• 한국환경과학회지
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• 제23권10호
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• pp.1745-1753
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• 2014

Sediment microbial fuel cell (SMFC), equipped with Zn, Al, Cu, Fe or graphite felt (GF) anode and marine sediment, was performed. Graphite felt was used as a common cathode. SMFC was single chambered and did not use any redox mediator. The aim of this work was to find efficient anodic material. Oxidation reduction potential (ORP), cell voltage, current density, power density, pH and chemical oxygen demand (COD) were measured for SMFC's performance.. The order of maximum power density was $913mWm^{-2}$ for Zn, $646mWm^{-2}$ for Fe, $387.8mWm^{-2}$ for Cu, $266mWm^{-2}$ for Al, and $127mWm^{-2}$ for graphite felt (GF). The current density over voltage was found to be strongly correlated with metal electrodes, but the graphite felt electrode, in which relatively weaker electricity was observed because of its bio-oriented mechanism. Metal corrosion reactions and/or a complicated microbial electron transfer mechanism acting around the anodic compartment may facilitate to generate electricity. We presume that more sophisticated selection of anodic material can lead to better performance in SMFC.

• Environmental Engineering Research
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• 제19권4호
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• pp.363-367
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• 2014

One chambered sediment microbial fuel cell (SMFC) was equipped with Fe, brass (Cu/Zn), Fe/Zn, Cu, Cu/carbon cloth and graphite felt anode. Graphite felt was used as common cathode. The SMFC was membrane-less and mediator-less as well. Order of anodic performance on the basis of power density was Fe/Zn ($6.90Wm^{-2}$) > Fe ($6.03Wm^{-2}$) > Cu/carbon cloth ($2.13Wm^{-2}$) > Cu ($1.13Wm^{-2}$) > brass ($Cu/Zn=0.24Wm^{-2}$) > graphite felt ($0.10Wm^{-2}$). Fe/Zn composite anode have twisted 6.73% more power than Fe alone, Cu/carbon cloth boosted power production by 65%, and brass (Cu/Zn) produced 65% less power than Cu alone. Graphite felt have shown the lowest electricity generation because of its poor galvanic potential. The estuarine sediment served as supplier of oxidants or electron producing microbial flora, which evoked electrons via a complicated direct microbial electron transfer mechanism or making biofilm, respectively. Oxidation reduction was kept to be stationary over time except at the very initial period (mostly for sediment positioning) at anodes. Based on these findings, cost effective and efficient anodic material can be suggested for better SMFC configurations and stimulate towards practical value and application.

• Bulletin of the Korean Chemical Society
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• 제29권11호
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• pp.2189-2194
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• 2008

• Bulletin of the Korean Chemical Society
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• 제33권7호
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• pp.2401-2404
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• 2012

• Journal of Electrochemical Science and Technology
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• 제13권2호
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• pp.308-320
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• 2022

The high internal resistance (R_int) that develops across the sediment microbial fuel cells (SMFC) limits their power production (~4/10 mW m^-2) that can be recovered from an initial oil-contaminated sediment (OCS). In the anolyte, R_int is related to poor biodegradation activity, quality and quantity of contaminant content in the sediment and anode material. While on the catholyte, R_int depends on the properties of the catholyte, the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR), and the cathode material. In this work, the main factors limiting the power output of the SMFC have been minimized. The power output of the SMFC was increased (47 times from its initial value, ~4 mW m^-2) minimizing the SMFC R_int (28 times from its initial value, 5000 ohms), following the main modifications. Anolyte: the initial OCS was amended with several amounts of gasoline and kerosene. The best anaerobic microbial activity of indigenous populations was better adapted (without more culture media) to 3 g of kerosene. Catholyte: ORR was catalyzed in birnessite/carbon fabric (CF)-cathode at pH 2, 0.8M Na₂SO₄. At the class level, the main microbial groups (Gammaproteobacteria, Coriobacteriia, Actinobacteria, Alphaproteobacteria) with electroactive members were found at C-anode and were associated with the high-power densities obtained. Gasoline is more difficult to biodegrade than kerosene. However, in both cases, SMFC biodegradation activity and power output are increased when ORR is performed on birnessite/CF in 0.8 M Na₂SO₄ at pH 2. The work discussed here can focus on bioremediation (in heavy OCS) or energy production in future work.

