Enhancement of electricity production in microbial fuel cells using a biosurfactant-producing co-culture

Microbial fuel cells are bio-electrochemical devices that enable the conversion of chemical energy into bioelectricity. In this manuscript, the use of biosurfactants (Tween 80 and surfactin) and the effect of coculturing E. coli and L. plantarum were used to investigate the generation of bioelectricity coming from an H-type microbial fuel cell. In this setup, E. coli acts as an electron donor while L. plantarum acts as an in situ biosurfactant producer. It was observed that the use of exogenous surfactants enhanced electricity production compared to conventional E. coli cultures. The utilization of Tween 80 and surfactin increased the power generation from 204 µW m−2 to 506 µW m−2 and 577 µW m−2, respectively. Furthermore, co-culturing E. coli and L. plantarum also resulted in a higher power output compared to pure cultures (132.8% more when compared to using E. coli alone and 68.1% more when compared to using L. plantarum alone). Due to the presence of surfactants, the internal resistance of the cell was reduced. The experimental evidence collected here clearly indicates that the production of endogenous surfactants, as well as the addition of exogenous surfactants, will enhance MFC electricity production.

• Autores: Quintero Díaz, Juan Carlos; Montoya Vallejo, Carolina; Gil Posada, Jorge Omar
• Tipo de recurso: Article of investigation
• Fecha de publicación: 2023
• Institución: Universidad de Antioquia
• Repositorio: Repositorio UdeA
• Idioma: eng
• OAI Identifier: oai:bibliotecadigital.udea.edu.co:10495/45919
• Acceso en línea: https://hdl.handle.net/10495/45919
• Palabra clave: Fuentes de Energía Bioeléctrica; Bioelectric Energy Sources; Técnicas de Cocultivo; Coculture Techniques; Electricidad; Electricity; Electrodos; Electrodes; Escherichia coli; Polisorbatos; Polysorbates; Tensoactivos; Surface-Active Agents; https://id.nlm.nih.gov/mesh/D001674; https://id.nlm.nih.gov/mesh/D018920; https://id.nlm.nih.gov/mesh/D004560; https://id.nlm.nih.gov/mesh/D004566; https://id.nlm.nih.gov/mesh/D004926; https://id.nlm.nih.gov/mesh/D011136; https://id.nlm.nih.gov/mesh/D013501; ODS 7: Energía asequible y no contaminante. Garantizar el acceso a una energía asequible, fiable, sostenible y moderna para todos
• Rights: openAccess
• License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/