Poster Abstract
Direct cellulose-derived electricity production in microbial fuel cells
Zhiyong Ren, Thomas E. Ward, and John M. Regan
Ph.D. candidate, Civil and Environmental Engineering
The Pennsylvania State University
The production of electricity from renewable biomass can contribute to an array of renewable energy production . Since there are no known cellulolytic exoelectrogens, the conversion of cellulosic biomass to electricity requires a unique syntrophic microbial community that uses not only an insoluble electron acceptor (anode) but also an insoluble electron donor (cellulose). Our work presented the results of cellulose-fed microbial fuel cells using a defined binary culture of cellulolytic ( Clostridium cellulolyticum) and exoelectrogenic (Geobacter sulfurreducens ) bacteria and a mixed culture derived from wastewater. The results showed a successful conversion from cellulose to electricity in microbial fuel cells.