Extracellular electron transfer in microbial biocorrosion

Biocorrosion by microbial biofilms is also termed microbiologically influenced corrosion (MIC). For many decades in MIC research, people focused on corrosive metabolites. In the past decade, researchers started to apply bioenergetics to MIC science research. They realized that extracellular oxidation of a metal can supply electrons for microbial respiration, which causes MIC. Because these electrons must be transported to the cytoplasm via extracellular electron transfer (EET), this kind of MIC is called EET-MIC, which is different from metabolite-MIC (M-MIC). Advances have been made to decipher inward EET involved in MIC. Carbon source starvation and electron mediator acceleration have been used to study impact of EET on MIC. More recently, manipulations of electron mediator-related genes have been used to elucidate EET in MIC. EET in energy metabolism in microbiology and EET for MIC are intertwined. Well-established corrosion research tools, especially electrochemical methods that are highly sensitive, are useful for microbiologists to study EET.     

A microfluidic microbial fuel cell array that supports long-term multiplexed analyses of electricigens

Microbial fuel cells (MFCs) are green energy technologies that exploit microbial metabolism to generate electricity. The widespread implementation of MFC technologies has been stymied by their high cost and limited power. MFC arrays in which device configurations or microbial consortia can be screened have generated significant interest because of their potential for defining aspects that will improve performance featuring high throughput characteristics. However, current miniature MFCs and MFC array systems do not support long-term studies that mimic field conditions, and hence, have limitations in fully characterizing and understanding MFC performances in varieties of conditions. Here, we describe an MFC array device that incorporates microfluidic technology to enable continuous long-term analysis of MFC performance at high throughput utilizing periodic anolyte/catholyte replenishment. The system showed 360% higher power output and 700% longer operating time when compared to MFC arrays without catholyte replenishment. We further demonstrate the utility of the system by reporting its successful use in screening microbial consortia collected from geographically diverse environments for communities that support enhanced MFC performance. Taken together, this work demonstrates that anolyte/catholyte replenishment can significantly improve the long-term performance of microfabricated MFC arrays, and support the characterization of diverse microbial consortia.     

Decorating anode with bamboo-like nitrogen-doped carbon nanotubes for microbial fuel cells

Anode electrodes play a key role in generating electricity from microbial fuel cells (MFCs) because they directly affect microbial activities. This communication reports the preparation of nitrogen-doped carbon nanotubes with a bamboo-like nanostructure (Bamboo-NCNTs) by catalytic pyrolysis of ethylene diamine and application of the Bamboo-NCNTs as anode-modifying materials in MFCs. The Bamboo-NCNTs significantly improved performance of an MFC in current production and power output, and reduced internal resistance of the anode compared with conventional CNTs-modified and unmodified anodes. The improved performance could be attributed to the increased active sites induced by multiple joint structures and enhanced biocompatibility originated from nitrogen dopant.     

Functional Nanomaterial-Modified Anodes in Microbial Fuel Cells: Advances and Perspectives

Microbial fuel cell (MFC) is a promising approach that could utilize microorganisms to oxidize biodegradable pollutants in wastewater and generate electrical power simultaneously. Introducing advanced anode nanomaterials is generally considered as an effective way to enhance MFC performance by increasing bacterial adhesion and facilitating extracellular electron transfer (EET). This review focuses on the key advances of recent anode modification materials, as well as the current understanding of the microbial EET process occurring at the bacteria-electrode interface. Based on the difference in combination mode of the exoelectrogens and nanomaterials, anode surface modification, hybrid biofilm construction and single-bacterial surface modification strategies are elucidated exhaustively. The inherent mechanisms may help to break through the performance output bottleneck of MFCs by rational design of EET-related nanomaterials, and lead to the widespread application of microbial electrochemical systems.     

