Power production and microbial community composition in thermophilic acetate-fed up-flow and flow-through microbial fuel cells

Paolo Dessì; Pritha Chatterjee; Simon Mills; Marika Kokko; Aino-Maija Lakaniemi; Gavin Collins; Piet N L Lens

doi:10.1016/j.biortech.2019.122115

Power production and microbial community composition in thermophilic acetate-fed up-flow and flow-through microbial fuel cells

Bioresour Technol. 2019 Dec:294:122115. doi: 10.1016/j.biortech.2019.122115. Epub 2019 Sep 5.

Authors

Paolo Dessì¹, Pritha Chatterjee², Simon Mills³, Marika Kokko⁴, Aino-Maija Lakaniemi⁴, Gavin Collins³, Piet N L Lens⁵

Affiliations

¹ Tampere University, Faculty of Engineering and Natural Sciences, P.O. Box 541, FI-33104 Tampere University, Finland; National University of Ireland Galway, University Road, Galway H91 TK33, Ireland. Electronic address: paolo.dessi@nuigalway.ie.
² Tampere University, Faculty of Engineering and Natural Sciences, P.O. Box 541, FI-33104 Tampere University, Finland; Department of Civil Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Hyderabad, India.
³ Microbial Communities Laboratory, School of Natural Sciences, National University of Ireland Galway, University Road, Galway H91 TK33, Ireland.
⁴ Tampere University, Faculty of Engineering and Natural Sciences, P.O. Box 541, FI-33104 Tampere University, Finland.
⁵ Tampere University, Faculty of Engineering and Natural Sciences, P.O. Box 541, FI-33104 Tampere University, Finland; National University of Ireland Galway, University Road, Galway H91 TK33, Ireland.

PMID: 31541978
DOI: 10.1016/j.biortech.2019.122115

Abstract

The microbial communities developed from a mixed-species culture in up-flow and flow-through configurations of thermophilic (55 °C) microbial fuel cells (MFCs), and their power production from acetate, were investigated. The up-flow MFC was operated for 202 days, obtaining an average power density of 0.13 W/m³, and Tepidiphilus was the dominant transcriptionally-active microorganisms. The planktonic community developed in the up-flow MFC was used to inoculate a flow-through MFC resulting in the proliferation of Ureibacillus, whose relative abundance increased from 1 to 61% after 45 days. Despite the differences between the up-flow and flow-through MFCs, including the anode electrode, hydrodynamic conditions, and the predominant microorganism, similar (p = 0.05) volumetric power (0.11-0.13 W/m³), coulombic efficiency (16-18%) and acetate consumption rates (55-69 mg/L/d) were obtained from both. This suggests that though MFC design can shape the active component of the thermophilic microbial community, the consortia are resilient and can maintain similar performance in different MFC configurations.

Keywords: Attached community; Bioelectrochemical system; Electrogenic microorganisms; MFC; Microbial electrochemical technology; Planktonic community.

MeSH terms

Acetates
Bioelectric Energy Sources*
Electricity
Electrodes
Microbiota*

Substances

Acetates