Biocathode in microbial electrolysis cell; present status and future prospects

Jafary, Tahereh; Daud, Wan Ramli Wan; Ghasemi, Mostafa; Kim, Byung Hong; Jahim, Jamaliah Md; Ismail, Manal; Lim, Swee Su

doi:10.1016/j.rser.2015.03.003

Cited by 147 publications

(42 citation statements)

References 63 publications

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“…Most studies on hydrogen-evolving biocathodes in a microbial electrosynthesis reactor have been carried out using mixed microbial cultures (Jafary et al, 2015), and the ecology of the different microorganisms in a community is poorly understood. A few studies showed hydrogen formation by pure cultures of Geobacter sulfurreducens (Geelhoed et al, 2010) or Desulfovibrio species (Croese et al, 2011;Aulenta et al, 2012), and the molecular mechanism of the electron uptake reaction in most hydrogen-evolving, biocathodic microorganisms is unknown (Jafary et al, 2015). A more specialized type of biocathode is found in microbial electrosynthesis.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Enhanced microbial electrosynthesis by using defined co-cultures

2016

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Microbial uptake of free cathodic electrons presents a poorly understood aspect of microbial physiology. Uptake of cathodic electrons is particularly important in microbial electrosynthesis of sustainable fuel and chemical precursors using only CO 2 and electricity as carbon, electron and energy source. Typically, large overpotentials (200 to 400 mV) were reported to be required for cathodic electron uptake during electrosynthesis of, for example, methane and acetate, or low electrosynthesis rates were observed. To address these limitations and to explore conceptual alternatives, we studied defined co-cultures metabolizing cathodic electrons. The Fe(0)-corroding strain IS4 was used to catalyze the electron uptake reaction from the cathode forming molecular hydrogen as intermediate, and Methanococcus maripaludis and Acetobacterium woodii were used as model microorganisms for hydrogenotrophic synthesis of methane and acetate, respectively. The IS4-M. maripaludis co-cultures achieved electromethanogenesis rates of 0.1-0.14 μmol cm − 2 h − 1 at − 400 mV vs standard hydrogen electrode and 0.6-0.9 μmol cm − 2 h − 1 at − 500 mV. Co-cultures of strain IS4 and A. woodii formed acetate at rates of 0.21-0.23 μmol cm − 2 h − 1 at − 400 mV and 0.57-0.74 μmol cm − 2 h − 1 at − 500 mV. These data show that defined co-cultures coupling cathodic electron uptake with synthesis reactions via interspecies hydrogen transfer may lay the foundation for an engineering strategy for microbial electrosynthesis.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Enhanced microbial electrosynthesis by using defined co-cultures

2016

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“…A number of materials have been studied as alternative HER catalysts for both water electrolyzers and MECs, including metal sulfide, metal carbide, metal nitride, nonmetal‐doped carbon and enzymes etc. These catalysts have been comprehensively reviewed from the perspectives of material structures and the HER mechanisms . However, the unique features of the HER catalysts in MECs and the role of MECs as a research platform for evaluating catalyst durability are not well demonstrated.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Platinum Group Metal–free Catalysts for Hydrogen Evolution Reaction in Microbial Electrolysis Cells

Yuan

2017

The Chemical Record

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Hydrogen gas is a green energy carrier with great environmental benefits. Microbial electrolysis cells (MECs) can convert low-grade organic matter to hydrogen gas with low energy consumption and have gained a growing interest in the past decade. Cathode catalysts for the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) present a major challenge for the development and future applications of MECs. An ideal cathode catalyst should be catalytically active, simple to synthesize, durable in a complex environment, and cost-effective. A variety of noble-metal free catalysts have been developed and investigated for HER in MECs, including Nickel and its alloys, MoS , carbon-based catalysts and biocatalysts. MECs in turn can serve as a research platform to study the durability of the HER catalysts. This personal account has reviewed, analyzed, and discussed those catalysts with an emphasis on synthesis and modification, system performance and potential for practical applications. It is expected to provide insights into the development of HER catalysts towards MEC applications.

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“…In recent years, METs as new emerging renewable energy technologies, have been reviewed extensively Liew et al, 2014;Ge et al, 2014;Jafary et al, 2015;Dhar and Lee, 2013) including reviews on separators used in METs Kraytsberg and Ein-Eli, 2014;Leong et al, 2013;Rahimnejad et al, 2014a;Varcoe et al, 2014;Wang and Ren, 2013) but none of the reviews have considered inorganic separators as main topics of review such as ceramic and earthenware.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%