The Use of Accumulated Charge Density of a Bioanode to Estimate Maximum Current in a Bioelectrochemical System

Abstract

Abstract The maximum current density ( j max ) is of importance to the modeling of current produced in a bioelectrochemical system (BES). This study explores an alternative to biomass and biofilm thickness, the accumulated charge density ( τ ) of electroactive bacteria on the bioanode, to estimate the j max value. The τ values of five carbon‐based bioanodes are chronoamperometrically determined in a substrate‐depleted solution. The graphite felt bioanode acclimated for 1, 2, 4, and 6 batches exhibits τ values of 6.14, 11.80, 22.23, and 30.24 C m −2 , respectively, and j max values of 5.31, 6.69, 14.01, and 19.62 A m −2 , respectively. A linear correlation between τ and j max is achieved and can be expressed as j max =0.64 τ . The τ and j max values of four other carbon‐based bioanodes also follow a linear relationship, with coefficients of approximately 0.64. These results imply that τ is a key parameter for estimating j max in the BES without the need to determine biomass and biofilm thickness.

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DOI

10.1002/celc.201500139

Journal

ChemElectroChem

Year

2015