Microbial electrosynthesis — revisiting the electrical route for microbial production

Rabaey, Korneel; Rozendal, René A.

doi:10.1038/nrmicro2422

Cited by 1,399 publications

(928 citation statements)

References 108 publications

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“…In BESs, microorganisms catalyze the electrochemical formation or degradation of organic molecules by interfacing their biological metabolism with an electrode 1, 2, 3. The interaction between microorganisms and electrical conductive structures makes these systems unique and versatile, with potential applications in electrical energy storage,4, 5 energy‐ and nutrient‐recovering wastewater treatment systems,6, 7, 8 production of high‐value chemical commodities,9, 10 long‐term off‐grid low‐power electricity generation,11, 12 and the development of highly specific and innovative biosensors 13, 14. Additionally, microorganisms may provide temporal charge storage within the microbial cell 15, 16, 17.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

In situ Biofilm Quantification in Bioelectrochemical Systems by using Optical Coherence Tomography

Molenaar

Sleutels²,

Pereirã³

et al. 2018

ChemSusChem

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Detailed studies of microbial growth in bioelectrochemical systems (BESs) are required for their suitable design and operation. Here, we report the use of optical coherence tomography (OCT) as a tool for in situ and noninvasive quantification of biofilm growth on electrodes (bioanodes). An experimental platform is designed and described in which transparent electrodes are used to allow real‐time, 3D biofilm imaging. The accuracy and precision of the developed method is assessed by relating the OCT results to well‐established standards for biofilm quantification (chemical oxygen demand (COD) and total N content) and show high correspondence to these standards. Biofilm thickness observed by OCT ranged between 3 and 90 μm for experimental durations ranging from 1 to 24 days. This translated to growth yields between 38 and 42 mgCODbiomass gCODacetate −1 at an anode potential of −0.35 V versus Ag/AgCl. Time‐lapse observations of an experimental run performed in duplicate show high reproducibility in obtained microbial growth yield by the developed method. As such, we identify OCT as a powerful tool for conducting in‐depth characterizations of microbial growth dynamics in BESs. Additionally, the presented platform allows concomitant application of this method with various optical and electrochemical techniques.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

In situ Biofilm Quantification in Bioelectrochemical Systems by using Optical Coherence Tomography

Molenaar

Sleutels²,

Pereirã³

et al. 2018

ChemSusChem

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“…Direct interfacial electron transport to extracellular solids is terminated either by a covalent heme center in OM Cyts c or a non‐covalently bound flavin cofactor with OM Cyts c (Figure 1). 4 In contrast to microbial respiration with soluble substrates, EET is potentially not limited by the diffusion kinetics of intra‐ or inter‐cellular metabolites,4c, 5 thus making the EET of iron‐reducing bacteria important for iron and manganese circulation in nature1 and for microbial technologies such as microbial fuel cells6 and electrode biosynthesis 7…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Proton Transport in the Outer‐Membrane Flavocytochrome Complex Limits the Rate of Extracellular Electron Transport

et al. 2017

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The microbial transfer of electrons to extracellularly located solid compounds, termed extracellular electron transport (EET), is critical for microbial electrode catalysis. Although the components of the EET pathway in the outer membrane (OM) have been identified, the role of electron/cation coupling in EET kinetics is poorly understood. We studied the dynamics of proton transport associated with EET in an OM flavocytochrome complex in Shewanella oneidensis MR‐1. Using a whole‐cell electrochemical assay, a significant kinetic isotope effect (KIE) was observed following the addition of deuterated water (D2O). The removal of a flavin cofactor or key components of the OM flavocytochrome complex significantly increased the KIE in the presence of D2O to values that were significantly larger than those reported for proton channels and ATP synthase, thus indicating that proton transport by OM flavocytochrome complexes limits the rate of EET.

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“…Contrary to AD, very few BES exist beyond the lab-scale, hence their competitiveness with AD remains thus far unproven Verstraete 2012, Pham et al 2006). On the other hand, BESs are highly versatile in terms of potential application, ranging from energy production from organic substrates to product generation and specific environmental niche creation , Logan and Rabaey 2012, Rabaey and Rozendal 2010. These last two processes are of main interest to AD due to their possible influence on process stability and microbial activity.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Biomass retention on electrodes rather than electrical current enhances stability in anaerobic digestion

et al. 2014

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Anaerobic digestion (AD) is a well-established technology for energy recovery from organic waste streams. Several studies noted that inserting a bioelectrochemical system (BES) inside an anaerobic digester can increase biogas output, however the mechanism behind this was not explored and primary controls were not executed. Here, we evaluated whether a BES could stabilize AD of molasses. Lab-scale digesters were operated in the presence or absence of electrodes, in open (no applied potential) and closed circuit conditions. In the control reactors without electrodes methane production decreased to 50% of the initial rate, while it remained stable in the reactors with electrodes, indicating a stabilizing effect. After 91 days of operation, the now colonized electrodes were introduced in the failing AD reactors to evaluate their remediating capacity. This resulted in an immediate increase in CH 4 production and VFA removal. Although a current was generated in the BES operated in closed circuit, no direct effect of applied potential nor current was observed. A high abundance of Methanosaeta was detected on the electrodes, however irrespective of the applied cell potential. This study demonstrated that, in addition to other studies reporting only an increase in methane production, a BES can also remediate AD systems that exhibited process failure. However, the lack of difference between current driven and open circuit systems indicates that the key impact is through biomass retention, rather than electrochemical interaction with the electrodes.

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Microbial electrosynthesis — revisiting the electrical route for microbial production

Cited by 1,399 publications

References 108 publications

In situ Biofilm Quantification in Bioelectrochemical Systems by using Optical Coherence Tomography

In situ Biofilm Quantification in Bioelectrochemical Systems by using Optical Coherence Tomography

Proton Transport in the Outer‐Membrane Flavocytochrome Complex Limits the Rate of Extracellular Electron Transport

Biomass retention on electrodes rather than electrical current enhances stability in anaerobic digestion

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