SBIR Phase I: Development of advanced biocathode for enhancement of current density of Microbial Fuel Cells

本小型企业创新研究阶段项目旨在推动先进生物阴极微生物燃料电池(BcMFC)的研究。微生物燃料电池(MFC)利用可再生能源发电。然而，MFC的性能主要受到阴极的限制。电化学分离出一种新的微生物，它在阴极上提供的电流密度是迄今为止报道的其他微生物中最高的。电化学建议开发一种BcMFC，以显著降低阴极限制并提高整体性能。方法是1)降低系统的总自由能，以便更好地将细菌细胞吸附到电极上。2)提供更多可用的细菌吸附场所，这些场所控制着微生物在电极表面的迁移和吸附，但仍与进出阴极的空气和水的流动相适应。3)调节细菌-电极界面的溶氧浓度，以加快细菌的代谢速率和电子传递速率。随着BcMFC系统性能的增强，现场能源供应可以增加10倍或更多，这将使其能够为许多水下设备供电。该项目更广泛的影响/商业潜力包括16,000多个城市污水处理设施(WWTF)，其电费总成本约为每年40亿美元。如果应用我们先进的生物阴极MFC(BcMFC)技术，这将大大减少。电化学提出了克服阴极限制的方法。电化学提出的BcMFC是一种在去除污水处理厂生化需氧量(BOD)的同时产生可再生生物能源的理想技术。对于15亿美元的海洋水下电源市场来说，需要有更可持续、毒性更低的电源解决方案。BcMFC可以用海水喂养，并长期持续发电，不会对海洋环境造成毒性问题。这将有利于水下政府机构或公司更好地完成任务。BcMFC将为多个行业带来巨大的收入，为政府和企业解决某些能源供应问题，以更低的毒性和减少二氧化碳排放来造福环境等。除了许多潜在的应用外，BcMFC的研究将提高人们对细菌电极表面相互作用的认识和理解，从而能够解释许多重要的现象。

This small Business Innovation Research Phase ² project proposes the research of advanced Bio-cathode Microbial Fuel Cell (BcMFC). Microbial Fuel Cell (MFC) generates power from renewable energy sources. However, the performance of MFC is mainly limited by cathode. ElectroChem has isolated a novel microorganism, which provides the highest current density on cathode than the other reported microorganisms so far. ElectroChem proposes to develop a BcMFC to drastically reduce cathode limitation and enhance overall performance. The approaches will be to 1) Reduce total free energy of the system for better sorption of the bacteria cells to the electrode. 2) Provide more available bacteria sorption sites, which govern microbial migration and sorption on the electrode surface but remain compatible with the flow of air and water to and from the cathode. And 3) Adjust the dissolved oxygen concentration on bacteria-electrode interface for faster bacteria metabolic rate and electron transfer rate. With enhanced performance of the BcMFC system, the on site energy supply can be enhanced10 times or more, which will make it feasible for powering many underwater devices.The broader impact/commercial potential of this project includes more than 16,000 municipal wastewater treatment facilities (WWTFs), whose total cost of electricity bill is about 4 billion dollars per year. This can be largely reduced if apply our advanced Bio-Cathode MFC (BcMFC) technique. ElectroChem propose to overcome cathode limitation. The BcMFC, Electrochem proposed, is an ideal technology to generate renewable bio-energy while remove Biochemical Oxygen Demand (BOD) for wastewater treatment plant. For the $1.5 billion marine underwater power supply market, there is a need to have more sustainable and less toxic power supply solution. BcMFC can be fed with seawater and continuously generate energy in long term without causing toxicity issues to the marine environment. It will benefit underwater government agencies or companies to better fulfill their assignments. BcMFC will generate tremendous revenue for multiple industries, solve certain energy supply problems for governments and business companies, benefit environment with less toxicity and reduced CO2 emissions etc. Other than many potential applications, research on BcMFC will improve the knowledge and understanding of the bacteria electrode surface interaction, therefore to be able to explain many important phenomena.