微生物燃料电池在传感分析中的应用及研究进展

微生物燃料电池(Microbial fuel cell,MFC)是一种利用微生物将化学能直接转化为电能的装置.近年来,除改善微生物燃料电池的输出性能外,研究者也不断开发其在传感分析中的应用.基于微生物燃料电池的传感分析装置无需外加电源,具有操作简单、可连续检测等优点,是一种极具应用前景的传感分析技术.本文依据这些传感分析装置的用途进行分类,主要综述了微生物燃料电池在检测分析生化需氧量(BOD)、挥发性脂肪酸、毒性物质、微生物活性和数量以及其它方面的研究,并对其发展趋势和应用前景进行了展望.     

化学修饰炭黑在微生物燃料电池中的生物产电行为

研究发现微生物燃料电池从启动到稳定运行的过程中往往存在一种现象,就是在高电流密度下,微生物燃料电池的输出电压会出现逆转,从而限制了微生物燃料电池的规模化应用,以及它在污废水处理、脱盐等方面的功能.
　　前期研究发现,微生物燃料电池的性能逆转现象与阳极材料的电容性能有关.电极材料的电容越大,越有利于微生物燃料电池的产电性能稳定,换言之,阳极材料电容不足导致产电性能逆转.但是超级电容活性炭的制作工艺繁琐,成本高,且导电性弱,不能满足微生物燃料电池的应用需求.炭黑的导电能力强、化学稳定性高、成本低,但作为微生物燃料电池的阳极则产生产电性能逆转现象.
　　化学修饰(如酸、碱活化或者添加具有赝电容性质的金属氧化物等)可以提高材料的电容性能.低温条件(80 oC)下,对低电容材料—炭黑进行HNO3和KOH的化学活化处理,并在此基础上,进一步用5%Fe3O4修饰,采用辊压工艺,以质量分数为60%的聚四氟乙烯乳液为粘结剂,制作微生物燃料电池的阳极,与空气阴极构建单室微生物燃料电池系统.采用傅里叶变换红外光谱(FTIR)、比表面积测试、材料表面pH和X射线能量分析光谱(EDX)等手段表征炭黑活化前后的物理、化学性质;接触角润湿性测试表征活化前后电极表面的亲疏水性.电化学循环伏安法测试活化前后,电极的电子存储能力.
　　与蒸馏水的pH相比较,材料表面pH分析表明炭黑材料经化学活化处理后,其表面pH无明显变化; FTIR和EDX测试表明化学活化处理使得炭黑表面引入含O(N)官能团;吸附-脱附曲线分析表明化学活化后,炭黑的比表面积减小,微孔与介孔的体积比增加;接触角测试表明炭黑阳极活化处理后,电极表面亲水性增加;循环伏安测试证实,化学活化后的炭黑阳极电容得到0.1–0.8 F/cm2的增长.结合燃料电池的产电性能测试,发现只有当炭黑阳极电容不小于1.1 F/cm2时,微生物燃料电池的产电逆转现象才会消失.炭黑阳极的化学活化方法为微生物燃料电池的性能稳定提供了一种简便、低成本的方法.     

Electricity production by a microbial fuel cell fueled by brewery wastewater and the factors in its membrane deterioration

Electricity production from brewery wastewater using dual-chamber microbial fuel cells (MFCs) with a tin-coated copper mesh in the anode was investigated by changing the hydraulic retention time (HRT). The MFCs were fed with wastewater samples from the inlet (inflow, MFC-1) and outlet (outflow, MFC-2) of an anaerobic digester of a brewery wastewater treatment plant. Both chemical oxygen demand removal and current density were improved by decreasing HRT. The best MFC performance was with an HRT of 0.5 d. The maximum power densities of 8.001 and 1.843 μW/cm2 were obtained from reactors MFC-1 and MFC-2, respectively. Microbial diversity at different condi-tions was studied using PCR-DGGE profiling of 16S rRNA fragments of the microorganisms from the biofilm on the anode electrode. The MFC reactor had mainlyGeobacter,Shewanella, andClostridium species, and some bacteria were easily washed out at lower HRTs. The fouling characteristics of the MFC Nafion membrane and the resulting degradation of MFC performance were examined. The ion exchange capacity, conductivity, and diffusivity of the membrane decreased significantly after foul-ing. The morphology of the Nafion membrane and MFC degradation were studied using scanning electron microscopy and attenuated total reflection-Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy.     

