title: Coproduction of acetic acid and electricity by application of microbial fuel cell technology to vinegar fermentation.
abstract: The coproduction of a useful material and electricity via a novel application of microbial fuel cell (MFC) technology to oxidative fermentation was investigated. We focused on vinegar production, i.e., acetic acid fermentation, as an initial and model useful material that can be produced by oxidative fermentation in combination with MFC technology. The coproduction of acetic acid and electricity by applying MFC technology was successfully demonstrated by the simultaneous progress of acetic acid fermentation and electricity generation through a series of repeated batch fermentations. Although the production rate of acetic acid was very small, it increased with the number of repeated batch fermentations that were conducted. We obtained nearly identical (73.1%) or larger (89.9%) acetic acid yields than that typically achieved by aerated fermentation (75.8%). The open-cycle voltages measured before and after fermentation increased with the total fermentation time and reached a maximum value of 0.521 V prior to the third batch fermentation. The maximum current and power densities measured in this study (19.1 μA/cm² and 2.47 μW/cm², respectively) were obtained after the second batch fermentation.
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemical and Environmental Engineering, Graduate School of Engineering, Gunma University, 1-5-1 Tenjincho, Kiryu, Gunma 376-8515, Japan. ttanino@cee.gunma-u.ac.jp
authors.forename: Takanori
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Tanino
authors.forename: Youhei
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Nara
authors.forename: Takuya
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Tsujiguchi
authors.forename: Takayuki
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Ohshima
mesh_terms: D019342:Acetic Acid / Q000378:metabolism*; D000091:Acetobacter / Q000378:metabolism; D001674:Bioelectric Energy Sources; D004560:Electricity; D005285:Fermentation
chemical_list: D019342:Acetic Acid