title: Inhibition of microbial growth on air cathodes of single chamber microbial fuel cells by incorporating enrofloxacin into the catalyst layer.
abstract: The inevitable growth of aerobic bacteria on the surface of air cathodes is an important factor reducing the performance stability of air cathode single-chamber membrane-free microbial fuel cells (MFCs). Thus searching for effective methods to inhibit the cathodic microbial growth is critical for the practical application of MFCs. In this study, enrofloxacin (ENR), a broad spectrum fluoroquinolone antibiotic, was incorporated into the catalyst layer of activated carbon air cathodes (ACACs) to inhibit the cathodic microbial growth. The biomass content on ACACs was substantially reduced by 60.2% with ENR treatment after 91 days of MFCs operation. As a result of the inhibited microbial growth, the oxygen reduction catalytic performance of the ENR treated ACACs was much stable compared to the fast performance decline of the untreated control. Consequently, a quite stable electricity production was obtained for the MFCs with the ENR treated ACACs, in contrast with a 22.5% decrease in maximum power density of the MFCs with the untreated cathode. ENR treatment of ACACs showed minimal effects on the anode performance. These results indicate that incorporating antibiotics into ACACs should be a simple and effective strategy to inhibit the microbial growth and improve the long-term stability of the performance of air cathode and the electricity production of MFCs.
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Clean Energy, Department of Energy Engineering, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310027, PR China.
authors.forename: Weifeng
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Clean Energy, Department of Energy Engineering, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310027, PR China. Electronic address: shaoancheng@zju.edu.cn.
authors.forename: Shaoan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Cheng
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Clean Energy, Department of Energy Engineering, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310027, PR China.
authors.forename: Dan
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Sun
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Clean Energy, Department of Energy Engineering, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310027, PR China.
authors.forename: Haobin
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Huang
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Clean Energy, Department of Energy Engineering, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310027, PR China.
authors.forename: Jie
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Clean Energy, Department of Energy Engineering, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310027, PR China.
authors.forename: Kefa
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Cen
mesh_terms: D000890:Anti-Infective Agents / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000494:pharmacology*; D001674:Bioelectric Energy Sources / Q000382:microbiology*; D018441:Biofilms / Q000187:drug effects*; D002384:Catalysis; D002606:Charcoal / Q000737:chemistry; D004560:Electricity; D004566:Electrodes; D000077422:Enrofloxacin; D024841:Fluoroquinolones / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000494:pharmacology*; D010084:Oxidation-Reduction; D010100:Oxygen / Q000737:chemistry
chemical_list: D000890:Anti-Infective Agents; D024841:Fluoroquinolones; D002606:Charcoal; D000077422:Enrofloxacin; D010100:Oxygen
keywords: Activated carbon; Air cathode; Biofilm; Enrofloxacin; Long-term stability; Microbial fuel cell