For the successful scale-up of microbial fuel cell (MFC) systems, enrichment strategies are required that not only maximise reactor performance but also allow anodic biofilms to be robust to environmental change. Cluster analysis of Denaturing Gradient Gel Electrophoresis community fingerprints showed that anodic biofilms were enriched according to substrate type and temperature. Acetate produced the highest power density of 7.2 W m−3 and butyrate the lowest at 0.29 W m−3, but it was also found that the trophic conditions used to acclimate the electrogenic biofilms also determined the MFC response to different substrate types, with both acetate and butyrate substrates recording power densities of 1.07 and 1.0 W m−3 respectively in a sucrose enriched reactor. When temperature perturbations were introduced to investigate the stability of the different substrate acclimated electrogenic biofilms, the 20 °C acclimated acetate reactor was unaffected by 10 °C operation but all reactors acclimated at 35 °C were adversely affected. When the operating temperature was raised back to 35 °C both the acetate and butyrate reactors recovered electrogenic activity but the sucrose reactor did not. It is thought that this was due to the more complex syntropic interactions that are required to occur when metabolising more complex substrate types.
Skip Nav Destination
Article navigation
Research Article|
June 01 2013
Factors affecting microbial fuel cell acclimation and operation in temperate climates Available to Purchase
I. S. Michie;
1Faculty of Health, Sport and Science, Sustainable Environment Research Centre (SERC), University of Glamorgan, Pontypridd, Mid-Glamorgan, CF37 1DL, UK
E-mail: [email protected]
Search for other works by this author on:
J. R. Kim;
J. R. Kim
2Faculty of Advanced Technology, Sustainable Environment Research Centre (SERC), University of Glamorgan, Pontypridd, Mid-Glamorgan, CF37 1DL, UK
3School of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, Pusan National University, Jangjeon-Dong, Geumjeong-gu, Busan, 609-735, Korea
Search for other works by this author on:
R. M. Dinsdale;
R. M. Dinsdale
1Faculty of Health, Sport and Science, Sustainable Environment Research Centre (SERC), University of Glamorgan, Pontypridd, Mid-Glamorgan, CF37 1DL, UK
Search for other works by this author on:
A. J. Guwy;
A. J. Guwy
1Faculty of Health, Sport and Science, Sustainable Environment Research Centre (SERC), University of Glamorgan, Pontypridd, Mid-Glamorgan, CF37 1DL, UK
Search for other works by this author on:
G. C. Premier
G. C. Premier
2Faculty of Advanced Technology, Sustainable Environment Research Centre (SERC), University of Glamorgan, Pontypridd, Mid-Glamorgan, CF37 1DL, UK
Search for other works by this author on:
Water Sci Technol (2013) 67 (11): 2568–2575.
Article history
Received:
November 10 2012
Accepted:
February 11 2013
Citation
I. S. Michie, J. R. Kim, R. M. Dinsdale, A. J. Guwy, G. C. Premier; Factors affecting microbial fuel cell acclimation and operation in temperate climates. Water Sci Technol 1 June 2013; 67 (11): 2568–2575. doi: https://doi.org/10.2166/wst.2013.159
Download citation file:
Sign in
Don't already have an account? Register
Client Account
You could not be signed in. Please check your email address / username and password and try again.
Could not validate captcha. Please try again.
eBook
Pay-Per-View Access
$38.00