Comparative Study of Electrochemical Performance and Microbial Flora in Microbial Fuel Cells by Using Three Kinds of Substrates

This work aimed to investigate the distinct electrochemical performance and microbial flora of microbial fuel cells(MFCs)in relation to different single hazardous fed fuels.Three replicate MFCs were inoculated with the same microbial consortium from a coking wastewater treatment plants wherein ammonium chloride(ammoniiim chlo-ride-fed MFC,N-MFC),phenol(phenol-fed MFC,P-MFC)and potassium sulphide(potassium sulphide-fed MFC,S-MFC)were the sole substrates and main components of real coking wastewater.With initial concentrations of am-monium chloride,phenol and potassium sulphide of 0.75,0.60 and 0.55 g/L,the removal efficiencies reached 95.6%,90.6%and 99.9%,respectively,whereas the peak output power densities totalled 697,324 and 1215 mW/m^2.Micro-bial community analysis showed that the respective addition of substrate substantially altered the microbial community structure of anode biofllm,resulting in changes in relative abundance and emergence of new strains and further affecting the electrochemical properties of MFCs.The chemical oxygen demand(COD)removal efficiency of real coking wastewater,in which,the inoculum was the combined biomass from the three MFCs,reached 82.3%.     

Anodic electron transfer mechanisms in microbial fuel cells and their energy efficiency

The performance of a microbial fuel cell (MFC) depends on a complex system of parameters. Apart from technical variables like the anode or fuel cell design, it is mainly the paths and mechanisms of the bioelectrochemical energy conversion that decisively determine the MFC power and energy output. Here, the electron transfer from the microbial cell to the fuel cell anode, as a process that links microbiology and electrochemistry, represents a key factor that defines the theoretical limits of the energy conversion. The determination of the energy efficiency of the electron transfer reactions, based on the biological standard potentials of the involved redox species in combination with the known paths (and stoichiometry) of the underlying microbial metabolism, is an important instrument for this discussion. Against the sometimes confusing classifications of MFCs in literature it is demonstrated that the anodic electron transfer is always based on one and the same background: the exploitation of the necessity of every living cell to dispose the electrons liberated during oxidative substrate degradation.     

Conductive artificial biofilm dramatically enhances bioelectricity production in Shewanella-inoculated microbial fuel cells

A new strategy of electrogen immobilization was developed to construct a conductive artificial biofilm (CAB) on an anode of a microbial fuel cell (MFC). The MFCs equipped with an optimized CAB exhibited an eleven fold increase in power output compared with natural biofilms.     

阳极电势对Geobacter sulfurreducens产电性能的影响

以产电模式菌Geobacter sulfurreducens为研究对象接种两瓶型微生物燃料电池(MFC)阳极室, 利用恒电位仪控制阳极电势, 考察了7种电势条件下MFC的启动期、最大功率密度和阳极生物量的变化情况. 研究结果表明, 当阳极电势为-250, -100和50 mV(vs. SCE)时, MFC启动较快, CV曲线和极化曲线表明, 在这3种电势条件下, MFC产电性能增强, 其中阳极电势为-100 mV时, MFC最大功率密度为1.67 W/m³, 比固定外阻条件下启动的MFC最大功率密度提高了5倍. 控制合适的阳极电势可以使阳极生物量提高2.5~3倍.     

