Adriaan W. Jeremiasse

Microbial electrolysis cell with a microbial biocathode.

This study demonstrates, for the first time, the proof-of-principle of an MEC in which both the anodic and cathodic reaction are catalyzed by microorganisms. No expensive chemical catalysts, such as platinum, are needed. Two of these MECs were simultaneously operated and reached a maximum of 1.4 A/m(2) at an applied cell voltage of 0.5 V. At a cathode potential of -0.7 V, the biocathode in the MECs had a higher current density (MEC 1: 1.9 A/m(2), MEC 2: 3.3 A/m(2)) than a control cathode (0.3 A/m(2), graphite felt without biofilm) in an electrochemical half cell. This indicates that hydrogen production is catalyzed at the biocathode, likely by electrochemically active microorganisms. The cathodic hydrogen recovery was 17% for MEC 1 and 21% for MEC 2. Hydrogen losses were ascribed to diffusion through membrane and tubing, and methane formation. After 1600 h of operation, the current density of the MECs had decreased to 0.6 A/m(2), probably caused by precipitation of calcium phosphate on the biocathode. The slow deteriorating effect of calcium phosphate, and the production of methane show the importance of studying the combination of bioanode and biocathode in one electrochemical cell, and of studying long term performance of such an MEC.

New applications and performance of bioelectrochemical systems

Bioelectrochemical systems (BESs) are emerging technologies which use microorganisms to catalyze the reactions at the anode and/or cathode. BES research is advancing rapidly, and a whole range of applications using different electron donors and acceptors has already been developed. In this mini review, we focus on technological aspects of the expanding application of BESs. We will analyze the anode and cathode half-reactions in terms of their standard and actual potential and report the overpotentials of these half-reactions by comparing the reported potentials with their theoretical potentials. When combining anodes with cathodes in a BES, new bottlenecks and opportunities arise. For application of BESs, it is crucial to lower the internal energy losses and increase productivity at the same time. Membranes are a crucial element to obtain high efficiencies and pure products but increase the internal resistance of BESs. The comparison between production of fuels and chemicals in BESs and in present production processes should gain more attention in future BES research. By making this comparison, it will become clear if the scope of BESs can and should be further developed into the field of biorefineries.

Acetate enhances startup of a H2‐producing microbial biocathode

H2 can be produced from organic matter with a microbial electrolysis cell (MEC). To decrease MEC capital costs, a cathode is needed that is made of low‐cost material and produces H2 at high rate. A microbial biocathode is a low‐cost candidate, but suffers from a long startup and a low H2 production rate. In this study, the effects of cathode potential and carbon source on microbial biocathode startup were investigated. Application of a more negative cathode potential did not decrease the startup time of the biocathode. If acetate instead of bicarbonate was used as carbon source, the biocathode started up more than two times faster. The faster startup was likely caused by a higher biomass yield for acetate than for bicarbonate, which was supported by thermodynamic calculations. To increase the H2 production rate, a flow through biocathode fed with acetate was investigated. This biocathode produced 2.2 m3 H2 m−3 reactor day−1 at a cathode potential of −0.7 V versus NHE, which was seven times that of a parallel flow biocathode of a previous study. Biotechnol. Bioeng. 2012; 109:657–664.

Bioelectrochemical systems for nitrogen removal and recovery from wastewater

Removal of nitrogen compounds from wastewater is essential to prevent pollution of receiving water bodies (i.e. eutrophication). Conventional nitrogen removal technologies are energy intensive, representing one of the major costs in wastewater treatment plants. For that reason, innovations in nitrogen removal from wastewater focus on the reduction of energy use. Bioelectrochemical systems (BESs) have gained attention as an alternative to treat wastewater while recovering energy and/or chemicals. The combination of electrodes and microorganisms has led to several methods to remove or recover nitrogen from wastewater via oxidation reactions, reduction reactions and/or transport across an ion exchange membrane. In this study, we give an overview of nitrogen removal and recovery mechanisms in BESs based on state-of-the-art research. Moreover, we show an economic and energy analysis of ammonium recovery in BESs and compare it with existing nitrogen removal technologies. We present an estimation of the conditions needed to achieve maximum nitrogen recovery in both a microbial fuel cell (MFC) and a microbial electrolysis cell (MEC). This analysis allows for a better understanding of the limitations and key factors to take into account for the design and operation of MFCs and MECs. Finally, we address the main challenges to overcome in order to scale up and put the technology in practice. Overall, the revenues from removal and recovery of nitrogen, together with the production of electricity in an MFC or hydrogen in an MEC, make ammonium recovery in BESs a promising concept.

Influence of setup and carbon source on the bacterial community of biocathodes in microbial electrolysis cells

The microbial electrolysis cell (MEC) biocathode has shown great potential as alternative for expensive metals as catalyst for H2 synthesis. Here, the bacterial communities at the biocathode of five hydrogen producing MECs using molecular techniques were characterized. The setups differed in design (large versus small) including electrode material and flow path and in carbon source provided at the cathode (bicarbonate or acetate). A hydrogenase gene-based DNA microarray (Hydrogenase Chip) was used to analyze hydrogenase genes present in the three large setups. The small setups showed dominant groups of Firmicutes and two of the large setups showed dominant groups of Proteobacteria and Bacteroidetes. The third large setup received acetate but no sulfate (no sulfur source). In this setup an almost pure culture of a Promicromonospora sp. developed. Most of the hydrogenase genes detected were coding for bidirectional Hox-type hydrogenases, which have shown to be involved in cytoplasmatic H2 production.

Monitoring the development of a microbial electrolysis cell bioanode using an electrochemical quartz crystal microbalance

In this paper we explored the use of an electrochemical quartz crystal microbalance (QCM) to follow the development of electrochemically active biofilms on electrodes. With this technique it should be possible to monitor simultaneously the increase in biomass and the current generated by the electrogenic bacteria in the biofilm. We monitored the adsorption and the subsequent growth of bacteria that are used in microbial electrolysis cells, on a gold electrode (anode). After attachment it took about 3h for the bacteria to start to grow and develop a biofilm. Although the current was still relatively low, there is a clear correlation with the increase in biomass. The method is promising for the further investigation of the development of biofilms on electrodes (bioelectrodes).