Direct electricity recovery from Canna indica by an air-cathode microbial fuel cell inoculated with rumen microorganisms.
Aquatic plants are widely used for phytoremediation, and effective disposal methods should be pursued for their utilization and to avoid further environmental pollution problems. This study demonstrated that, using an air-cathode microbial fuel cell (MFC) inoculated with rumen microorganisms, electricity could be directly produced with a maximum power density of 0.405 W/m(3) from Canna indica (canna), a lignocellulosic aquatic plant rich in cellulose, hemicellulose, and lignin, without pretreatment. The mechanisms of the Canna indica degradation in the MFC were elucidated through analyzing the changes of canna structure and intermediates, that is, soluble sugars and volatile fatty acids (VFAs), in the electricity generation process. The results showed that lignin was partially removed and more cellulose became exposed on the sample surface during the electricity generation in the MFC. The electron transfer in this MFC was mainly completed through electron shuttling via self-produced mediators. This work presents an attempt to understand how complex substrates like aquatic plants are decomposed in an MFC during electricity generation. It might, hopefully, provide a promising way to utilize lignocellulosic biomass for energy generation.
Department of Chemistry, University of Science & Technology of China, Hefei, China.
Guo-Long
GL
Zang
Guo-Ping
GP
Sheng
Zhong-Hua
ZH
Tong
Xian-Wei
XW
Liu
Shao-Xiang
SX
Teng
Wen-Wei
WW
Li
Han-Qing
HQ
Yu
D000388:Air; D000818:Animals; D001674:Bioelectric Energy Sources / Q000382:microbiology*; D002482:Cellulose / Q000032:analysis; D003246:Conservation of Energy Resources / Q000379:methods*; D004560:Electricity; D055664:Electrochemical Techniques; D004566:Electrodes; D004736:Energy-Generating Resources; D005232:Fatty Acids, Volatile / Q000032:analysis; D008031:Lignin / Q000032:analysis; D056951:Photoelectron Spectroscopy; D011134:Polysaccharides / Q000032:analysis; D012417:Rumen / Q000382:microbiology*; D012995:Solubility; D014961:X-Ray Diffraction; D019862:Zingiberales / Q000378:metabolism*
D005232:Fatty Acids, Volatile; D011134:Polysaccharides; C007916:hemicellulose; D002482:Cellulose; D008031:Lignin