Abstract
Microbial electrolysis cells (MECs) utilize microorganisms to catabolize organic substrates into biohydrogen and are being investigated as a potential solution to meet future energy needs. The focus of this project was to characterize the changes in mircrobial community composition of an anode-associated biofilm and to develop a method to monitor the biofilm in situ from an H-type, ethanol-fed MEC over the lifespan of the reactor. FISH and DGGE results revealed a shift in the biofilm microbial structure and composition from higher microbial diversity in the anaerobic digested sludge inoculum to a more uniform, lower diversity community towards the end of sampling. There was also an overall decrease in methanogenic community members and increase in both anode-respiring bacteria community, specifically Geobacter species, and current density over the time course, implying that a more stable community of anode-respiring bacteria, with minimal methanogens, results in higher current density and a more efficient MEC.
Highlights
Microbial electrochemical cells (MXCs), which include microbial fuel cells (MFCs) and microbial electrolysis cells (MECs), have become a well-studied alternative energy biotechnology in the last decade due to their potential to generate either electricity or biohydrogen
Significance knowing from the first part of this investigation that Archaea was present and acting as an electron sink, as well that Geobacter was in the Microbial electrolysis cells (MECs) biofilm and contributed to increases in current density production, the step was to find a way to investigate their spatial relationship
It was expected that the microorganisms directly associated with the electrode were most likely ARBs, probably Geobacter, and microorganisms associated with the peripheral edges of the biofilm were responsible for biofilm protection or electron scavenging
Summary
Microbial electrochemical cells (MXCs), which include microbial fuel cells (MFCs) and microbial electrolysis cells (MECs), have become a well-studied alternative energy biotechnology in the last decade due to their potential to generate either electricity or biohydrogen. They have been shown to produce current using complex organic waste materials, including various types of wastewaters (Ahn and Logan, 2010; Rodrigo et al, 2007) or cellulosic waste products (Rezaei et al, 2009, Lalaurette et al, 2010). MECs were chosen for this investigation because of the many uses of their end product, biohydrogen
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