Competition between Methanogens and Acetogens in Biocathodes: A Comparison between Potentiostatic and Galvanostatic Control
by
Sam D. Molenaar 1,2,*, Pradip Saha 2, Annemerel R. Mol 1,2, 
Tom H. J. A. Sleutels 1, Annemiek Ter Heijne 2 and Cees J. N. Buisman 1,2
Sam D. Molenaar 1,2,*, Pradip Saha 2, Annemerel R. Mol 1,2, Tom H. J. A. Sleutels 1, Annemiek Ter Heijne 2 and Cees J. N. Buisman 1,2
1
Wetsus, European Centre of Excellence for Sustainable Water Technology, Oostergoweg 9, 8911 MA Leeuwarden, The Netherlands
2
Department of Environmental Technology, Wageningen University, Bornse Weilanden 9, 6708 WG Wageningen, The Netherlands
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Academic Editors: Deepak Pant, Andrea Schievano and Samuel De Visser
Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2017, 18(1), 204; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms18010204
Received: 28 October 2016 / Revised: 2 December 2016 / Accepted: 14 January 2017 / Published: 19 January 2017
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Bioelectrochemical Systems)
Microbial electrosynthesis is a useful form of technology for the renewable production of organic commodities from biologically catalyzed reduction of CO2. However, for the technology to become applicable, process selectivity, stability and efficiency need strong improvement. Here we report on the effect of different electrochemical control modes (potentiostatic/galvanostatic) on both the start-up characteristics and steady-state performance of biocathodes using a non-enriched mixed-culture inoculum. Based on our results, it seems that kinetic differences exist between the two dominant functional microbial groups (i.e., homoacetogens and methanogens) and that by applying different current densities, these differences may be exploited to steer product selectivity and reactor performance.
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Keywords:
biocathode; acetate; current density; microbial electrosynthesis (MES); bioelectrochemical systems (BES); kinetics; thermodynamics; methanogen; acetogen; competition
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This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited
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MDPI and ACS Style
Molenaar, S.D.; Saha, P.; Mol, A.R.; Sleutels, T.H.J.A.; Ter Heijne, A.; Buisman, C.J.N. Competition between Methanogens and Acetogens in Biocathodes: A Comparison between Potentiostatic and Galvanostatic Control. Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2017, 18, 204.
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