Methanogenesis control by employing various environmental stress conditions in two-chambered microbial fuel cells

This study examines methanogen activity in microbial fuel cells when exposed to various environmental stresses, such as oxygen, low pH, low temperature, inhibitor (2-bromoethanesulfonate (BES)), and variations in external resistance. Controlling methanogenesis resulted in an increase in Coulombic ef...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Bioresource technology 2010-07, Vol.101 (14), p.5350-5357
Main Authors: Chae, Kyu-Jung, Choi, Mi-Jin, Kim, Kyoung-Yeol, Ajayi, F.F., Park, Woosin, Kim, Chang-Won, Kim, In S.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
2-Bromoethanesulfonate
Acetates - chemistry
Biochemical fuel cells
Bioelectric Energy Sources
Biofuel production
Biological and medical sciences
Biotechnology
Biotechnology - instrumentation
Biotechnology - methods
Electrons
Energy
Environment
Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology
Hydrogen-Ion Concentration
Industrial applications and implications. Economical aspects
Inhibition
Inhibitors
Methane
Methane - chemistry
Microbial fuel cells
Microorganisms
Oxygen - chemistry
Real-time PCR
Retarding
Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction
Strategy
Stresses
Temperature
Time Factors
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Summary:This study examines methanogen activity in microbial fuel cells when exposed to various environmental stresses, such as oxygen, low pH, low temperature, inhibitor (2-bromoethanesulfonate (BES)), and variations in external resistance. Controlling methanogenesis resulted in an increase in Coulombic efficiency (CE) because it was a major cause of electron loss. Methane was mainly produced from aceticlastic methanogenesis, rather than by syntrophic acetate oxidation, with Methanosarcinaceae being the primary contributor. Lowering the resistance from 600 to 50 Ω reduced the methanogenic electron loss by 24%; however, changing the temperature or pH level had little effect. A BES injection was the most potent strategy for the selective inhibition of methanogens without damaging exoelectrogens. The addition of 0.1–0.27 mM BES increased the CE from 35% to 70%. Oxygen stress successfully inhibited methanogens, while slightly suppressing the exoelectrogens, and is believed to be a practical option due to its low operating cost.
ISSN:0960-8524
1873-2976
DOI:10.1016/j.biortech.2010.02.035