Article

Aerated Shewanella oneidensis in continuously fed bioelectrochemical systems for power and hydrogen production

  1. Miriam Rosenbaum1,
  2. Michael A. Cotta2,
  3. Largus T. Angenent1,*

Article first published online: 7 DEC 2009

DOI: 10.1002/bit.22621

Issue

Biotechnology and Bioengineering

Biotechnology and Bioengineering

Volume 105, Issue 5, pages 880–888, 1 April 2010

Additional Information

How to Cite

Rosenbaum, M., Cotta, M. A. and Angenent, L. T. (2010), Aerated Shewanella oneidensis in continuously fed bioelectrochemical systems for power and hydrogen production. Biotechnol. Bioeng., 105: 880–888. doi: 10.1002/bit.22621

Author Information

  1. 1

    Department of Biological and Environmental Engineering, Cornell University, 214 Riley-Robb Hall, Ithaca, New York 14853; telephone: 607-255-2480; fax: 607-255-4080

  2. 2

    Fermentation Biotechnology Research Unit, United States Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service (ARS), National Center for Agricultural Utilization Research (NCAUR), Peoria, Illinois

*Department of Biological and Environmental Engineering, Cornell University, 214 Riley-Robb Hall, Ithaca, New York 14853; telephone: 607-255-2480; fax: 607-255-4080.

Publication History

  1. Issue published online: 19 FEB 2010
  2. Article first published online: 7 DEC 2009
  3. Accepted manuscript online: 7 DEC 2009 12:00AM EST
  4. Manuscript Accepted: 20 NOV 2009
  5. Manuscript Revised: 28 OCT 2009
  6. Manuscript Received: 9 JUL 2009

Funded by

  • Fermentation Biotechnology Research Unit, USDA, Agricultural Research Service, Peoria, Illinois
  • National Science Foundation. Grant Number: 0645021

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Keywords:

  • Shewanella oneidensis;
  • microbial electrolysis cell;
  • microbial fuel cell;
  • lactate;
  • hydrogen

Abstract

We studied the effects of aeration of Shewanella oneidensis on potentiostatic current production, hydrogen production in a microbial electrolysis cell, and electric power generation in a microbial fuel cell (MFC). The potentiostatic performance of aerated S. oneidensis was considerably enhanced to a maximum current density of 0.45 A/m2 or 80.3 A/m3 (mean: 0.34 A/m2, 57.2 A/m3) compared to anaerobically grown cultures. Biocatalyzed hydrogen production rates with aerated S. oneidensis were studied within the applied potential range of 0.3–0.9 V and were highest at 0.9 V with 0.3 m3 H2/m3 day, which has been reported for mixed cultures, but is ∼10 times higher than reported for an anaerobic culture of S. oneidensis. Aerated MFC experiments produced a maximum power density of 3.56 W/m3 at a 200-Ω external resistor. The main reasons for enhanced electrochemical performance are higher levels of active biomass and more efficient substrate utilization under aerobic conditions. Coulombic efficiencies, however, were greatly reduced due to losses of reducing equivalents to aerobic respiration in the anode chamber. The next challenge will be to optimize the aeration rate of the bacterial culture to balance between maximization of bacterial activation and minimization of aerobic respiration in the culture. Biotechnol. Bioeng. 2010;105: 880–888. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

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