Characterization of a Microbial Fuel Cell with a New Configuration for Scale-up in Wastewater Treatment Plant
2015
Paitier, Agathe | Antoni, P. | Averoux, C. | Béasse, S. | de Boisset, P. | Revellat, C. | Haddour, Naoufel | Vogel, Timothy M
Microbial fuel cells (MFC), while among the most-studied bioelectrochemical systems (BES) over the last twenty years, still pose difficulties when attempts to scale up the efficiency observed at the laboratory-scale. The interdependence of different aspects of MFCs (electrochemistry, microbiology, and electrical and process engineering) is linked to the electricity production and we hypothesize to the function and structure of the anodic bacterial community. Our work was based on the hypothesis that typical scale-up efforts modify specific MFC parameters (substrate diffusion, geometry, hydraulic forces, etc.) that in turn affect the anodic biofilm and the efficiency of electron transfer to the anode.We investigated the electricity production and associated processes of MFCs with different configurations and sizes, operated under similar conditions. Electrical production, electrochemical characterization and anodic biofilm structure were monitored during the MFC start-up and operation. Electrochemical characterization by electrochemical impedance spectroscopy and cyclic voltammetry was used to model electrical behaviour of MFCs in relation with the identification of redox proteins involved in electron transfer in order to understand the limiting step of extracellular electron transfer to electrodes in anodic biofilms and to highlight the MFC parameters that drive this process.In parallel, the physical structure of the biofilms (such as density, thickness and bacterial distribution) was studied by microscopy and molecular biology techniques.
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