scholarly journals Final Report: Rational Design of Anode Surface Chemistry in Microbial Fuel Cells for Improved Exoelectrogen Attachment and Electron Transfer

2015 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrew J. Schuler ◽  
Linnea Ista
Keyword(s):  
Electron Transfer ◽  
Fuel Cells ◽  
Surface Chemistry ◽  
Microbial Fuel Cells ◽  
Rational Design ◽  
Anode Surface ◽  
Final Report

scholarly journals Lack of Electricity Production by Pelobacter carbinolicus Indicates that the Capacity for Fe(III) Oxide Reduction Does Not Necessarily Confer Electron Transfer Ability to Fuel Cell Anodes

2007 ◽  
Vol 73 (16) ◽  
pp. 5347-5353 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hanno Richter ◽  
Martin Lanthier ◽  
Kelly P. Nevin ◽  
Derek R. Lovley
Keyword(s):  
Electron Transfer ◽  
Fuel Cells ◽  
Fuel Cell ◽  
Microbial Fuel Cell ◽  
Microbial Fuel Cells ◽  
Electron Donors ◽  
Rrna Genes ◽  
Anode Surface ◽  
Oxide Reduction ◽  
Fuel Cell Anodes

ABSTRACT The ability of Pelobacter carbinolicus to oxidize electron donors with electron transfer to the anodes of microbial fuel cells was evaluated because microorganisms closely related to Pelobacter species are generally abundant on the anodes of microbial fuel cells harvesting electricity from aquatic sediments. P. carbinolicus could not produce current in a microbial fuel cell with electron donors which support Fe(III) oxide reduction by this organism. Current was produced using a coculture of P. carbinolicus and Geobacter sulfurreducens with ethanol as the fuel. Ethanol consumption was associated with the transitory accumulation of acetate and hydrogen. G. sulfurreducens alone could not metabolize ethanol, suggesting that P. carbinolicus grew in the fuel cell by converting ethanol to hydrogen and acetate, which G. sulfurreducens oxidized with electron transfer to the anode. Up to 83% of the electrons available in ethanol were recovered as electricity and in the metabolic intermediate acetate. Hydrogen consumption by G. sulfurreducens was important for ethanol metabolism by P. carbinolicus. Confocal microscopy and analysis of 16S rRNA genes revealed that half of the cells growing on the anode surface were P. carbinolicus, but there was a nearly equal number of planktonic cells of P. carbinolicus. In contrast, G. sulfurreducens was primarily attached to the anode. P. carbinolicus represents the first Fe(III) oxide-reducing microorganism found to be unable to produce current in a microbial fuel cell, providing the first suggestion that the mechanisms for extracellular electron transfer to Fe(III) oxides and fuel cell anodes may be different.

scholarly journals Taxonomic and functional metagenomic analysis of anodic communities in two pilot-scale microbial fuel cells treating different industrial wastewaters

2015 ◽  
Vol 12 (3) ◽  
pp. 1-15 ◽  
Author(s):  
Larisa Kiseleva ◽  
Sofya K. Garushyants ◽  
Hongwu Ma ◽  
David J.W. Simpson ◽  
Viatcheslav Fedorovich ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Electron Transfer ◽  
Wastewater Treatment ◽  
Fuel Cells ◽  
Microbial Fuel Cells ◽  
Pilot Scale ◽  
Metagenomic Analysis ◽  
Anode Surface ◽  
Extracellular Electron Transfer ◽  
Climatic Zones ◽  
Electrochemically Active

Summary The combined processes of microbial biodegradation accompanied by extracellular electron transfer make microbial fuel cells (MFCs) a promising new technology for cost-effective and sustainable wastewater treatment. Although a number of microbial species that build biofilms on the anode surfaces of operating MFCs have been identified, studies on the metagenomics of entire electrogenic communities are limited. Here we present the results of wholegenome metagenomic analysis of electrochemically active robust anodic microbial communities, and their anaerobic digester (AD) sludge inocula, from two pilot-scale MFC bioreactors fed with different distillery wastewaters operated under ambient conditions in distinct climatic zones. Taxonomic analysis showed that Proteobacteria, Bacteroidetes and Firmicutes were abundant in AD sludge from distinct climatic zones, and constituted the dominant core of the MFC microbiomes. Functional analysis revealed species involved in degradation of organic compounds commonly present in food industry wastewaters. Also, accumulation of methanogenic Archaea was observed in the electrogenic biofilms, suggesting a possibility for simultaneous electricity and biogas recovery from one integrated wastewater treatment system. Finally, we found a range of species within the anode communities possessing the capacity for extracellular electron transfer, both via direct contact and electron shuttles, and show differential distribution of bacterial groups on the carbon cloth and activated carbon granules of the anode surface. Overall, this study provides insights into structural shifts that occur in the transition from an AD sludge to an MFC microbial community and the metabolic potential of electrochemically active microbial populations with wastewater-treating MFCs.

scholarly journals Strain- and Substrate-Dependent Redox Mediator and Electricity Production by Pseudomonas aeruginosa

2016 ◽  
Vol 82 (16) ◽  
pp. 5026-5038 ◽  
Author(s):  
Erick M. Bosire ◽  
Lars M. Blank ◽  
Miriam A. Rosenbaum
Keyword(s):  
Pseudomonas Aeruginosa ◽  
Electron Transfer ◽  
Fuel Cells ◽  
Microbial Fuel Cells ◽  
Pure Culture ◽  
Bioelectrochemical Systems ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Mediated Electron Transfer ◽  
Phenazine Production ◽  
Model Strain

