High-rate microbial electrosynthesis using a zero-gap flow cell and vapor-fed anode design
Name:
1-s2.0-S0043135422005504-main.pdf
Size:
1.269Mb
Format:
PDF
Description:
Accepted Manuscript
Embargo End Date:
2024-05-13
Name:
1-s2.0-S0043135422005504-mmc1.docx
Size:
3.408Mb
Format:
Microsoft Word 2007
Description:
Supplementary material
Embargo End Date:
2024-05-13
Name:
1-s2.0-S0043135422005504-ga1_lrg.jpg
Size:
132.9Kb
Format:
JPEG image
Description:
Graphical abstract
Type
ArticleKAUST Department
Biological and Environmental Science and Engineering (BESE) DivisionEnvironmental Biotechnology Research Group
Environmental Science and Engineering Program
Water Desalination and Reuse Research Center (WDRC)
Date
2022-05-13Embargo End Date
2024-05-13Permanent link to this record
http://hdl.handle.net/10754/677914
Metadata
Show full item recordAbstract
Microbial electrosynthesis (MES) cells use renewable energy to convert carbon dioxide into valuable chemical products such as methane and acetate, but chemical production rates are low and pH changes can adversely impact biocathodes. To overcome these limitations, an MES reactor was designed with a zero-gap electrode configuration with a cation exchange membrane (CEM) to achieve a low internal resistance, and a vapor-fed electrode to minimize pH changes. Liquid catholyte was pumped through a carbon felt cathode inoculated with anaerobic digester sludge, with humidified N2 gas flowing over the abiotic anode (Ti or C with a Pt catalyst) to drive water splitting. The ohmic resistance was 2.4 ± 0.5 mΩ m2, substantially lower than previous bioelectrochemical systems (20–25 mΩ•m2), and the catholyte pH remained near-neutral (6.6–7.2). The MES produced a high methane production rate of 2.9 ± 1.2 L/L-d (748 mmol/m2-d, 17.4 A/m2; Ti/Pt anode) at a relatively low applied voltage of 3.1 V. In addition, acetate was produced at a rate of 940 ± 250 mmol/m2-d with 180 ± 30 mmol/m2-d for propionate. The biocathode microbial community was dominated by the methanogens of the genus Methanobrevibacter, and the acetogen of the genus Clostridium sensu stricto 1. These results demonstrate the utility of this zero-gap cell and vapor-fed anode design for increasing rates of methane and chemical productions in MES.Citation
Baek, G., Rossi, R., Saikaly, P. E., & Logan, B. E. (2022). High-rate microbial electrosynthesis using a zero-gap flow cell and vapor-fed anode design. Water Research, 118597. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.watres.2022.118597Sponsors
Funded by the Stan and Flora Kappe endowment and other funds through The Pennsylvania State University.Publisher
Elsevier BVJournal
Water ResearchAdditional Links
https://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S0043135422005504ae974a485f413a2113503eed53cd6c53
10.1016/j.watres.2022.118597