Homoacetogenesis and microbial community composition are shaped by pH and total sulfide concentration

Biological CO2 sequestration through acetogenesis with H-2 as electron donor is a promising technology to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Today, a major issue is the presence of impurities such as hydrogen sulfide (H2S) in CO2 containing gases, as they are known to inhibit acetogenesis in CO2-based fermentations. However, exact values of toxicity and inhibition are not well-defined. To tackle this uncertainty, a series of toxicity experiments were conducted, with a mixed homoacetogenic culture, total dissolved sulfide concentrations ([TDS]) varied between 0 and 5 mM and pH between 5 and 7. The extent of inhibition was evaluated based on acetate production rates and microbial growth. Maximum acetate production rates of 0.12, 0.09 and 0.04 mM h(-1) were achieved in the controls without sulfide at pH 7, pH 6 and pH 5. The half-maximal inhibitory concentration (IC50qAc) was 0.86, 1.16 and 1.36 mM [TDS] for pH 7, pH 6 and pH 5. At [TDS] above 3.33 mM, acetate production and microbial growth were completely inhibited at all pHs. 16S rRNA gene amplicon sequencing revealed major community composition transitions that could be attributed to both pH and [TDS]. Based on the observed toxicity levels, treatment approaches for incoming industrial CO2 streams can be determined

Electrochemical treatment of industrial sulfidic spent caustic streams for sulfide removal and caustic recovery

Alkaline spent caustic streams (SCS) produced in the petrochemical and chemical manufacturing industry, contain high concentrations of reactive sulfide (HS-) and caustic soda (NaOH). Common treatment methods entail high operational costs while not recovering the possible resources that SCS contain. Here we studied the electrochemical treatment of SCS from a chemical manufacturing industry in an electrolysis cell, aiming at anodic HS- removal and cathodic NaOH, devoid of sulfide, recovery. Using a synthetic SCS we first evaluated the HS- oxidation product distribution over time, as well as the HS- removal and the NaOH recovery, as a function of current density. In a second step, we investigated the operational aspects of such treatment for the industrial SCS, under 300 A m(-2) fixed current density. In an electrolysis cell receiving 205 +/- 60 g S L-1 d(-1) HS- over 20 days of continuous operation, HS- was removed with a 38.0 +/- 7.7 % removal and similar to 80 % coulombic efficiency, with a concomitant recovery of a similar to 12 wt.% NaOH solution. The low cell voltage obtained (1.75 +/- 0.12 V), resulted in low energy requirements of 3.7 +/- 0.6 kW h kg(-1) S and 6.3 +/- 0.4 kW h kg(-1) NaOH and suggests techno-economic viability of this process

Microbial fuel cells: From fundamentals to applications. A review

© 2017 The Author(s) In the past 10–15 years, the microbial fuel cell (MFC) technology has captured the attention of the scientific community for the possibility of transforming organic waste directly into electricity through microbially catalyzed anodic, and microbial/enzymatic/abiotic cathodic electrochemical reactions. In this review, several aspects of the technology are considered. Firstly, a brief history of abiotic to biological fuel cells and subsequently, microbial fuel cells is presented. Secondly, the development of the concept of microbial fuel cell into a wider range of derivative technologies, called bioelectrochemical systems, is described introducing briefly microbial electrolysis cells, microbial desalination cells and microbial electrosynthesis cells. The focus is then shifted to electroactive biofilms and electron transfer mechanisms involved with solid electrodes. Carbonaceous and metallic anode materials are then introduced, followed by an explanation of the electro catalysis of the oxygen reduction reaction and its behavior in neutral media, from recent studies. Cathode catalysts based on carbonaceous, platinum-group metal and platinum-group-metal-free materials are presented, along with membrane materials with a view to future directions. Finally, microbial fuel cell practical implementation, through the utilization of energy output for practical applications, is described

Continuous H-2/CO2 fermentation for acetic acid production under transient and continuous sulfide inhibition

Waste gas fermentation powered by renewable H-2 is reaching kiloton scale. The presence of sulfide, inherent to many waste gases, can cause inhibition, requiring additional gas treatment. In this work, acetogenesis and methanogenesis inhibition by sulfide were studied in a 10-L mixed-culture fermenter, supplied with CO2 and connected with a water electrolysis unit for electricity-powered H-2 supply. Three cycles of inhibition (1.3 mM total dissolved sulfide (TDS)) and recovery were applied, then the fermenter was operated at 0.5 mM TDS for 35 days. During operation at 0.5 mM TDS the acetate production rate reached 7.1 +/- 1.5 mmol C L-1 d(-1). Furthermore, 43.7 +/- 15.6% of the electrons, provided as H-2, were distributed to acetate and 7.7 +/- 4.1% to butyrate, the second most abundant fermentation product. Selectivity of sulfide as inhibitor was demonstrated by a 7 days lag-phase of methanogenesis recovery, compared to 48 h for acetogenesis and by the less than 1% electrons distribution to CH4, under 0.5 mM TDS. The microbial community was dominated by Eubacterium, Proteiniphilum and an unclassified member of the Eggerthellaceae family. The taxonomic diversity of the community decreased and conversely the phenotypic diversity increased, during operation. This work illustrated the scale-up potential of waste gas fermentations, by elucidating the effect of sulfide as a common gas impurity, and by demonstrating continuous, potentially renewable supply of electrons

Hydrogen as electron donor for copper removal in bioelectrochemical systems

Hydrogen gas is an attractive alternative electron donor since it is produced in large quantities as a side product in the metallurgical industry. Aim of this study was to demonstrate that microbial anodic hydrogen oxidation on a non-catalyzed graphite electrode can be coupled with cathodic copper reduction in a BES to simultaneously recover copper and produce power. The strategy was to first grow an anodic biofilm on acetate, then replace the acetate with hydrogen as electron donor, and finally combine hydrogen oxidation with copper reduction in the cathode. The maximum current density was 1.8 A/m2 at -250 mV anode potential vs Ag/AgCl. When coupled with Cu2+ reduction, the maximum power density was 0.25 W/m2 at a current density of 0.48 A/m2. Anode overpotentials were higher compared to acetate oxidation, probably a result of limited hydrogen solubility and transfer.</p