ABSTRACTPseudomonas aeruginosais an important, thriving member of microbial communities of microbial bioelectrochemical systems (BES) through the production of versatile phenazine redox mediators. Pure culture experiments with a model strain revealed synergistic interactions ofP. aeruginosawith fermenting microorganisms whereby the synergism was mediated through the shared fermentation product 2,3-butanediol. Our work here shows that the behavior and efficiency ofP. aeruginosain mediated current production is strongly dependent on the strain ofP. aeruginosa. We compared levels of phenazine production by the previously investigated model strainP. aeruginosaPA14, the alternative model strainP. aeruginosaPAO1, and the BES isolatePseudomonassp. strain KRP1 with glucose and the fermentation products 2,3-butanediol and ethanol as carbon substrates. We found significant differences in substrate-dependent phenazine production and resulting anodic current generation for the three strains, with the BES isolate KRP1 being overall the best current producer and showing the highest electrochemical activity with glucose as a substrate (19 μA cm−2with ∼150 μg ml−1phenazine carboxylic acid as a redox mediator). Surprisingly,P. aeruginosaPAO1 showed very low phenazine production and electrochemical activity under all tested conditions.IMPORTANCEMicrobial fuel cells and other microbial bioelectrochemical systems hold great promise for environmental technologies such as wastewater treatment and bioremediation. While there is much emphasis on the development of materials and devices to realize such systems, the investigation and a deeper understanding of the underlying microbiology and ecology are lagging behind. Physiological investigations focus on microorganisms exhibiting direct electron transfer in pure culture systems. Meanwhile, mediated electron transfer with natural redox compounds produced by, for example,Pseudomonas aeruginosamight enable an entire microbial community to access a solid electrode as an alternative electron acceptor. To better understand the ecological relationships between mediator producers and mediator utilizers, we here present a comparison of the phenazine-dependent electroactivities of threePseudomonasstrains. This work forms the foundation for more complex coculture investigations of mediated electron transfer in microbial fuel cells.

scholarly journals A state of the art review on electron transfer mechanisms, characteristics, applications and recent advancements in microbial fuel cells technology

2020 ◽  
Vol 13 (4) ◽  
pp. 365-381
Author(s):  
Ali Nawaz ◽  
Atiatul Hafeez ◽  
Syed Zaghum Abbas ◽  
Ikram ul Haq ◽  
Hamid Mukhtar ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Electron Transfer ◽  
Fuel Cells ◽  
Microbial Fuel Cells ◽  
State Of The Art ◽  
Transfer Mechanisms

Effect of Anode Surface Roughness on Power Generation in Microbial Fuel Cells

2012 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zhou Ye ◽  
Junbo Hou ◽  
Michael W. Ellis ◽  
Bahareh Behkam
Keyword(s):  
Surface Roughness ◽  
Fuel Cells ◽  
Glassy Carbon ◽  
Microbial Fuel Cells ◽  
Electrochemical Impedance ◽  
Charge Transfer Resistance ◽  
Electrode System ◽  
Anode Surface ◽  
Transfer Resistance ◽  
Rough Electrode

A three-electrode system was used to study the effect of anode surface roughness on the performance of microbial fuel cells (MFCs). Two glassy carbon plates were polished to uniform roughness of the orders of magnitude of 10s of nm and 100s of nm. Atomic force microscopy (AFM) was used to quantify the roughness as well as the 3D topography of the surfaces. Multiple electrochemical methods including potentiostatic tests, potentiodynamic tests, and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) were utilized to monitor the performance of the glassy carbon electrodes. After 275 hours of experimentation, the current density generated by the rough electrode was much higher than that generated by the smooth one. Furthermore, the charge-transfer resistance of the rough electrode was lower than that of the smooth one. The better electrochemical performance of the rough surface may be due to denser biofilm grown on the surface, which was observed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM).

Effect of Metal Modification to Carbon Paper Anodes on the Performance of Yeast-Based Microbial Fuel Cells Part Ι: In the Case without Exogenous Mediator

2013 ◽  
Vol 534 ◽  
pp. 76-81 ◽  
Author(s):  
Enas Taha Kasem ◽  
Takuya Tsujiguchi ◽  
Nobuyoshi Nakagawa
Keyword(s):  
Electron Transfer ◽  
Fuel Cells ◽  
Fuel Cell ◽  
Thin Layer ◽  
Electrode Surface ◽  
Microbial Fuel Cells ◽  
Yeast Cells ◽  
Carbon Paper ◽  
Electrode Potentials ◽  
Different Thickness

Effect of modification of carbon paper with a thin layer of cobalt or gold on the performance of yeast-based microbial fuel cells was investigated. The modification was conducted by depositing Co or Au thin layer with different thickness, 5 nm and 30 nm, using a sputtering technique. The electrode performance was evaluated by measuring the electrode potentials and the fuel cell power output. The Co modification significantly increased the performance of the fuel cell, while the Au modification inhibited the performance. SEM observation indicated that the adhesion density of the yeast cells on the electrode surface was affected by the metals. It was confirmed that the electron transfer took place through the surface confined species at the mediatorless anode.

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