The research activities of Dr. Patil’s lab aim to advance the understanding of Electromicrobiology, a new sub-discipline of Environmental Microbiology, and contribute to developing sustainable biotechnologies for valorizing liquid and gaseous wastes. Electromicrobiology pertains to studying microorganisms that can exchange electrons with insoluble electron acceptors and donors via extracellular electron transfer (EET) processes. Several aspects, including the diversity and roles of EET-capable microorganisms in different (extreme) environments to the mechanisms and membrane proteins involved in EET processes, remain to be understood and explored for developing future biotechnologies. To this end, the EEMB lab’s current research activities are focused on (i) understanding extracellular electron transfer-based anaerobic metabolisms and microorganisms from highly saline-alkaline environments, and (ii) developing integrated microbial electrochemical technologies for renewable electricity-driven bioproduction of chemicals from industrial CO2 and wastewater management at the point sources. The highly interdisciplinary research of the EEMB lab involves tools and techniques from anaerobic microbiology, electrochemistry, environmental sciences, molecular biology, bioengineering, metagenomics, microscopy, and analytical chemistry disciplines.

Please visit https://eemblab.website/ for details on Dr. Sunil’s research group and activities

Principal Investigator

• Yadav R.K., Siddharth and Patil S.A. Integrated Hydroponics-Microbial electrochemical technology (iHydroMET) is promising for Olericulture along with domestic wastewater management. Bioresource Technology Reports, 22, 101428 (2023)
• Yadav R.K., Das, S. and Patil S.A. Are integrated bio-electrochemical technologies feasible for wastewater management? Trends in Biotechnology, 41(4), 484-496 (2023)
• Kiran R., Yadav R., Sathe D. and Patil S.A. Halophilic CO2-fixing microbial community as biocatalyst improves the energy efficiency of the microbial electrosynthesis process. Bioresource Technology, 371, 128637 (2023)
• Liu Z., Xue X., Cai W., Cui K., Patil S.A. and Guo K. Recent progress on microbial electrosynthesis reactor designs and strategies to enhance the reactor performance. Biochemical Engineering Journal, 190, 108745 (2023)
• Yadav S., Singh R., Sundharam S.S., Chaudhary S., Krishnamurthi S. and Patil S.A. Geoalkalibacter halelectricus SAP-1 sp. nov. possessing extracellular electron transfer and mineral-reducing capabilities from a haloalkaline environment. Environmental Microbiology, 24, 5066–5081 (2022)
• Yadav R., Chattopadhyaya B., Kiran R., Yadav A., Bachhawat A.K. and Patil S.A. Microbial electrosynthesis from carbon dioxide feedstock linked to yeast growth for the production of high-value isoprenoids. Bioresource Technology, 363, 127906 (2022)
• Pant D. and Patil S.A. Microbially catalyzed bioelectrochemical power devices come of age. Joule 6 (7), 1399-1401 (2022)
• Singh R., Chaudhary S., Yadav S. and Patil S.A. Bioelectrocatalytic sulfide oxidation by a haloalkaliphilic electroactive microbial community dominated by Desulfobulbaceae. Electrochimica Acta, 423, 140576 (2022)
• Yadav R., Chiranjeevi P., Yadav S., Singh R. and Patil S.A. Electricity-driven bioproduction from CO2 and N2 feedstocks using enriched mixed microbial culture. Journal of CO2 Utilization, 60, 101997 (2022)
• Roy M., Aryal N., Zhang Y., Patil S.A.* and Pant D. Technological progress and readiness level of microbial electrosynthesis and electrofermentation for carbon dioxide and organic wastes valorization. Current Opinion in Green and Sustainable Chemistry, 35, 100605 (2022)
• Chaudhary S., Yadav S., Singh R., Sadhotra C. and Patil S.A. Extremophilic electroactive microorganisms: Promising biocatalysts for bioprocessing applications. Bioresource Technology, 347, 126663 (2022)
• Singh R., Chaudhary S., Yadav S. and Patil S.A. Protocol for bioelectrochemical enrichment, cultivation, and characterization of extreme electroactive microorganisms. STAR Protocols, 3(1), 101114 (2022)
• Yadav R.K., Sahoo S. and Patil S.A. Performance evaluation of the integrated hydroponics-microbial electrochemical technology (iHydroMET) for decentralized domestic wastewater treatment, Chemosphere, 288, 132514 (2022)
• Roy M., Yadav S. and Patil S.A. Biogas upgradation through CO2 conversion into acetic acid via microbial electrosynthesis. Frontiers in Energy Research, 9, 759678 (2021)
