Extracellular polymeric substances in electroactive biofilms play a crucial role in improving the efficiency of microbial fuel and electrolysis cells

Abstract

In microbial electrochemical cells (MECs), electroactive microbial biofilms can transmit electrons from organic molecules to anodes. To further understand the production of anodic biofilms, it is essential to investigate the composition and distribution of EPS in the MECs. In this study, the structure of EPS was examined in microbial electrolysis cells from mixed cultures forming biofilm using carbon fiber fabric anode. Extracellular polymeric substance (EPS) was extracted from the anode biofilm of microbial electrolysis cells inoculated with mixed microbial culture. The anode biofilm yielded 0.4 mg of EPS, of which 51.2% is humic substance, 16.2% is protein, 12.6% is carbohydrates, and 20% is comprised of undetermined substances. Using epifluorescence microscopy, the composition of bacterial cells and their location inside EPS were studied, and distribution of microbial communities was compared based on current density results in the presence of various carbohydrates. On the electrode surface, bacteria and EPS gathered or overlapped in various locations can affect microbial electrochemical performance. Our findings showed that EPS formation in electroactive biofilms would be important for enhanced efficiency of electricity- or hydrogen-producing microbial electrolysis cells.