Establishing jet loop reactors as scalable bioelectrochemical reactor systems for anodic and cathodic production processes

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Bioelectrochemical reactor systems are typically surface limited. It is the amount of electrode surface area per reactor volume that is key for advancing space-time-yields. At the same time the electrode surface and the electroactive organisms building a biofilm on the electrodes have to be seen as one composite material that can be advanced regarding the interaction of its components. Last but not least it is challenging to construct these surface dependent reactor systems in a way that dead volumes are avoided and the architecture of the living whole cell biocatalyst is steered towards process optimization. To address these topics we will engineer a scalable bioelectrochemical jet loop reactor concept and will show its versatility by operating it as microbial electrolysis as well as bioelectrosynthesis platform. In the bioelectrosynthesis research direction we will operate it with the recently isolated extremophile Kyrpidia spormannii and aim to produce biomass and the biopolymer polyhydroxybutyrate from carbon dioxide and electrical energy. In the microbial electrolysis research direction, we will increase reactor performance by producing synthetic conductive nanowires as well as conductive direct cell-cell connections. To this end we will use Shewanella oneidensis as well as a currently developed Escherichia coli strain as model organism and produce the platform chemical acetoin in an anode assisted fermentation. In both reactor configurations we will be able to benefit from additive manufacturing of 3D-electrodes as well as their functionalization by conductive polymers.