Microbial Communities and Electrochemical Performance of Titanium-Based Anodic Electrodes in a Microbial Fuel Cell
Urania Michaelidou, Annemiek ter Heijne, Gerrit Jan W. Euverink, Hubertus V. M. Hamelers +2
AI summary
82% confidenceThis study compared four titanium-based anodic electrodes in a microbial fuel cell, differing in surface coating (Pt or Ta) or texture (smooth or rough). Platinum- and tantalum-coated electrodes significantly outperformed uncoated variants, producing 3–11× higher power densities. Microbial community analysis revealed distinct biofilm populations on metal-coated electrodes, dominated by Geobacter sulfurreducens and related Fe(III)-reducing bacteria, with poor biofilm formation on uncoated titanium due to surface oxide layers hindering bacterial attachment and electron transfer.
Generated by MESSAI extraction pipeline · review against source PDF
Representative MFC — matched on the paper’s system type only, not its reactor or geometry.
Open in lab for full controls, parameter editing, and template overlays.
Open in lab →What they did
- System
- MFC
What worked
No outcome metrics extracted yet.
Abstract
ABSTRACT Four types of titanium (Ti)-based electrodes were tested in the same microbial fuel cell (MFC) anodic compartment. Their electrochemical performances and the dominant microbial communities of the electrode biofilms were compared. The electrodes were identical in shape, macroscopic surface area, and core material but differed in either surface coating (Pt- or Ta-coated metal composites) or surface texture (smooth or rough). The MFC was inoculated with electrochemically active, neutrophilic microorganisms that had been enriched in the anodic compartments of acetate-fed MFCs over a period of 4 years. The original inoculum consisted of bioreactor sludge samples amended with Geobacter sulfurreducens strain PCA. Overall, the Pt- and Ta-coated Ti bioanodes (electrode-biofilm association) showed higher current production than the uncoated Ti bioanodes. Analyses of extracted DNA of the anodic liquid and the Pt- and Ta-coated Ti electrode biofilms indicated differences in the dominant bacterial communities. Biofilm formation on the uncoated electrodes was poor and insufficient for further analyses. Bioanode samples from the Pt- and Ta-coated Ti electrodes incubated with Fe(III) and acetate showed several Fe(III)-reducing bacteria, of which selected species were dominant, on the surface of the electrodes. In contrast, nitrate-enriched samples showed less diversity, and the enriched strains were not dominant on the electrode surface. Isolated Fe(III)-reducing strains were phylogenetically related, but not all identical, to Geobacter sulfurreducens strain PCA. Other bacterial species were also detected in the system, such as a Propionicimonas -related species that was dominant in the anodic liquid and Pseudomonas -, Clostridium -, Desulfovibrio -, Azospira -, and Aeromonas -related species.
Keywords
Identifiers
- Journal
- Applied and Environmental Microbiology
- Year
- 2011