EAPSI:Electron transfer characteristics of thermophilic electrode-respiring bacteria

Medina Adan, Pullman WA

Investigators

Abstract

Biofilm-forming electrogenic bacteria are so called due to their ability to interact with solid electrodes. These electrochemically active biofilms (EABs) are intriguing to the scientific community due to their utility in wastewater treatment, electrosynthesis of biocommodities, and powering battery-less remote sensors. A model EAB, the electrode-respiring bacteria Geobacter sulfurreducens is able to directly transfer electrons to electrodes, resulting in high electron transfer efficiencies. The PI has experience in electrochemical techniques that can quantify the electron transfer efficiency in EABs and compare them to the model Geobacter sulfurreducens. This project, under the mentorship of Dr. Inseop Chang of the Gwangju Institute of Science and Technology (GIST) in South Korea, will quantify the electron transfer efficiency of thermophilic EABs that have been isolated by the host laboratory from distillery wastewater treatment microbial fuel cells. This collaboration will provide access to thermophiles that have only been observed by the host researcher?s laboratory. Many studies on EABs focus on the current density that was achieved in a controlled experiment, often treating the electron transfer process as a black box. This study will use the electrochemical quartz crystal microbalance employed in a bioelectrochemical system to evaluate the new strains performance as an electrochemically active biofilm, and compare it to model EABs at elevated temperatures. The working hypothesis is that thermophilic electrode-respiring bacteria isolated from distillery waste water microbial fuel cells will retain their current production capacities in monoculture and this can be quantified through the use of an electrochemical quartz crystal microbalance platform currently being developed at Washington State University. NSF EAPSI award is funded in collaboration with the National Research Foundation of Korea.