Electricity from methane by reversing methanogenesis
Michael J. McAnulty, Venkata Giridhar Poosarla, Kyoung‐Yeol Kim, Ricardo Jasso‐Chávez +2
AI summary
92% confidenceThis study demonstrates electricity generation from methane using a synthetic microbial consortium in a dual-chamber MFC. The system combines an engineered Methanosarcina acetivorans strain expressing methyl-coenzyme M reductase (Mcr) from anaerobic methanotrophs to oxidize methane to acetate, Geobacter sulfurreducens to catalyze acetate oxidation, and methane-acclimated sludge (primarily Paracoccus denitrificans) providing electron shuttles. The system achieves 90±10% Coulombic efficiency and generates significant electrical current (273 mA/m² current density, 168 mW/m² maximum power) by reversing the methanogenesis pathway.
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Abstract
Given our vast methane reserves and the difficulty in transporting methane without substantial leaks, the conversion of methane directly into electricity would be beneficial. Microbial fuel cells harness electrical power from a wide variety of substrates through biological means; however, the greenhouse gas methane has not been used with much success previously as a substrate in microbial fuel cells to generate electrical current. Here we construct a synthetic consortium consisting of: (i) an engineered archaeal strain to produce methyl-coenzyme M reductase from unculturable anaerobic methanotrophs for capturing methane and secreting acetate; (ii) micro-organisms from methane-acclimated sludge (including Paracoccus denitrificans) to facilitate electron transfer by providing electron shuttles (confirmed by replacing the sludge with humic acids), and (iii) Geobacter sulfurreducens to produce electrons from acetate, to create a microbial fuel cell that converts methane directly into significant electrical current. Notably, this methane microbial fuel cell operates at high Coulombic efficiency.
Keywords
Identifiers
- PubMed
- 28513579
- Journal
- Nature Communications
- Year
- 2017