Abstract
AbstractMicrobial production of electricity is an important form of bioenergy since Microbial Fuel cells (MFC) offer the possibility of extracting electric current from a wide range of organic wastes and renewable biomass. Factors affecting the MFC operational effectiveness are the MFC design and the bacterial metabolism and electron transfer. The purpose of this study is to identify species which are responsible for electricity generation so as to build a suitable consortium and to investigate the relative efficiencies between the microbial consortiums. Enrichment by repeated transfer of a bacterial consortium harvested from the anode compartment of a MFC with synthetic media as a substrate increased the output from an initial level of 34 mA to a maximal level of 363 mA. Scanning electron microscope image indicated the enhanced microbial biofilm deposition over the electrode which were not initially detected in the community.
Highlights
microbial fuel cells (MFCs) are bioelectrochemical systems which convert biomass into electricity through the metabolic activity of the microorganisms
Pure exoelectrogenic cultures have been tested as inoculums for MFCs, but the power densities generated were usually lower than those obtained using a mixed culture in the same MFC (Ishii et al, 2008), some pure cultures produced power densities equal to or higher than those of the mixed culture (Nevin et al, 2008)
All MFCs were kept in room temperature of 37oC for a period of 30 days and the readings were recorded at the interval of 24h
Summary
MFCs are bioelectrochemical systems which convert biomass into electricity through the metabolic activity of the microorganisms. Electrons produced by the bacteria from the substrate are transferred to the anode under anoxic conditions and flow to the cathode linked by a conductive material containing a resistor. The electron donor can be a reduced product of microbial metabolism that facilitates electron transfer by accepting electrons from the microbes and donating them to the anode. Protons released from oxidation of the organic matter migrate to the cathode through a cationselective membrane that limits diffusion of oxygen into the anode chamber. Protons and oxygen combine at the cathode surface to form water. Current generation in microbial fuel cells (MFCs) is dependent on the presence of exoelectrogenic bacteria that oxidize organic matter and transfer electrons to the anode (Logan, 2008). Pure exoelectrogenic cultures have been tested as inoculums for MFCs, but the power densities generated were usually lower than those obtained using a mixed culture in the same MFC (Ishii et al, 2008), some pure cultures produced power densities equal to or higher than those of the mixed culture (Nevin et al, 2008)
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