H2 mediated mixed culture microbial electrosynthesis for high titer acetate production from CO2
Microbial electrosynthesis (MES) converts CO2 into value-added products such as volatile fatty acids (VFAs) with minimal energy use, but low production titer has limited scale-up and commercialization. Mediated electron transfer via H2 on the MES cathode has shown a higher conversion rate than the d...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Elsevier
2024-05-01
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| Series: | Environmental Science and Ecotechnology |
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| Online Access: | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2666498423000893 |
| _version_ | 1797371325535223808 |
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| author | Yanhong Bian Aaron Leininger Harold D. May Zhiyong Jason Ren |
| author_facet | Yanhong Bian Aaron Leininger Harold D. May Zhiyong Jason Ren |
| author_sort | Yanhong Bian |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Microbial electrosynthesis (MES) converts CO2 into value-added products such as volatile fatty acids (VFAs) with minimal energy use, but low production titer has limited scale-up and commercialization. Mediated electron transfer via H2 on the MES cathode has shown a higher conversion rate than the direct biofilm-based approach, as it is tunable via cathode potential control and accelerates electrosynthesis from CO2. Here we report high acetate titers can be achieved via improved in situ H2 supply by nickel foam decorated carbon felt cathode in mixed community MES systems. Acetate concentration of 12.5 g L−1 was observed in 14 days with nickel-carbon cathode at a poised potential of −0.89 V (vs. standard hydrogen electrode, SHE), which was much higher than cathodes using stainless steel (5.2 g L−1) or carbon felt alone (1.7 g L−1) with the same projected surface area. A higher acetate concentration of 16.0 g L−1 in the cathode was achieved over long-term operation for 32 days, but crossover was observed in batch operation, as additional acetate (5.8 g L−1) was also found in the abiotic anode chamber. We observed the low Faradaic efficiencies in acetate production, attributed to partial H2 utilization for electrosynthesis. The selective acetate production with high titer demonstrated in this study shows the H2-mediated electron transfer with common cathode materials carries good promise in MES development. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-08T18:18:12Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-06635a88302448bba000ad33efe0adde |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2666-4984 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-08T18:18:12Z |
| publishDate | 2024-05-01 |
| publisher | Elsevier |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Environmental Science and Ecotechnology |
| spelling | doaj.art-06635a88302448bba000ad33efe0adde2023-12-31T04:28:06ZengElsevierEnvironmental Science and Ecotechnology2666-49842024-05-0119100324H2 mediated mixed culture microbial electrosynthesis for high titer acetate production from CO2Yanhong Bian0Aaron Leininger1Harold D. May2Zhiyong Jason Ren3Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Princeton University, 86 Olden St, Princeton, NJ, 08544, United States; Andlinger Center for Energy and the Environment, Princeton University, 86 Olden St., Princeton, NJ, 08544, United StatesDepartment of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Princeton University, 86 Olden St, Princeton, NJ, 08544, United States; Andlinger Center for Energy and the Environment, Princeton University, 86 Olden St., Princeton, NJ, 08544, United StatesAndlinger Center for Energy and the Environment, Princeton University, 86 Olden St., Princeton, NJ, 08544, United StatesDepartment of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Princeton University, 86 Olden St, Princeton, NJ, 08544, United States; Andlinger Center for Energy and the Environment, Princeton University, 86 Olden St., Princeton, NJ, 08544, United States; Corresponding author. Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Princeton University, 86 Olden St, Princeton, NJ, 08544, United States.Microbial electrosynthesis (MES) converts CO2 into value-added products such as volatile fatty acids (VFAs) with minimal energy use, but low production titer has limited scale-up and commercialization. Mediated electron transfer via H2 on the MES cathode has shown a higher conversion rate than the direct biofilm-based approach, as it is tunable via cathode potential control and accelerates electrosynthesis from CO2. Here we report high acetate titers can be achieved via improved in situ H2 supply by nickel foam decorated carbon felt cathode in mixed community MES systems. Acetate concentration of 12.5 g L−1 was observed in 14 days with nickel-carbon cathode at a poised potential of −0.89 V (vs. standard hydrogen electrode, SHE), which was much higher than cathodes using stainless steel (5.2 g L−1) or carbon felt alone (1.7 g L−1) with the same projected surface area. A higher acetate concentration of 16.0 g L−1 in the cathode was achieved over long-term operation for 32 days, but crossover was observed in batch operation, as additional acetate (5.8 g L−1) was also found in the abiotic anode chamber. We observed the low Faradaic efficiencies in acetate production, attributed to partial H2 utilization for electrosynthesis. The selective acetate production with high titer demonstrated in this study shows the H2-mediated electron transfer with common cathode materials carries good promise in MES development.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2666498423000893Microbial electrosynthesisIndirect electron transferCO2 electrolysisVFAs production |
| spellingShingle | Yanhong Bian Aaron Leininger Harold D. May Zhiyong Jason Ren H2 mediated mixed culture microbial electrosynthesis for high titer acetate production from CO2 Environmental Science and Ecotechnology Microbial electrosynthesis Indirect electron transfer CO2 electrolysis VFAs production |
| title | H2 mediated mixed culture microbial electrosynthesis for high titer acetate production from CO2 |
| title_full | H2 mediated mixed culture microbial electrosynthesis for high titer acetate production from CO2 |
| title_fullStr | H2 mediated mixed culture microbial electrosynthesis for high titer acetate production from CO2 |
| title_full_unstemmed | H2 mediated mixed culture microbial electrosynthesis for high titer acetate production from CO2 |
| title_short | H2 mediated mixed culture microbial electrosynthesis for high titer acetate production from CO2 |
| title_sort | h2 mediated mixed culture microbial electrosynthesis for high titer acetate production from co2 |
| topic | Microbial electrosynthesis Indirect electron transfer CO2 electrolysis VFAs production |
| url | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2666498423000893 |
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