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Obtaining microbial communities with exoelectrogenic activity from anaerobic sludge using a simplified procedure
- Source :
- Journal of Chemical Technology & Biotechnology. 89:1727-1732
- Publication Year :
- 2013
- Publisher :
- Wiley, 2013.
-
Abstract
- BACKGROUND The microbial fuel cell (MFC) technology transforms the chemical energy present in substrates into electricity. Starting-up these systems, i.e. enriching the anodic community in exoelectrogenic bacteria, is a lengthy process or requires expensive equipment. RESULTS An easy and low-cost procedure based on a sediment MFC was developed to select microbial communities with exoelectrogenic activity from the anaerobic sludge of a waste water treatment plant (WWTP). The configuration was based on a simple vessel working as a single chamber MFC with a cathode of stainless steel wool in the liquid surface and a submerged graphite fibre brush as anode. In 30 days of operation, a biofilm with remarkable exoelectrogenic activity was grown on the anode of the MFC. This graphite fibre brush anode was able to supply 0.9 W m-2 when working in an air-cathode MFC (AC-MFC) for 45 days. CONCLUSION The procedure presented was demonstrated to be a successful, low-cost and low-maintenance procedure to obtain exoelectrogenic activity and had performances comparable with other more costly and complex inoculation procedures. The Sed-MFC does not require a potentiostat, external aeration, stirring, membranes or an enriched inoculum in the exoelectrogenic biomass. © 2013 Society of Chemical Industry
- Subjects :
- Microbial fuel cell
Waste management
Renewable Energy, Sustainability and the Environment
Chemistry
General Chemical Engineering
Organic Chemistry
Biomass
Steel wool
Pollution
Anode
Inorganic Chemistry
Chemical energy
Fuel Technology
Biofuel
Bioenergy
Aeration
Waste Management and Disposal
Biotechnology
Subjects
Details
- ISSN :
- 02682575
- Volume :
- 89
- Database :
- OpenAIRE
- Journal :
- Journal of Chemical Technology & Biotechnology
- Accession number :
- edsair.doi...........529b1d72d781dc73b8a63d07bb9442c8