生物阴极微生物燃料电池不同阴极材料产电特性

以葡萄糖(COD初始浓度为2000 mg/L, COD为化学需氧量)为阳极燃料底物, 考察了碳纤维刷和柱状活性碳颗粒作为生物阴极微生物燃料电池(MFC)阴极材料的产电性能. 研究结果表明, 碳纤维刷MFC的启动时间比碳颗粒MFC的长, 达到稳定状态后的恒负载(300 Ω)电压(0.324 V)比碳颗粒阴极MFC的(0.581 V)低. 极化分析结果表明, 碳纤维刷MFC和碳颗粒MFC的最大功率密度分别为24.7 W/m3(117.2 A/m3)和50.3 W/m3(167.2 A/m3). 电化学交流阻抗谱(EIS)测定结果表明, 由于电极材料对微生物生长和分布状态存在不同的影响, 使得碳纤维刷阴极MFC的极化内阻大于碳颗粒阴极MFC的极化内阻.     

表面改性炭材料在微生物燃料电池中的应用(英)

研究了在空气阴极微生物燃料电池中修饰方法如硝酸处理和硝酸-氨水酸碱等对XC-72R作为阴极氧还原催化剂催化活性的影响,并且使用傅里叶变换红外光谱(FTIR)、Boehm滴定法和X射线光电子能谱(谱(XPS)等手段对催化剂进行了表征.FTIR测试证明硝酸处理可引入含氧基团氨水处理可引入含氮基团.另外,还测试了含有不同表面官能团的XC-72R对氧还原的活性,并将其作为阴极催化剂用在MFC中,测试了电池性能.实验表明,经酸碱修饰的XC-72R作为空气阴极MFC的催化剂具有很好的应用前景.     

Electricity generation by an enriched phototrophic consortium in a microbial fuel cell

Microbial fuel cell (MFC) technology is a novel electricity generation process catalyzed by microorganisms. Much progress is made in the design and construction of MFCs, however the diversity of the electrochemically active microorganisms and the electricity generation mechanisms remain a black box. As sun is a predominantly unused energy resource, here we present a highly enriched phototrophic consortium that can produce electricity in an “H” typed MFC at a high power density (2650 mW m⁻², normalized to membrane area) in light, which was eightfold of that produced by non-enriched consortium in the same reactor. Light–dark shift experiments showed that light contributed to the electricity generation. A microbial excreted mediator assisted the electron transfer to the electrode. During the experiment, the accumulation of the mediator over time enhanced the electron transfer rate. The excitation–emission matrix fluorescence spectroscopy results indicated indole group containing compound representing the dominant mediator component.     

用于生物电化学系统的石墨烯电极新进展

可持续社会的发展需要成本低, 并从废物或废水中提取能源或将能源转化为产品的环境友好技术. 近年兴起的生物电化学系统(BESs)利用微生物催化不同电化学反应, 是将废物或废水中能量转化为电能等多种产品的发展前景广阔的新技术. 当有关反应的吉布斯自由能小于零, 系统输出电能, 此时的BESs即为微生物燃料电池(MFCs); 相反, 若反应的吉布斯自由能为正值, 此时的BESs被称为微生物电解电池(MECs). 随着研究工作的不断深入和拓展, BESs的电极性能已成为制约其应用的瓶颈. 石墨烯以其独特的结构和优异的材料性能在BESs领域, 特别是MFCs中得以应用. 本文参考了最新的文献资料, 综述了石墨烯应用于BESs的发展现状, 包括应用于MFCs的石墨烯电极、掺杂石墨烯电极、担载石墨烯电极, 对其在MECs中可能的应用, 以及未来发展趋势予以展望.     

Polyaniline-MXene-coated carbon cloth as an anode for microbial fuel cells

Journal of Solid State Electrochemistry - Anodes play an important role in the extracellular electron transfer (EET) process in microbial fuel cells (MFCs). Herein, polyaniline modified...     

