Harvesting Energy from the Marine Sediment−Water Interface

Reimers, Clare E.; Tender, Leonard M.; Fertig, Stephanie J.; Wang, Wei

doi:10.1021/es001223s

Cited by 568 publications

(313 citation statements)

References 14 publications

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“…Electrons are generated from the metabolism of the naturally occurring microorganism in the marine sediments. As such, benthic MFCs do not require the addition of any exogenous microorganisms or electron shuttles [1, 8,9]. Two separate benthic MFCs have been used to varying effect, the first, a prototype had a mass of 230 kg and a volume of 1.3 m −2 , and could sustain 24 mW or the equivalent of 16 alkaline D-cell batteries per year [7].…”

Section: Current Applications For Microbial Fuel Cellsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Microbial Fuel Cells, A Current Review

2010

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Microbial fuel cells (MFCs) are devices that can use bacterial metabolism to produce an electrical current from a wide range organic substrates. Due to the promise of sustainable energy production from organic wastes, research has intensified in this field in the last few years. While holding great promise only a few marine sediment MFCs have been used practically, providing current for low power devices. To further improve MFC technology an understanding of the limitations and microbiology of these systems is required. Some researchers are uncovering that the greatest value of MFC technology may not be the production of electricity but the ability of electrode associated microbes to degrade wastes and toxic chemicals. We conclude that for further development of MFC applications, a greater focus on understanding the microbial processes in MFC systems is required.

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Section: Current Applications For Microbial Fuel Cellsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Microbial Fuel Cells, A Current Review

2010

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“…The typical substrate for the anodic process is acetate although it has been shown that H 2 can also be used (Logan et al 2006). Waterlogged soils and sediments containing organic matter have been exploited for direct electrical current generation in sediment-MFCs (Donovan et al 2011;Reimers et al 2001;Tender et al 2008). A drawback of sediment-MFCs is the low flux of organic matter towards the anode, limiting high current production.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Greenhouse gas emissions from rice microcosms amended with a plant microbial fuel cell

Arends

Speeckaert

Blondeel

et al. 2013

Appl Microbiol Biotechnol

118

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Methane (CH 4 ) release from wetlands is an important source of greenhouse gas emissions. Gas exchange occurs mainly through the aerenchyma of plants and production of greenhouse gases is heavily dependent on rhizosphere biogeochemical conditions (i.e. substrate availability and redox potential). It is hypothesized that by introducing a biocatalyzed anode electrode in the rhizosphere of wetland plants, a competition for carbon and electrons can be invoked between electrical current generating bacteria and methanogenic archaea. The anode electrode is part of a bioelectrochemical system (BES) capable of harvesting electrical current from microbial metabolism. In this work, the anode of a BES was introduced in the rhizosphere of rice plants (Oryza sativa) and the impact on methane emissions was monitored.Microbial current generation was able to outcompete methanogenic processes when the bulk matrix contained low concentrations of organic carbon, provided that the electrical circuit with the effective electro-active microorganisms was in place. When interrupting the electrical circuit or supplying an excess of organic carbon, methanogenic metabolism was able to outcompete current generating metabolism. The qPCR results showed hydrogenotrophic methanogens were the most abundant methanogenic group present, while mixotrophic or acetoclastic methanogens were hardly detected in the bulk rhizosphere or on the electrodes. Competition for electron donor and acceptor were likely the main drivers to lower methane emissions. Overall, electrical current generation with BESs is an interesting option to control CH 4 emissions from wetlands but needs to be applied in combination with other mitigation strategies to be successful and feasible in practice.

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“…The advantage of BESs when using two compartments is that they not solely convert compounds but also separate oxidation and reduction products, which makes it possible to extract useful products out of wastes. Nowadays, BES with bioanodes uses electron donors derived from wastes (e.g., wastewaters; Logan 2005), sediments (Reimers et al 2001), processed energy crops (as cellulose; Niessen et al 2005;Ren et al 2007;Rezaei et al 2009), photosynthetic microorganisms (Strik et al 2008b;Chiao et al 2006;Fu et al 2009), or in situ photosynthesized plant rhizodeposits (Strik et al 2008a;De Schamphelaire et al 2008). BESs, like MFCs treating wastewater, combine energy harvesting with necessary wastewater cleaning.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

New applications and performance of bioelectrochemical systems

Hamelers

Heijne

Sleutels

et al. 2009

Appl Microbiol Biotechnol

257

134

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Bioelectrochemical systems (BESs) are emerging technologies which use microorganisms to catalyze the reactions at the anode and/or cathode. BES research is advancing rapidly, and a whole range of applications using different electron donors and acceptors has already been developed. In this mini review, we focus on technological aspects of the expanding application of BESs. We will analyze the anode and cathode half-reactions in terms of their standard and actual potential and report the overpotentials of these half-reactions by comparing the reported potentials with their theoretical potentials. When combining anodes with cathodes in a BES, new bottlenecks and opportunities arise. For application of BESs, it is crucial to lower the internal energy losses and increase productivity at the same time. Membranes are a crucial element to obtain high efficiencies and pure products but increase the internal resistance of BESs. The comparison between production of fuels and chemicals in BESs and in present production processes should gain more attention in future BES research. By making this comparison, it will become clear if the scope of BESs can and should be further developed into the field of biorefineries.

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Harvesting Energy from the Marine Sediment−Water Interface

Cited by 568 publications

References 14 publications

Microbial Fuel Cells, A Current Review

Microbial Fuel Cells, A Current Review

Greenhouse gas emissions from rice microcosms amended with a plant microbial fuel cell

New applications and performance of bioelectrochemical systems

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