[Mechanisms of bioelectricity generation in Enterobacter aerogenes-based microbial fuel cells]

Microbial fuel cells (MFCs) using hydrogen-producing bacteria (HPB) could utilize a large number of substrates to generate power. However, the coulombic efficiency is limited by the fact that only suspended cells are used as biocatalyst in anodic medium. MFCs using Fe (III)-reducing bacteria have high energy recovery efficiency, but can only utilize some simple organic matters. In this study, Enterobacter aerogenes XM02, a hydrogen-producing strain with Fe(III)-reducing activity, was selected as biocatalyst for MFCs, which could produce electricity by digesting lots of carbohydrates even starch. Graphite felt, a material with high specific surface area and hydrogen catalysis, instead of carbon paper supported platinum, was used as anode material. The coulombic efficiency had been substantially improved from 1.68% to 42.49%, higher than other HPB-based MFCs previously reported. The SEM image proved the ability of XM02 strain to colonize on the anode surface. Power generation of MFCs could restore quickly when anodic medium was completely replaced with non-growth medium containing glucose. This suggested that the attached cells contributed to electricity production because planktonic cells had been removed during the medium replacement. This study proposed the mechanism of power generated from in situ oxidation of hydrogen produced by the XM02 strain biofilm.