Recent advance in microbial fuel cell reactor configuration and coupling technologies for removal of antibiotic pollutants

Microbial fuel cell (MFC) technology, as a biological treatment model that can convert antibiotic pollutants into electrical energy, has attracted extensive attention in recent years. Reactor configuration and coupling process play an important role in the treatment of antibiotic wastewater by the MFC, which will affect microbial activity, pollutant removal, and electricity generation. In this review, recent advances of reactor configuration (single chamber, double chamber, and cylinder) and coupling technology (wetland-MFC, sediment-MFC and membrane-MFC, and so on) of the MFC on treating of antibiotics are summarized, and their characteristics in the aspects of pollutant removal and power output are analyzed. Finally, through comparing removal quantity (mg antibiotics per day), the double chamber MFC as the individual treatment unit and the membrane-MFC exhibit better removal quantity.     

Effects of different Pt-M (M = Fe,Co, Ni) alloy as cathodic catalyst on the performance of two-chambered microbial fuel cells

For the purpose of reducing the cost and improving the performance of cathodes in microbial fuel cells (MFCs), we prepared Pt/C and Pt-M/C (M = Ni, Co, Fe) electrodes, and characterized them by SEM, XRD and CV. The modified electrodes were used as the cathodes in double-chambered MFCs fed with synthetic medium and molasses sewage respectively. We have found that Pt-M/C catalysts had a better catalytic activity for oxygen reduction than Pt/C in the following order: Pt-Fe/C > Pt-Co/C > Pt-Ni/C > Pt/C. The maximum power density of the MFCs with Pt-M/C cathode was improved by 18–31% compared with the MFC with Pt/C cathode because of the decrease of activation loss in the cathode. This study shows that Pt-M/C catalysts can improve power generation of MFCs without affecting the COD removal and it is proposed that Pt-Fe functions best among the three Pt-M alloys as an efficient and cost-effective catalyst of MFCs.     

Recovering platinum from wastewater by charring biofilm of microbial fuel cells (MFCs)

Reduction in and recovery of precious metals are research hotspots in the environmental engineering field. In this study, we investigated the transformation and distribution of platinum in microbial fuel cells (MFCs) and demonstrated a feasible approach to recover platinum (Pt) from wastewater with less than 16.88?mg/L platinum through charring biofilms in MFCs and generate Pt/C catalyst. The optimal reaction condition was identified, and charred biofilms were analyzed via SEM-EDS, XRD and XPS. Results showed that less than 10% of Pt was in MFC effluents, and less than 0.5% was in the cathode chamber when the influent concentration was below 16.88?mg/L. Close to 40% of Pt could be recovered. The recovery efficiency could be higher should the reactions run longer. SEM-EDS and XRD results indicated that the metallic form Pt⁰ is one of the reduction products in MFCs. XPS results induced that Pt (IV) was reduced to Pt (II) and Pt⁰.     

Poly(vinyl alcohol) separators improve the coulombic efficiency of activated carbon cathodes in microbial fuel cells

High-performance microbial fuel cell (MFC) air cathodes were constructed using a combination of inexpensive materials for the oxygen reduction cathode catalyst and the electrode separator. A poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA)-based electrode separator enabled high coulombic efficiencies (CEs) in MFCs with activated carbon (AC) cathodes without significantly decreasing power output. MFCs with AC cathodes and PVA separators had CEs (43%–89%) about twice those of AC cathodes lacking a separator (17%–55%) or cathodes made with platinum supported on carbon catalyst (Pt/C) and carbon cloth (CE of 20%–50%). Similar maximum power densities were observed for AC-cathode MFCs with (840 ± 42 mW/m²) or without (860 ± 10 mW/m²) the PVA separator after 18 cycles (36 days). Compared to MFCs with Pt-based cathodes, the cost of the AC-based cathodes with PVA separators was substantially reduced. These results demonstrated that AC-based cathodes with PVA separators are an inexpensive alternative to expensive Pt-based cathodes for construction of larger-scale MFC reactors.