Microbial fuel cells potential of marine actinobacteria Actinoalloteichus sp. MHA15 from the Havelock island of the Andamans, India

Abstract

In the recent past, use of fossil fuel is on the rise and has triggered global energy crisis. So, renewable bioenergy is viewed as one of the means to tackle this problem. In this context, interest in microbial fuel cells (MFCs) is increasing and gaining popularity due to their ability to convert the organic wastes into renewable energy. Present investigation is on the bioelectricity production by a marine actinobacterium isolated from the Havelock island of the Andamans. Actinobacterial colonies were isolated from the sediment samples, using Kuster's agar. 19 morphologically distinct strains were subjected to cellulase enzyme screening. Among them, higher cellulose degradation capacity was found in the strain MHA15. This potential strain was selected and identified as a species close to Actinoalloteichus cyanogriseus. The strain was subjected to bioelectricity generation using sugarcane bagasse as substrate and was evaluated in a dual chambered microbial fuel cell. In the MFC, initial voltage output started at 160mV and it gradually increased, reaching a maximum of 257mV at the 3rd hour in the actinobacterial incubated bagasse solution. From the MFC analyzed sludge bagasse, microbial diversity was searched using different media and only actinobacterial colonies were observed. Conventional taxonomic characters of the isolates were identical to the potential actinobacterial strain MHA15 which produced bioelectricity from bagasse. Marine actinobacteria, with their unique nature, differ very much in many aspects from their terrestrial counterparts and are known to produce diverse spectra of novel and useful substances and excellent bioactivity. Results of the present study have ascertained that the marine actinobacterial strain Actinoalloteichus sp. MHA15 is capable of generating bioelectricity and there is much scope for utilizing such marine actinobacteria for large scale production of bioelectricity, after further in-depth studies.