0000-0001-5916-9327 About
Dr. Narnepati Krishna Chaitanya is a postdoctoral fellow in the Department of Civil Engineering at the Indian Institute of Technology Hyderabad, specializing in microbial electrosynthesis (MES) and sustainable carbon conversion technologies. Over the past six years, he has focused on developing MES systems for the bioconversion of CO₂ into medium-chain fatty acids (MCFAs), with contributions spanning fundamental reactor design to application-oriented scaleup. His research centers on the scale-up of MES reactors, isolation and enrichment of chain-elongating microbial strains, and the engineering of cost-effective electrode materials tailored for high-efficiency CO₂ utilization. His work integrates dark fermentation, microbial electrolysis, and MES platforms to develop modular, resource-efficient systems for carbon capture and biochemical production. Dr. Chaitanya completed his Ph.D. at IIT Hyderabad and received the prestigious Globalink Research Award from the Shastri Indo-Canadian Institute (SICI) for conducting advanced microbial electrochemical research in Canada. He also worked as a Scientist and Biohydrogen Engineer at Grassroots Energy Technologies Pvt. Ltd., where he led efforts to scale integrated DF-MEC systems for hydrogen production from lignocellulose-rich wastewater. His experimental expertise includes Gas Chromatography (GC), High-Resolution Mass Spectrometry (HRMS), Ion Chromatography (IC), Total Organic Carbon Analyzer (TOC), Liquid Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry (LC-MS), Potentiostat-based electrochemical techniques (CV, CA, EIS), and FTIR spectroscopy. He has authored 7+ peer-reviewed publications in high-impact journals such as Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Bioresource Technology, Bioresource Technology Reports, Biochemical Engineering Journal, and the Journal of Hazardous, Toxic, and Radioactive Waste. Driven by the vision of a circular and decarbonized bioeconomy, Dr. Chaitanya’s research objective is to establish scalable MES technologies capable of converting industrial CO₂ emissions and organic wastes into renewable fuels and high-value biochemicals.
Employment
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Indian Institute of Technology Hyderabad Post Doctoral Fellow2025 - Present
Education
Education history is unavailable.
Projects & Funding
Projects & funding information is unavailable.
Publications (15)
- Enhancing caproic acid synthesis through CO2 capture and microbial electrosynthesis: Role of carbon-based electrodes Save
- Light-driven microbial factories for CO2 conversion to valuables: Recent advancements in photo-microbial electrosynthesis through integrated graphitic carbon nitride (g-C3N4) Save
- Hydrogen sustainability pathways: Advanced hydrogen carriers and emerging production routes Save
- Interdiffusion-Driven Phase Growth in Cr26Co20Fe20Mn20Ni14/Al High-Entropy Alloy Diffusion Couple Save
- Treatment of beverage wastewater using microalgae: A focus on COD removal, biomass production, and lipid accumulation Save
- Enhanced carbon capture and medium chain fatty acid production using microbial electrosynthesis: Role of electrode surface area Save
- Medium chain fatty acid production from CO2 in integrated dark fermentation-microbial electrosynthesis reactor Save
- Impact of cell voltage on synthesis of caproic acid from carbon dioxide and ethanol in direct current powered microbial electrosynthesis cell Save
- Performance Comparison and Integration of Bioelectrochemical Systems with Other Wastewater Treatment Technologies Save
- Electrochemical synthesis of propionic acid from reduction of ethanol and carbon dioxide at various applied potentials Save