Study on Mechanism of a Direct Photosynthetic/Metabolic Bio-Fuel Cell (DPBFC) using Gene manipulated Bacteria and Prototyping of Flexible DPBFC

本实验室研制了一种无介体的直接光合作用/代谢生物燃料电池(DPBFC)，该电池以聚苯胺微粒为电极材料，从细菌中提取电子。为了提高沼泽红假单胞菌的电子产生效率，利用基因操作来抑制氢的释放，使沼泽红假单胞菌中储存更多的电子。结果表明，突变体获得的功率密度为18.3μW/cm2，高于野生型。此外，为了延长细胞的寿命，似乎有必要不断地向细菌提供介质，因此，我们开发了一种使用吸水聚合物的介质流动系统。平均流速为32nl/min，细胞寿命为12小时，是原DPBFC的6倍。此外，我们还利用热封膜和热压缩工艺制作了一种薄型柔性DPBFC的原型。结果表明，以紫色光合细菌(沼泽红假单胞菌)为燃料，研制的薄型柔性DPBFC(50×50×1 mm)可产生最大功率μW(4.65μW/cm~2)。

In our laboratory, we have developed a mediator-less direct photosynthetic/metabolic bio-fuel cell (DPBFC) in which microparticles of polyaniline were adopted as the electrode material to extract electrons from bacteria In this paper, we selected Rhodopseudomonas palustris as a new fuel source which is activated by organic compounds and emits hydrogen. To improve the electron generation efficiency of R.palustris, gene manipulation was applied so as to suppress hydrogen emission and more electrons will be stored inside of R.palustris. As a result, the power density obtained by the mutant was 18.3μW/cm^2, which is higher than the wild type. In addition, to extend the cell life, it seems necessary to supply a medium to bacteria continuously, therefore, we have developed a medium flow system using water-absorbing polymer. The average flow rate was 32nl/min and the cell life for the mutant became 12 hours, that is six times longer than the previous DPBFC. In addition, we have prototyped a thin type flexible DPBFC by using a heat-sealing film and thermocompression process. As a result, the developed thin type flexible DPBFC(50×50×1mm) could generate the maximum power 64μW(4.65μW/cm2) when purple photosynthetic bacteria (Rhodopesudomonas palustris) was used as a fuel source.