• Yadav R.K., Sahoo S., Yadav A.K. and Patil S.A. Epipremnum aureum is a promising plant candidate for developing nature-based technologies for nutrients removal from wastewaters. Journal of Environmental Chemical Engineering, 9(5), 106134 (2021)
• Chaudhary S., Singh, R., Sukrampal and Patil S.A. Electrochemical enrichment of haloalkaliphilic nitrate-reducing microbial biofilm at the cathode of bioelectrochemical systems. IScience, 24 (6), 102682 (2021)
• Jiang M., Gao Y., Patil S.A., Hou H., Feng W. and Chen S. Reactive coating modification of metal material with strong bonding strength and enhanced corrosion resistance for high-performance bioelectrode of microbial electrochemical technologies. Journal of Power Sources, 491, 229595 (2021)
• Gupta S., Srivasatva P. Patil S.A. and Yadav A.K. A comprehensive review on emerging constructed wetland coupled microbial fuel cell technology: potential applications and challenges. Bioresource Technology, 320 (Part B), 124376 (2021)
• Roy M., Yadav, R., Chiranjeevi P. and Patil S.A. Direct utilization of industrial carbon dioxide with low impurities for acetate production via microbial electrosynthesis. Bioresource Technology, 320 (Part A), 124289 (2021)
• Yadav S. and Patil S. A. Microbial electroactive biofilms dominated by Geoalkalibacter spp. from a highly saline-alkaline environment. npj Biofilms and Microbiomes, 6, 38 (2020)
• Das S., Diels L., Pant D., Patil S. A. and Ghangrekar M. M. Microbial electrosynthesis: A way towards the production of electro-commodities through carbon sequestration with microbes as biocatalysts. Journal of the Electrochemical Society, 167, 155510 (2020)
• Kumar R., Sukrampal and Patil S.A. Bioanode-assisted removal of Hg2+ at the cathode of microbial fuel cells. Journal of Hazardous, Toxic, and Radioactive Waste, 24(4). 04020034 (2020) 24. Zhao W., Fu W., Chen S., Xiong H., Lan L., Jiang M., Patil S. A. and Chen S. High-capacitance bioanode circumvents bioelectrochemical reaction transition in the voltage-reversed serially-stacked air-cathode microbial fuel cell. Journal of Power Sources, 468, 228402 (2020)
• Yadav R.K., Chiranjeevi P., Sukrampal and Patil S.A. Integrated drip hydroponics-microbial fuel cell system for wastewater treatment and resource recovery. Bioresource Technology Reports, 9, 100392 (2020)
• Chiranjeevi P. and Patil S.A. Strategies for improving the electroactivity and specific metabolic functionality of microorganisms for various microbial electrochemical technologies. Biotechnology Advances, 39, 107468 (2020)
• Moss C., Patil S.A., and Schröder U. Scratching the surface – How decisive are microscopic surface structures on growth and performance of electrochemically active bacteria? Frontiers in Energy Research 7 (Article 18), 1-10. (2019)
• Chiranjeevi P., Bulut M. Breugelmans T., Patil S.A. and Pant D. Current Trends in Enzymatic Electrosynthesis for CO2 Reduction. Current Opinion in Green and Sustainable Chemistry 16, 65-70 (2019)
• Chen S., Brown R.K., Patil S.A., Huber K.J., Overmann J., Schröder U. Aerobic microbial electrochemical technology based on the coexistence and interactions of aerobes and exoelectrogens for synergistic pollutant removal from wastewater, Environmental Science: Water Research & Technology 5, 60-69 (2019)
• Chen S., Patil S.A., Brown R.K., Schröder U. Strategies for optimizing the power output of microbial fuel cells: Transitioning from fundamental studies to practical implementation, Applied Energy 233, 15-28 (2019)
• Chen S., Patil S.A., Schröder U. Substrate Crossover Effect and Performance Regeneration of the Biofouled Rotating Air-Cathode in Microbial Fuel Cell, Frontiers in Energy Research 6 (Article 85), 1-7 (2018)
• Wu S., Patil S.A. and Chen S. Auto-feeding microbial fuel cell inspired by transpiration of plants. Applied Energy 225, 934-939 (2018)
• Sonawane J.M., Patil S.A., Ghosh P.C. and Adeloju S.B. Low-cost stainless-steel wool anodes modified with polyaniline and polypyrrole for high-performance microbial fuel cells. Journal of Power Sources, 389, 103–114 (2018)
• Chen S., Patil, S.A. and Schröder U. A high-performance rotating graphite fiber brush air-cathode for microbial fuel cells. Applied Energy, 211, 1089-1094 (2018)
• Aryal N., Ammam F., Patil S.A. and Pant D. An overview of cathode materials for microbial electrosynthesis of chemicals from carbon dioxide. Green Chemistry, 19, 5748-5760 (2017)

