Biotechnology Letters, Vol.32, No.4, 483-487, 2010
Effect of bacterial cell size on electricity generation in a single-compartmented microbial fuel cell
A single-compartmented microbial fuel cell composed of a graphite felt anode modified with Neutral Red (NR-anode) and a porous Fe(II)-carbon cathode (FeC-cathode) were compared for electricity generation from Microbacterium sp. and Pseudomonas sp. under identical conditions. Pseudomonas sp. was more than four times the size of Microbacterium sp. based on SEM images. In cyclic voltammetry, the redox reaction between Microbacterium sp and electrode was three times the rate observed between Pseudomonas sp. and the electrode based on the Y-axis (current) variation of cyclic voltammogram. The electric power generated by Microbacterium sp. was approx 3-4 times higher than that with Pseudomonas sp. during incubation for more than 150 days in the fuel cell.
Keywords:Cyclic voltammetry;Microbacterium sp.;Microbial fuel cell;Neutral Red;Pseudomonas sp.;Surface-to-volume ratio