the challenges of improving microbial electrosynthesis of acetate (HA) from CO2 by testing different sources of inoculum in various reactor setups. Biocharbased electrodes were fabricated through the pyrolysis of waste feedstocks (woody chips (WC) and organic wastes (OW)). Their performances, after being applied to a carbon cloth cathode, were tested in MES systems. Additionally, a review of the state of the art of carbon capture technologies will provide an initial understanding of the context. My PhD project was divided into four different work packages: 1) selection and enrichment of bacterial consortia, 2) production of biochar-based electrodes, 3) production of HA by testing different MES setups, while modulating the applied potential and changing cathode materials, 4) analysis of possible applications in a pilot-scale scenario. In MES reactors equipped with a carbon cloth electrode (CC) and an inoculum from brewery wastewater, the best applied potential was -1.0 V with a conversion of 60.37% of CO2 in HA with a daily production rate of 97.05 mg HA L-1 d -1 . Considering these results, it has been calculated that, 8 using all the CO2 produced by the biogas plants in Italy after upgrading of biogas could app…
author: CARRARA, ARIANNA
language: eng
date published: 2024-01-22
date modified: 2026-07-27T20:19:12Z
provider: Università degli Studi di Milano
publisher: Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations
type: WebPage
source organization: Università degli Studi di Milano

PropertyValue
property ID: Handle
value: https://hdl.handle.net/2434/1023852

PropertyValue
property ID: DOI
value: 10.13130/carrara-arianna_phd2024-01-22