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Updated: Feb 16, 2026

Light-Controlled Fermentations for Microbial Chemical and Protein Production
Published on: March 22, 2022
Tetramethyl ammonium hydroxide production using the microbial electrolysis desalination and chemical-production cell
Bo Ye1, Yaobin Lu1, Haiping Luo1
1Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Environmental Pollution Control and Remediation Technology, School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou 510275, China.
Abstract:
The aim of this study was to investigate the feasibility to improve the tetramethyl ammonium hydroxide (TMAH) production in the microbial electrolysis desalination and chemical-production cell (MEDCC) with long anode of 48 cm. Different concentrations of tetramethylammonium chloride (0.3-0.7 M) and applied voltages (1.5-3.5 V) were tested in the MEDCC. With 0.6 M of tetramethylammonium chloride as the raw material and under the applied voltage of 3.5 V, the maximum TMAH production rate in the MEDCC reached 1.13 ± 0.12 mmol/h, which was 9.4 times higher than those previously reported in the MEDCCs. The maximum current density of 41.0 ± 4.0 A/m2 in the MEDCC was obtained, which was the highest value in the bioelectrochemical systems using the carbon cloth or carbon brush as the anode so far. Our results should provide a promising method to improve the TMAH production and boost the MEDCC application.
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