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Characterization of anodic biofilm bacterial communities and performance evaluation of a mediator-free microbial fuel cell

Research Authors
Momen Salah Kamel, Mohamed Hemida Abd-Alla , Usama M. Abdul-Raouf
Research Abstract

This study investigated the bioelectrical performance of a single-chamber microbial fuel cell (SCMFC) fueled with acetate as the electron donor and inoculated with municipal solid waste rejected fractions (MSWRFs) as a microbial inoculum. The molecular characterization of the bacterial community structures of the anodic biofilm was conducted based on 16s RNA gene sequencing. The results indicated that the highest open-circuit voltage (OCV) was 797 mV and the system had a maximum power density of 134.5 mW/m2 at a stable current density of 328 mA/m2 . The microbial fuel cell’s (MFC) columbic efficiency (CE) was 55% at a maximum substrate degradation rate of about 86.6% based on COD removal efficiency. The molecular analysis of the anodic bacterial isolates indicated that the phylogenetic bacterial mixture was dominated by seven strains with similarity percentage above 99% for each strain: Enterococcus faecalis, Clostridium butyricum, Bacillus sp., Bacillus subterranous, Enterobacter celoaca, Klebsiella pneumonia, and Escherichia coli. These results suggested that MSWRFs bacterial consortia have a moderate symbiotic structure as indicated by electrons release in parallel with substrate decomposition.

Research Date
Research Journal
Environ. Eng. Res. 2020; 25(6): 862-870
Research Member
Research Publisher
Korean Society of Environmental Engineers
Research Rank
q2
Research Vol
25(6):
Research Website
DOI: https://doi.org/10.4491/eer.2019.412
Research Year
2020
Research Pages
862-870