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Author Spotlight: Scaling Microalgal Biotechnology for Enhanced Biomethane Production
Published on: March 22, 2024
A single microbial electrochemical system for CO2 reduction and simultaneous biogas purification, upgrading and
Xian-Zhong Fu1, Jie Li2, Xin-Rong Pan2
1CAS Key Laboratory of Urban Pollutant Conversion, Department of Applied Chemistry, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei 230026, China; University of Science and Technology of China-City University of Hong Kong Joint Advanced Research Center, Suzhou 215123, China; Department of Biomedical Sciences, City University of Hong Kong, 999077, Hong Kong, China.
Abstract:
In this work, a single microbial electrochemical system was developed for multiple goals simultaneously - CO2 reduction, biogas purification, upgrading and sulfur recovery. This system consists of a methanogen-inoculated biocathode for CO2 reduction and a ferrous ion (Fe2+)-mediated abiotic anode for hydrogen sulfide (H2S) oxidation. In the cathodic chamber, methane production rate of 20.6 ± 1.0 μmol·h-1 and high upgrading level (up to 98.3% methane content) were achieved. In the anodic chamber, H2S was completely removed and selectively converted into elemental sulfur particles. The system showed stable performance during continuous operation for treating both pure CO2 and mixed gases, with a cathodic coulombic efficiency of up to 85.2%. This simple system holds a great potential for practical application for biogas upgrading and sulfur recovery from waste water/gases.
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