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Sprayable biofilm - agarose hydrogel as 3D matrix for enhanced productivity in bioelectrochemical systems
Citation Link: https://doi.org/10.15480/882.8898
Publikationstyp
Doctoral Thesis
Date Issued
2023
Sprache
English
Author(s)
Knoll, Melanie Tabea
Advisor
Referee
Title Granting Institution
Technische Universität Hamburg
Place of Title Granting Institution
Hamburg
Examination Date
2023-09-29
Institute
TORE-DOI
Citation
Technische Universität Hamburg (2023)
Is Supplemented By
The ongoing climate crisis highlights the need to rethink the way humanity consumes and produces resources. Bioelectrochemical systems (BES) offer the possibility of producing sustainable electricity. In these systems, electroactive microorganisms catalyze the conversion of chemical into electrical energy and vice versa. The microorganisms can utilize biological waste streams as substrate and transfer their respiratory electrons on the BES electrode, generating electricity in a sustainable manner. To facilitate this electron transfer, the organisms colonize the electrode surface in the form of a biofilm. The biofilm-electrode interaction is a key factor that can limit sufficient space-time-yield required for industrial applications. Providing the organisms with an artificial scaffold that enhances this interaction compared to the naturally formed biofilm matrix can significantly improve current production. In this work, such a hybrid biomaterial was established by embedding the electroactive model organism Shewanella oneidensis in an agarose hydrogel.
The BES application of the novel biohybrid material resulted in a 2-fold increase in current production in the start-up phase compared to the natural system. With the addition of riboflavin-functionalized carbon nanofibers or a second electroactive organism known for excellent BES performance, namely Geobacter sulfurreducens, the biomaterial was engineered to achieve a 10 fold improvement in current production, demonstrating the customizability of the biomaterial. Further, this synthetic biofilm was introduced into the BES by spraying. Thereby, a novel inoculation technique was successfully established for the effortless application of biomaterials that will facilitate scalability for industrial upscaling. In addition, the implementation of this biohybrid material in a BES-biogas system resulted in the same maximum current density as in the natural system, omitting the one-week pre-cultivation phase and therefore significantly reducing the start-up time. Finally, the detachment of the biomaterial showed that the material determines whether a partial or total detachment occurred and revealed the maximum number of electrons that can be supplied before the material degrades. The latter is an important parameter for the potential application of the biomaterial in bioelectrosynthesis, a process in which organisms grow on the cathode as a source of electrons and energy and where the biomaterial could have similar beneficial effects on productivity.
The BES application of the novel biohybrid material resulted in a 2-fold increase in current production in the start-up phase compared to the natural system. With the addition of riboflavin-functionalized carbon nanofibers or a second electroactive organism known for excellent BES performance, namely Geobacter sulfurreducens, the biomaterial was engineered to achieve a 10 fold improvement in current production, demonstrating the customizability of the biomaterial. Further, this synthetic biofilm was introduced into the BES by spraying. Thereby, a novel inoculation technique was successfully established for the effortless application of biomaterials that will facilitate scalability for industrial upscaling. In addition, the implementation of this biohybrid material in a BES-biogas system resulted in the same maximum current density as in the natural system, omitting the one-week pre-cultivation phase and therefore significantly reducing the start-up time. Finally, the detachment of the biomaterial showed that the material determines whether a partial or total detachment occurred and revealed the maximum number of electrons that can be supplied before the material degrades. The latter is an important parameter for the potential application of the biomaterial in bioelectrosynthesis, a process in which organisms grow on the cathode as a source of electrons and energy and where the biomaterial could have similar beneficial effects on productivity.
Subjects
microbiology
biofilms
exoelectrogenic organisms
bioelectrochemical systems
hydrogel
sprayable biofilm
DDC Class
570: Life Sciences, Biology
660: Chemistry; Chemical Engineering
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