Research focus areas
Decarbonization via reactive CO2 capture and conversion
Supporting our nation’s goals towards a net-zero economy we seek to decarbonize the water and wastewater sectors by developing new GHG mitigation and reactive CO2 capture, utilization, and valorization technologies.
Specifically, we focus on carbon-negative, energy positive wastewater treatment and sustainable resource recovery via the integration of new thermal, electrochemical, microbial, and bioelectrochemical processes with mature technologies such as anaerobic digestion, photobiological reactors, advanced nitrogen and phosphorus management systems, membrane processes, and heat/pressure recovery devices.
Hybrid electrochemical-biological technologies
Hybrid electrochemical-biological technologies (HEBs) leverage unbounded benefits from respective electrochemical and biological unit processes. We seek to discover untapped synergies between these domains by developing new hybrid technologies that can simultaneously treat waste streams, synthesize valuable fuels and chemicals, and capture/recover waste CO2.
Presently, we focus on technologies such as microbial electrosynthesis (MES), microbial electrolysis cells (MEC), microbial desalination cell (MDC), electro-methanogenesis (EM), electro-enzymaticsynthesis (EES), electro-fermentation (EF), and microbial electrolytic carbon capture (MECC).
Atomistic catalyst design for electrochemical applications
Designing new stable and efficient catalysts is crucial for engineering innovative energy and resource recovery pathways. We examine fundamental kinetic and thermodynamic processes to integrate real environmental waste streams with electrochemical catalysts. This work involves novel electro-catalyst, electrode, and flow cell design to synthesize sustainable fuels and chemicals, recover diverse nutrients, treat waste streams. and achieve high rates of CO2 conversion into value-added products.
Sustainable system design and environmental data analytics
Infrastructure digitalization is becoming increasingly important to effectively merge new sustainable energy and resource recovery technologies with existing water and energy utilities. We conduct detailed techno-economic analyses (TEA) and life-cycle assessments (LCA) to weigh the costs and benefits of our designs towards specific environmental and chemical applications. In addition, we develop advanced biosensors, machine learning, and automation tools to help improve environmental resource management and quantify GHG emissions in our urban water cycle.