Environmental Engineering and Management Journal · 2012 · 15 citations · 0 references
EngineeringEnvironmental EngineeringEnvironmental SciencesElectrochemistryEnvironmental MicrobiologyMicrobial EcologyBioelectrochemical SystemsGreenhouse Gas ProductionOrganic Contaminant RemediationSediment ChemistrySediment MicrobiologySediment RemediationCarbon ElectrodesGaseous EmissionsGreenhouse Gas EmissionsMicrobial Fuel CellsOxidation - Reduction PotentialOxidation-reduction PotentialSediment Microbial Fuel Cells
Sediment microbial fuel cells (SMFCs) were established to evaluate the feasibility of bioelectrochemical systems (BES) technology as a new remediation method to improve the properties of sediment containing organic pollutants and/or substrates of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.During an experimental period of over 6 months, power output was generated using carbon/graphite as electrodes.The amount of electricity generated was related to the concentration of microbial biomass in the sediment.Biochemical and molecular-based microbial analysis indicated changes in methanogenic activities in the sediment, implying that the oxidation-reduction potential in the sediment was changed by the installation of electrodes.The BES, in which electrode potentials are arbitrarily set by a potentiostat, demonstrated a certain level of reduction in methane gas emission when the electrodes were set at oxidative potentials.Although this was a laboratory-based experiment, these results suggest that the installation of a BES in the sediment could provide technology for the suppression of GHG emissions in the natural environment.