Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering, University of Maryland, College Park, College Park, MD 20742, USA.
Bioresour Technol. 2012 Sep;119:208-15. doi: 10.1016/j.biortech.2012.05.075. Epub 2012 May 24.
Agricultural crop residues contain high amounts of biochemical energy as cellulose and lignin. A portion of this biomass could be sustainably harvested for conversion to bioenergy to help offset fossil fuel consumption. In this study, the potential for converting lignocellulosic biomass directly to electricity in a microbial fuel cell (MFC) was explored. Design elements of tubular air cathode MFCs and leach-bed bioreactors were integrated to develop a new solid-substrate MFC in which cellulose hydrolysis, fermentation, and anode respiration occurred in a single chamber. Electricity was produced continuously from untreated corncob pellets for >60 d. Addition of rumen fluid increased power production, presumably by providing growth factors to anode-respiring bacteria. Periodic exposure to oxygen also increased power production, presumably by limiting the diversion of electrons to methanogenesis. In the absence of methanogenesis, bioaugmentation with Geobacter metallireducens further improved MFC performance. Under these conditions, the maximum power density was 230 mW/m(3).
农业作物残余物含有大量的生化能源，如纤维素和木质素。这部分生物质可以可持续地收获，转化为生物能源，以帮助抵消化石燃料的消耗。在这项研究中，探索了在微生物燃料电池（MFC）中将木质纤维素生物质直接转化为电能的潜力。管状空气阴极 MFC 和浸出床生物反应器的设计元素被整合到一个新的固体基质 MFC 中，在这个 MFC 中，纤维素水解、发酵和阳极呼吸都发生在一个单一的腔室中。未经处理的玉米粒在>60 天内连续产生电能。添加瘤胃液增加了产电量，这可能是通过向阳极呼吸细菌提供生长因子来实现的。周期性地暴露在氧气中也增加了产电量，这可能是通过限制电子向甲烷生成的转移来实现的。在没有甲烷生成的情况下，添加 Geobacter metallireducens 进行生物增强进一步提高了 MFC 的性能。在这些条件下，最大功率密度为 230 mW/m(3)。
