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Effect of initial carbon sources on the performance of microbial fuel cells containing Proteus vulgaris
Author(s) -
Kim Namjoon,
Choi Youngjin,
Jung Seunho,
Kim Sunghyun
Publication year - 2000
Publication title -
biotechnology and bioengineering
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.136
H-Index - 189
eISSN - 1097-0290
pISSN - 0006-3592
DOI - 10.1002/1097-0290(20001005)70:1<109::aid-bit11>3.0.co;2-m
Subject(s) - proteus vulgaris , trehalose , microorganism , carbon fibers , maltose , chemistry , carbon source , biofuel , biochemistry , bacteria , chemical engineering , sucrose , biology , materials science , microbiology and biotechnology , escherichia coli , genetics , composite number , engineering , composite material , gene
Mediator‐coupled microbial fuel cells containing Proteus vulgaris were constructed and the cell performance was tested. Fuel cell efficiency depended on the carbon source in the initial medium of the microorganism. Maltose and trehalose were not utilized substantially by P. vulgaris; however, their presence in the initial medium resulted in enhanced cell performance. In particular, galactose showed 63% coulombic efficiency in a biofuel cell after P. vulgaris was cultured in a trehalose‐containing medium. This work demonstrates that optimum utilization of carbon sources by microorganisms, which leads to the maximization of fuel cell performance, is possible simply by adjusting initial carbon sources. © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Biotechnol Bioeng 70: 109–114, 2000.