Reducing Oxygen Stress and Improving Hydrogen Availability Boosts Microbial Electrosynthesis by Clostridium ljungdahlii.
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75% confidenceThe study investigates the impact of oxygen stress and hydrogen availability on microbial electrosynthesis (MES) using Clostridium ljungdahlii, demonstrating improved MES performance by mitigating oxygen stress and enhancing hydrogen distribution. The research showcases the use of 1-L electrobioreactors to achieve high process control and relevance for scaling. The findings highlight the potential of MES for converting carbon dioxide into valuable chemicals.
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Abstract
Microbial electrosynthesis (MES) holds great promise for converting carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) into building blocks of the (bio)chemical industry. Its advancement is hindered by limited process control and an incomplete understanding of the oxygen (O 2 ) stress response of biocatalysts or key engineering parameters like the availability of hydrogen (H 2 ). With Clostridium ljungdahlii as a model acetogen for strict anaerobic MES from CO 2 , the effect of O 2 stress and H 2 availability using 1-L electrobioreactors is showcased, providing high process control and relevance for follow-up engineering and scaling. Using a combinatorial approach of two cathode materials, three anode types, and various current regimes ranging from -5 to -80 mA, MES performance is boosted by overcoming O 2 stress and insufficient H 2 distribution at high current. It is demonstrated that a large-surface-area carbon fiber fabric cathode combined with O 2 evolution anodes flushed with nitrogen (N 2 ) allows the highest reproducible acetate concentration of 12.44 ± 1.56 g L -1 and maximum acetate production rate of 0.6 ± 0.1 g L -1 d -1 reported for MES from CO 2 using a pure culture. There is certainly room for improved process control at this and even larger scales, showing that the ceiling of strict anaerobic MES is far from being reached.