Enhancing factors of electricity generation in a microbial fuel cell using Geobacter sulfurreducens.
In this study, we investigated various cultural and operational factors to enhance electricity generation in a microbial fuel cell (MFC) using Geobacter sulfurreducens. The pure culture of G. sulfurreducens was cultivated using various substrates including acetate, malate, succinate, and butyrate, with fumarate as an electron acceptor. Cell growth was observed only in acetate-fed medium, when the cell concentrations increased 4-fold for 3 days. A high acetate concentration suppressed electricity generation. As the acetate concentration was increased from 5 to 20 mM, the power density dropped from 16 to 13 mW/m2, whereas the coulombic efficiency (CE) declined by about half. The immobilization of G. sulfurreducens on the anode considerably reduced the enrichment period from 15 to 7 days. Using argon gas to create an anaerobic condition in the anode chamber led to increased pH, and electricity generation subsequently dropped. When the plain carbon paper cathode was replaced by Pt-coated carbon paper (0.5 mg Pt/cm2), the CE increased greatly from 39% to 83%.
Clean Fuel Research Center, Korea Institute of Energy Research, Daejeon 305-343, Korea. bmmskim@kier.re.kr
Mi-Sun
MS
Kim
Jaehwan
J
Cha
Dong-Hoon
DH
Kim
D000085:Acetates / Q000737:chemistry; D000693:Anaerobiosis; D001128:Argon / Q000737:chemistry; D058491:Bacterial Load; D001431:Bacteriological Techniques / Q000379:methods; D001674:Bioelectric Energy Sources; D002087:Butyrates / Q000737:chemistry; D002244:Carbon / Q000737:chemistry; D003470:Culture Media / Q000737:chemistry; D004560:Electricity; D004566:Electrodes; D004579:Electron Transport; D045302:Geobacter / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000254:growth & development; D006863:Hydrogen-Ion Concentration; D008293:Malates / Q000737:chemistry; D010984:Platinum / Q000737:chemistry; D013379:Substrate Specificity; D019802:Succinic Acid / Q000737:chemistry; D013997:Time Factors
D000085:Acetates; D002087:Butyrates; D003470:Culture Media; D008293:Malates; D010984:Platinum; D001128:Argon; D002244:Carbon; C030298:malic acid; D019802:Succinic Acid