• Environmental Engineering Research
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• 제25권2호
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• pp.238-242
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• 2020

Sediment microbial fuel cells (SMFCs) illustrated great potential for powering environmental sensors and bioremediation of sediments. In the present study, array anodes for SMFCs were fabricated with graphite rods as anode material and stainless steel plate as electric current collector to make it inconvenient to in situ settle down and not feasible for large-scale application. The results demonstrated that maximum power of 89.4 ㎼ was obtained from three graphite rods, twice of 43.3 ㎼ for two graphite rods. Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy revealed that three graphite rods resulted in anodic resistance of 61.2 Ω, relative to 76.0 Ω of two graphite rods. It was probably caused by the parallel connection of the graphite rods, as well as more biomass which could reduce the charge transfer resistance of the biofilm anode. The presently designed array configuration possesses the advantages of easy to enlarge the surface area, decrease in anodic resistance because of the parallel connection of each graphite rod, and convenience to berry into sediment by gravity. Therefore, the as prepared array node would be an effective method to fabricate large-scale SMFC and make it easy to in situ applicate in natural sediments.

• 미생물학회지
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• 제48권4호
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• pp.254-261
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• 2012

본 연구의 목적은 포도당을 자연의 저질기반 미생물연료전지에 주입할 경우 전기생산을 최적화하기 위한 것이며, 이 때 관련된 미생물의 군집을 분석하고 관련미생물의 역할을 검토하고자 하였다. 1,000 mg/L의 포도당이 주입되었을 때 생성되는 전류가 약 3배 가량 증가하였다. 이러한 증가는 주로 발효세균과 전기생성세균의 상호작용에 기인하는 것으로서, 이는 발효미생물에 의해 생성된 유기산이 전기생성 미생물에 의해서 분해되므로 유기산의 축적을 방지하여 되먹임저해(feedback inhibition) 현상을 감소 시키는데 그 원인이 있는 것으로 보인다. 반면, 더 높은 농도의 포도당이 주입되었을 시에는 전류가 떨어지거나 큰 증가가 일어나지 않았다. 만약 적절한 농도의 포도당이 주입될 시, 전기생성 미생물과 발효미생물이 동시에 포도당을 분해하면서 피드백을 제거하며 전류생성이 증가함을 알 수 있었다. 포도당을 토양에 주입하였을 시에 Clostridium sp.과 같은 발효미생물이 많이 나타났다. 포도당의 발효는 전기생성에 있어서 긍정적 영향과 부정적 영향을 미칠 수 있음이 밝혀졌다. 즉 발효산물이 전기생성미생물에 의해서 분해되어서 사용된다면 전기생성이 증가한다. 하지만, 발효산물이 전기생성미생물에 의해서 분해되지 못한다면 여러 전기생성을 억제하는 화학적반응(pH 저하, 메탄생성, 유기산 축적 등)이 일어나고 미생물연료전지와 관계없는 미생물들이 주입된 유기물을 대부분 분해하여 전기생성이 저하될 수 있음이 밝혀졌다. 적절한 농도의 포도당 주입을 통한 발효세균(Clostridium sp. 등)과 전기발생균(Geobacter sp. 등)의 적절한 조합은 자연상태에서의 혼합미생물존재 환경에서의 전기생산을 증가시킬 수 있을 것으로 기대된다.

• 대한환경공학회지
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• 제32권12호
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• pp.1094-1101
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• 2010

