Performance of different strains of the senus Shewanella in a microbial fuel cell

FUEL 127

Andrea C. M. Cheung, accheung@usc.edu1, Orianna Bretschger, bretschg@usc.edu1, Florian Mansfeld, mansfeld@usc.edu1, and Kenneth H. Nealson, knealson@usc.edu2. (1) Mork Family Department of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA 90089, (2) Department of Earth Sciences, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA
A microbial fuel cell (MFC) utilizes the catalytic action of microorganisms to covert the chemical energy of fuel into electrical energy. MFC's can offer application flexibility because inherent microbial physiology allows many microbes and microbial communities to use several different chemical compounds as fuel. Additionally, microbes used as catalysts have the ability to self-repair and quickly adapt to varying operational conditions. This study compares the performance of different Shewanella strains as the biocatalyst in MFCs using lactate as fuel. Metabolic products, electrochemical activity, and biofilm formation were studied. The results show that different Shewanella strains yield different maximum power values and catalyze lactate oxidation at different rates. Additionally, each strain produces a different quantity and/or type of metabolic product(s) at any given time point during MFC operation.
 

Fuel Cell Technology: Biofuel Cells, Enzymatic and Microbial
8:25 AM-11:45 AM, Tuesday, August 21, 2007 Boston Park Plaza -- Arlington Rm, Oral

Division of Fuel Chemistry

The 234th ACS National Meeting, Boston, MA, August 19-23, 2007