environment Metabolism support --- reduction of compounds Different types of electron acceptors Either to diffused soluble substances or directly through their outer membranes (MFC) Uses of Electrochemically active biofilms Metal oxidation reduction, mineral dissolution, carbon cycles, complexation of phosphorus and metals Exoelectrogenic activites Recent discoveries Shewnella and Geobacter ---- genome sequences provide information about their capabilities of energy generation Mechanism of electron transfer is poorly understood
Mechanism of electron transfer ouside the cells Shewnella and E coli cannot produce electricity Recent studies showed that in bioelectrochemically evolved cells produced electric current - in air cathode MFC increased power inputs are published but still the analysis of reseach crticised that the purity of culture is not tested
Self Produced chemical mediators Pycocyanine produced by pseuodomonas aerogenosa OR Nano wires produced by Geobacter and Shewanella Shewanella has membrane bound electron carriers proteins periplasm, cytoplasm and outer membranes minerals reduction
Still studies are required to find out the machanism of colonization of bacteria, maintance of viable cells on the surfaces, surface competition
Gorby bacterial nanowires ---Geobacter and Shewanella Conductivities of nano wires ---- Scanning Tunneling Microscopy (STM) Sample is placed on highly conductive pyrolytic graphite surface and Pt-Ir tip is passed over the sample with constant imaging Conductive surface relative to the sample
Evidence of nanowires produced by photosynthetic microorganisms Oxygenic cyanobacteria - C02 limited conditions, that they can produce electricity in an MFC in the light, but not in the dark. The Pelotomaculum Thermopropionicum potential for interspecies electron transfer fermentative bacteria to methanogenes Fermentative bacteria release electron in order to regenerate NADH Methanogeni / sulfate-reducing co-cultures
Reductive acetyl-coenzyme a pathway
Bacteria may accomplish electron transfer from the surface of the cell to iron or an anode without long nanowires (possibility) Protrusions certainly could be conductive points of contact Anaerobically grown Shewanella oneidensis adhered to an iron (goethite) surface with two to five times greater force than aerobically grown cells anaerobic conditions might allow closer contact required for electron transfer from cell bound cytochromes even in the absence of nanowires Potter (191 1) the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisae and bacteria such as Escherichia coli were shown to produce a voltage, resulting in electricity generation no known mediators A variety of chemicals have been used to facilitate the shuttling of electrons from inside the cell to electrodes outside the cell. These exogenous mediators include, for example, neutral red, anthraquinone-2-6,disulfonate (AQDS), thionin, potassium ferricyanide Rabaey and coworkers demonstrated that exogenous mediators did not have to be added to a culture -self-produced or endogenous chemical mediators, for example pyocyanin The production of high concentrations of mediators by mixed cultures primarily containing P. aeruginosa, coupled with a very low internal resistance MFC achieved by using ferricyanide as a catholyte (instead of oxygen), produced 3.1 to 4.2 W/m2 in MFCs A continuous-flow system loss of mediator and its solution Pyocyanin compounds - exogenous electron transfer antibiotics - respiratory inhibitors or toxins to inactivate competitors
Mediator production was long suspected to be the main route of electron transfer for S. oneidensis One of the main studies that supported mediator production by Shewanella cells could reduce iron encapsulated within a porous silica bead . When this bacterium is grown in electron-acceptor limited conditions in chemostats, extrude nanowires- penetrate into the pores of porous silica beads
Cells must be grown in the presence of other bacteria to attain high power densities
Gammaroteobacteria and Shewanella SVV. Kim et al. (1 999d) demonstrated electricity production -absence of an exogenous mediator- 0.01mW/m2 - -cyclic voltammetry indicated of electrodes in a poised electrode MFC indicated oxidation and reduction peaks suggesting the presence of mediators - current generation was inactivated by oxygen, but not by nitrate Power density of 10.2 mW/m2 , Coulombic efficiency of 4%) using Shewanella putrefacians and a Mn4'-graphite electrode and air-cathode using lactate as a substrate, and 9.4 mW/m2 with pyruvate. Cylclic Voltametery
Little power was generated from acetate or glucose (1.6 and 1.9 mW/m2), consistent with the observation of a lack of substrate utilization by this microorganism. Incorporation of mediators into the graphite electrode increased power output by 10-fold. The maximum power density with S. putrefacians was six-fold lower than with a sewage sludge inoculum in the same device
A culture of Shewanella oneidensis DSPlO was grown in a culture bottle on lactate, then the cell suspension was fed into a small MFC (1.2 cm3) using ferricyanide catholytes- Power production was quite large (3 W/m2, 500 W/m3), addition of mediators increased power output by 30-100%. The Gram-negative, iron-reducing bacterium Aeromonas hydrophila was isolated from an MFC inoculated with an unspecified source and fed acetate facultative anaerobic bacterium produced power with yeast extract, but not with acetate. Electrochemical activity was observed with a medium containing Fe(III), but it was not observed when iron was omitted, suggesting that regulation of electrochemical activity A. hydrophilia KCTC 2358 also showed electrochemical activity based on cyclic voltammetry scans, suggesting that electrochemical activity might be a general property of A. hydrophilia
Deltaproteobacteria and members of the Geobacteracae family - The first investigations of power generation by members of the Geobacteraceae family (Deltaproteobacteria) were stimulated by the observation that the majority (70%) of sequences obtained from a marine sediment MFC were most closely related to the genus Desulfuromonas (Bond et al. 2002; Reimers et al. 2001). Current recovery with the air-cathode was high, with an 84% Coulombic efficiency. The addition of an electron shuttle (AQDS) increased power by only 24%, suggesting that power generation was near the limit for this device.