낙동강, 회동 및 기장에서 채집한 sediment의 미생물 군집을 FISH 분석을 통하여 조사한 결과, ${\alpha}$ 그룹, Acidobacter 그룹 및 Cyanobacter 그룹의 분포비율이 가장 높았으며 전체적으로 서로 유사한 분포 특성을 나타내었다. 각각의 sediment를 접종한 MFC 농화배양 이후의 coulombic yield는 낙동강, 회동 및 기장의 경우 각각 0.64 C, 0.50 C, 0.61 C로 나타났으며, 농화배양 완료 후의 미생물 군집분포는 ${\beta}$-Proteobacteria, ${\gamma}$-Proteobacteria, Acidobacter 그룹 및 Firmicutes 그룹이 농화배양 전보다 각각 45~90%, 50~90%, 40~80% 및 45~125% 정도 생체량이 증가한 것으로 나타났다. 농화배양이 끝난 후 16S rDNA를 이용한 미생물 동정결과에서, 낙동강 sediment를 주입한 MFC의 경우는 ${\alpha}$-Proteobacteria의 속하는 Roseomonas sp., Azospillum sp.와 ${\gamma}$-Proteobacteria의 Frateuria sp., Dyella sp., Enterobacter sp.와 Deinococci 그룹의 Deinococcus sp.가 동정되었고, 기장 sediment는 ${\alpha}$-Proteobacteria의 Azospillum sp.와 ${\beta}$-Proteobacteria의 Delftia sp., Ralstonia sp.와 ${\gamma}$-Proteobacteria의 Klebsiella sp. 와 Deinococci 그룹의 Deinococcus sp.가 동정되었으며, 회동 sediment는 ${\gamma}$-Proteobacteria의 Pseudomonas sp., Klebsiella sp.와 Deinococci 그룹의 Deinococci sp.와 Actinobacteria 그룹의 Leifsonia sp.와 Bacilli 그룹의 Bacillus sp.가 동정되었다.

• 한국환경과학회지
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• 제19권8호
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• pp.951-960
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• 2010

Sediment works as a resource for electric cells. This paper was designed in order to verify how sediment cells work with anodic material such as metal and carbon fiber. As known quite well, sediment under sea, rivers or streams provides a furbished environment for generating electrons via some electron transfer mechanism within specific microbial population or corrosive oxidation on the metal surfaces in the presence of oxygen or water molecules. We experimented with one type of sediment cell using different anodic material so as to attain prolonged, maximum electric power. Iron, Zinc, aluminum, copper, zinc/copper, and graphite felt were tested for anodes. Also, combined type of anodes-metal embedded in the graphite fiber matrix-was experimented for better performances. The results show that the combined type of anodes exhibited sustainable electricity production for ca. 600 h with max. $0.57\;W/m^2$ Al/Graphite. Meanwhile, graphite-only electrodes produced max. $0.11\;W/m^2$ along with quite stationary electric output, and for a zinc electrode, in which the electricity generated was not stable with time, therefore resulting in relatively sharp drop in that after 100 h or so, the maximum power density was $0.64\;W/m^2$. It was observed that the corrosive reaction rates in the metal electrodes might be varied, so that strength and stability in the electric performances(voltage and current density) could be affected by them. In addition to that, COD(chemical oxygen demand) of the sediment of the cell system was reduced by 17.5~36.7% in 600 h, which implied that the organic matter in the sediment would be partially converted into non-COD substances, that is, would suggest a way for decontamination of the aged, anaerobic sediment as well. The pH reduction for all electrodes could be a sign of organic acid production due to complicated chemical changes in the sediment.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• 제29권7호
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• pp.1104-1116
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• 2019

In this study, we investigated the potential of using sediment bioelectrochemical systems (SBESs) for in situ treatment of the water and sediment in brackish aquaculture ponds polluted with uneaten feed. An SBES integrated into a laboratory-scale tank simulating a brackish aquaculture pond was established. This test tank and the control (not containing the SBES) were fed with shrimp feed in a scheme that mimics a situation where 50% of feed is uneaten. After the SBES was inoculated with microbial sources from actual shrimp pond sediments, electricity generation was well observed from the first experimental week, indicating successful enrichment of electrochemically active bacteria in the test tank sediment. The electricity generation became steady after 3 weeks of operation, with an average current density of $2.3mA/m^2$ anode surface and an average power density of $0.05mW/m^2$ anode surface. The SBES removed 20-30% more COD of the tank water, compared to the control. After 1 year, the SBES also reduced the amount of sediment in the tank by 40% and thus could remove approximately 40% more COD and approximately 52% more nitrogen from the sediment, compared to the control. Insignificant amounts of nitrite and nitrate were detected, suggesting complete removal of nitrogen by the system. PCR-DGGE-based analyses revealed the dominant presence of Methylophilus rhizosphaerae, Desulfatitalea tepidiphila and Thiothrix eikelboomii, which have not been found in bioelectrochemical systems before, in the bacterial community in the sediment of the SBES-containing tank. The results of this research demonstrate the potential application of SBESs in helping to reduce water pollution threats, fish and shrimp disease risks, and thus farmers' losses.