Lecture: Microbial Electrochemistry Opens New Doors for Sustainable Environmental Technology 

Lecturer: Dr. Stefano Freguia, The University of Queensland, Australia 

Time: 2:30 pm, Nov 9, 2015 

Location: Meeting Room 205 of Administration Building 

Introduction of Lecturer: 

Academic Qualifications: 

·       Graduate Certificate in Higher Education, November 2013, The University of Queensland 

·       PhD in Chemical Engineering, 10 April 2008, The University of Queensland 

·       Master in Chemical Engineering, 25 July 2002, Politecnico di Milano 

·       Master of Science, 18 May 2002, The University of Texas at Austin 

Employment History: 

·       01/01/2015 – current. Senior Research Fellow, Advanced Water Management Centre, The University of Queensland 

·       24/10/2010 – 31/12/2014. Research Fellow, Advanced Water Management Centre, The University of Queensland 

·       10/07/2008 – 28/02/2010. Post-doctoral Research Fellow (JSPS Fellow), Division of Applied Life Sciences, Graduate School of Agriculture, Kyoto University 

·       01/01/2008 – 20/03/2008. Research officer, Advanced Water Management Centre, The University of Queensland 

·       20/09/2002 – 24/09/2004. Process Engineer, Fluor Corporation, Aliso Viejo, CA, USA 

Honours And Awards: 

·       September 2015. Australia-China Young Scientist Exchange Program award 

·       5 November 2014. Teaching excellence commendation, Faculty of EAIT, The University of Queensland 

·       January 2011 – current. ResTeach fellowship (20% FTE), The University of Queensland 

·       July 2008 – July 2009. Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS) fellowship 

·       8 May 2008. Huber Technology Award for most innovative idea in the field of wastewater treatment (Munich, Germany) 

Research End User and Societal Impacts: 

Microbial electrochemistry is a very new field of research and commercialisation is yet to fully commence. I have however undertaken several steps towards commercialisation: 

1)     Patents: two patents were filed in 2007 by Uniquest to protect an innovative process configuration for microbial electrochemical systems; 

2)     Pilot installations. I designed and operated the world’s first microbial fuel cell pilot facility, at the CUB Brewery in Yatala, QLD in 2007;  

3)     Establishing industry linkages. A recent ARC Linkage (LP150100402) award lays the basis for long-term collaboration with industry and future technology commercialisation. 

Publications – Summary Data: 

• 4 book chapters, 34 journal articles and 13 refereed conference papers.
• h-index: 15, total citations: >2,800 (Web of Science)

Selected Key Publications: 

1.     Ledezma, P., Kuntke, P., Buisman, C.J.N., Keller, J., Freguia, 2015. Source-separated urine opens golden opportunities for microbial electrochemical technologies. Trends in Biotechnology, 33(4), 214-220.The opinion paper that paves the way for future possibilities for nutrient recovery from source-separated human urine. 

2.     Jourdin, L., Freguia, S., Donose, B.C., Chen, J., Wallace, G.G., Keller, J., Flexer, V., 2014. A novel carbon nanotube modified scaffold as an efficient biocathode material for improved microbial electrosynthesis. Journal of Materials Chemistry A, 2(32), 13093-13102. A double breakthrough in the microbial electrochemistry domain: (1) high rate microbial electrosynthesis from CO₂ is possible and (2) a novel electrode material boosts current densities by an order of magnitude in biocathodes. Cited 9 times. 

3.     Freguia, S., Tsujimura, S., Kano, K, 2010. Electron transfer pathways in microbial oxygen biocathodes, Electrochimica Acta, 55, 813-818. The groundbreaking results of a study of the mechanisms of extracellular electron transfer in pure cultures of Acinetobacter and Shewanella species. Cited 55 times. 

4.     Freguia, S., Rabaey, K., Yuan, Z., Keller, J., 2007. Electron and carbon balances in microbial fuel cells reveal temporary bacterial storage behavior during electricity generation. Environmental Science & Technology, 41, 2915-2921. This paper highlights an interesting metabolic feature of electrochemically active anodic bacteria, while establishing a method to close carbon and electron balances by means of titration and off-gas analysis. Cited 115 times. 

5.     Logan, B.E., Hamelers, B., Rozendal, R., Schroder, U., Keller, J., Freguia, S., Aelterman, P., Verstraete, W., Rabaey, K., 2006. Microbial fuel cells: Methodology and technology. Environmental Science & Technology, 40, 5181-5192. This paper describes the principles and methods of research in the field of microbial fuel cells and bioelectrochemical systems in general. It has been cited already over 1,700 times. 

Lecture Abstract:  

The interaction between microbes and electrodes has been studied for decades, leading to many interesting fundamental discoveries but scarce outlets for application. This is however changing with a number of recent breakthroughs in applied research in the field.  This seminar offers an overview of the latest achievements and work in progress at the Advanced Water Management Centre in the field of microbial electrochemical technology.  For example, the concept of a microbial fuel cell for the recovery of valuable nutrients from source-separated urine may supply crop growers with renewable fertilisers and will potentially revolutionise the way domestic wastewater is treated; a novel hydrogen-producing biocathode has led to the development of high rate systems for nitrate and sulfate removal from waste streams; the discovery of electrochemical activity of cyanobacteria can be exploited towards the early detection of toxic blooms.