Please refer to https://scholar.google.co.in/citations?user=Mom-nv0AAAAJ&hl=en for earlier publications.

• Introduction to Environmental Sciences (IDC208)
• Environmental impact and risk assessment (EES407)
• Environmental Microbiology (EES642)
• Environmental Biotechnology (EES643)
• Environmental Sanitation, Hygiene, and Waste Management (IDC408)

Research project grants:

• SERB-CRG (Core research grant), 2023-2026: ₹ 71.45 lakhs (ongoing)
• SERB-SUPRA (Scientific and Useful Profound Research Advancement), 2021-2024: ₹ 80 lakhs (ongoing)
• DST/TMD/WTI (Technology Mission Division/Water Technology Initiative), 2020-2023: ₹ 65.83 lakhs (ongoing)
• DBT-Core research grant, 2019-2022: ₹ 50.62 lakhs (project completed)
• SERB-SRG (Start-up research grant), 2019-2022: ₹ 32.16 lakhs (project completed)

Select awards/achievements of students:

• Ravi Kumar Yadav and Ravineet Yadav (Ph.D. students with Dr. Sunil Patil) received the 2nd prize at the "Vishwakarma Awards for Engineering Innovation 2022" competition under the theme "Water & Sanitation" by the Maker Bhavan Foundation, WIN Foundation partnered with Kiran Patel Center for Sustainable Development at IIT Gandhinagar. The award carries Rs. 1 lakh prize besides a certificate.
• Sukrampal (PhD scholar with Dr. Sunil A. Patil) received the EMBO Scientific Exchange Grant award (2022).
• Moumita Roy (PhD scholar with Dr. Sunil A. Patil) received the SITARE-GYTI (Students Innovations for Translation & Advancement of Research Explorations-Gandhian Young Technological Innovation) Award 2021, which includes 15 lakhs research grant.
• Chetan Sadhotra (Ph.D. scholar with Dr. Sunil A. Patil) was awarded the DST-INSPIRE Fellowship (2021) for doctoral work.
• Srishti (PhD scholar with Dr. Sunil A. Patil) was selected for the Prime Ministers’ Research Fellowship (PMRF) 2020.
• Ravi Kumar Yadav (Ph.D. scholar with Dr. Sunil A. Patil) was awarded the CSIR fellowship for doctoral work (2019).

Our research team (Dr. Sunil, Moumita, Ravineet and Mansi) was amongst the top winners at the Carbon Zero Challenge 3.0 – a flagship event organized by IIT Madras (2023).

Dr. Sunil A. Patil’s lab showcased their research-based innovations at a G20 event – 2nd Education Working Group Meeting, Amritsar, 15-17 March 2023.

Dr. Sunil A. Patil received the CDC India – Prof. Ashok Pandey research excellence award for 2021 of the Biotech Research Society, India (BRSI) in recognition of contributions to the Environmental Biotechnology area (2022)

Ravi and Ravineet (PhD students) from Dr. Sunil Patil lab won the 2nd prize at the “Vishwakarma Awards for Engineering Innovation 2022” competition under the theme “Water & Sanitation” conducted by the Maker Bhavan Foundation, WIN Foundation partnered with Kiran Patel Center for Sustainable Development at IIT Gandhinagar.

Moumita won the 2nd Best oral presentation award at the 8th Global International Society of Microbial Electrochemistry and Technology (ISMET) 2022 conference, Chania, Greece

Dr. Sunil Patil received the “Best teacher award 2021” of Indian Institute of Science Education and Research Mohali.

NIL