[E&E seminars] Bruce Logan on Microbial Fuel Cell Technologies - March 2

[Jameson Twomey]

Bioenergy production using microbial fuel cell technologies

Bruce Logan, Penn State University

Tuesday, March 2

4:15 PM - Reception to follow

66-110 (Landau Building, 25 Ames Street)


Abstract

Certain naturally occurring microorganisms are capable of electron  
transfer outside or into the cell. These microorganisms are being used  
in several new technologies, based on microbial fuel cells (MFCs), to  
produce energy and clean water. In an MFC, exoelectrogenic bacteria  
oxidize organic matter and release electrons to an electrode (anode).  
These electrons flow to the counter electrode (cathode) where they  
combine with oxygen and protons to form water, generating current and  
power. Sustained electricity generation is possible using virtually  
any type of biodegradable organic matter including pure compounds  
(acetic acid and other volatile acids, glucose and sugars, amino acids  
and proteins, etc.), complex organic matter in wastewater (domestic,  
animal, food, and other industries), and agricultural materials  
(cellulose and fermentation endproducts). The MFC architecture can be  
modified to use energy in the organic matter to accomplish water  
desalination without any electrical input or high pressures. In the  
absence of oxygen, and by adding voltage to that produced by the  
bacteria, it is also possible to produce hydrogen gas at the cathode  
in a device called a microbial electrolysis cell (MEC). The voltage  
needed (>0.2 V) is substantially smaller than that needed to  
electrolyze water. Hydrogen gas produced can be recovered at nearly  
100% of the stoichiometric yield in an MEC for certain substrates, and  
two to four times more energy is recovered as hydrogen gas than used  
as electrical energy. By using electrotrophic microorganisms on the  
cathode, it is possible to produce other products from the current  
such as methane. In this presentation, I review what is known about  
exoelectrogenic and electrotophic microorganisms, summarize advances  
in increasing current densities and reducing materials costs, and  
discuss recent field trials using larger, pilot-scale MFC and MEC  
systems.




About the speaker

Bruce Logan is the Kappe Professor of Environmental Engineering at  
Penn State University, and Director of the Engineering Energy &  
Environmental Institute. He has published over 240 journal papers and  
several books, including one on microbial fuel cells, and works in a  
variety of research areas including bioenergy production,  
bioremediation, environmental transport processes, colloidal dynamics,  
and microbial adhesion. Dr. Logan was recently awarded the Athalie  
Richardson Irvine Clarke Prize for his research to develop an energy  
sustainable water infrastructure. He is a visiting professor at  
Newcastle University in England, Harbin Institute of Technology and  
Dalian University of Technology in China, and an Investigator with the  
King Abdullah University of Science & Technology (KAUST) in Saudi  
Arabia.


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