Dr Bang Du

Research Fellow

PhD

b.du@surrey.ac.uk

https://www.surrey.ac.uk/people/bang-du

Academic and research departments

Institute for Sustainability.

About

Biography

Dr Bang Du obtained his PhD from the University of Galway, Ireland, in March 2024. He then joined the University of Surrey as a Research Fellow in Bioinformatics and Anaerobic Digestion Microbiome Modelling, and serves as a Lecturer in Civil and Environmental Engineering. He is a Sustainability Fellow with the Institute for Sustainability. Dr Du currently leads a Marie Skłodowska-Curie Postdoctoral Fellowship project and has contributed to several national and international research projects funded by UKRI-EPSRC, Science Foundation Ireland, Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland, and the National Natural Science Foundation of China. Dr Du has published serveral peer-reviewed journal papers. His research focuses on valorisation and energy recovery from anaerobic waste and wastewater treatment, particularly in:

1) applying ecological theory in microbial enrichment and metabolic pathway regulation with engineering approaches, and

2) integrating thermodynamic-kinetic-microbiome models to reveal the dynamics of microorganisms, substrates, energy, and electrons in biological treatment.

University roles and responsibilities

Sustainability Fellow, Institute for Sustainability

Lab manager, Centre for Environmental Health and Engineering

Research

Research interests

1. Biological Treatment and Resource Recovery in Waste/Wastewater

2. Microbial Interactions and Electron Transfer Mechanisms

3. Modelling and Bioinformatics Analysis

Teaching

ENGM304 Wastewater Treatment

ENGM044 Dissertation Project

Sustainable development goals

My research interests are related to the following:

Publications

Du, B., Zhan, X., Lens, P.N.L., Zhang, Y., Wu, G. (2024) Deciphering anaerobic ethanol metabolic pathways shaped by operational modes. Water Research, 249, 120896.

Du, B., Wang, Z., Lens, P.N.L., Zhan, X., Wu, G. (2024) New insights into syntrophic ethanol oxidation: effects of operational modes and solids retention times. Environmental Research, 241, 117607.

Du, B., Gu, M., Hu, Z., Zhan, X., Wu, G. (2023) Thermodynamic analysis of extracellular electron transfer during ethanol oxidation in anaerobic digestion systems. Biomass and Bioenergy, 172, 106755.

Du, B., Wang, S., Chen, G., Wang, G., Liu, L. (2022) Nutrient starvation intensifies chlorine disinfection-stressed biofilm formation. Chemosphere, 295, 133827.

Du, B., Gu, Y., Chen, G., Wang, G., Liu, L. (2020) Flagellar motility mediates early-stage biofilm formation in oligotrophic aquatic environment. Ecotoxicology and Environmental Safety, 194, 110340.

Du, B., Hu, Q., Gu, Z., Shan, R., Liu, L. (2020) Kinetic simulation of nutrient conditions on bacterial motility and surface attachment in drinking water distribution system. Journal of Huazhong Agricultural University, 39(2), 56–62.

Chang, H., Du, B., He, K., Yin, Q., Wu, G. (2024) Mechanistic understanding of acclimation and energy metabolism of acetoclastic methanogens under different substrate to microorganism ratios. Environmental Research, 252, 118911.

Wang, Y., Du, B., and Wu, G. (2024) Powdered activated carbon facilitated degradation of complex organic compounds and tetracycline in stressed anaerobic digestion systems. Bioresource Technology, 400, 130672.

Adams, M., Wang, Y., Du, B., Olbert, I., Wu, G. (2024) Operational mode and powdered activated carbon promoting syntrophic propionate oxidation during anaerobic digestion of complex organic substances. Journal of Environmental Management, 356, 120593.

Wu, G., Chang, H., Du, B. (2024) Kinetic modelling of typical biological reactions during anaerobic digestion. In anaerobic digestion: fundamentals, modelling, and applications, 203–223. Cham: Springer Nature Switzerland.

Bai, Y., Hu, H., Lee, P.H., Zhussupbekova, A., Shvets, I. V., Du, B., Terada, A., Zhan, X. (2023) Nitrate removal in iron sulfide-driven autotrophic denitrification biofilter: biochemical and chemical transformation pathways and its underlying microbial mechanism. Science of the Total Environment, 901, 165908.

Wang, Z., Wang, S., Hu, Y., Du, B., Meng, J., Wu, G., Liu, H., Zhan, X. (2022) Distinguishing responses of acetoclastic and hydrogenotrophic methanogens to ammonia stress in mesophilic mixed cultures. Water Research, 224, 119029.

Yu, J., Du, B., Shi, H., Chen, G., Liu, L. (2018) Impacts of residual chlorine concentration on bacterial attachment to particles in drinking water distribution system. Acta Scientiae Circumstantiae, 38(5), 1804–1811.

Shu, W., Du, B., Wu, G. (2025) Strategies for enriching targeted sulfate-reducing bacteria and revealing their microbial interactions in anaerobic digestion ecosystems. Water Research, 270, p.122842.