A Laboratory-Scale Study of the Applicability of a Halophilic Sediment Bioelectrochemical System for in situ Reclamation of Water and Sediment in Brackish Aquaculture Ponds: Establishment, Bacterial Community and Performance Evaluation

( Hai The Pham ),( Hien Thi Tran ),( Linh Thuy Vu ),( Hien The Dang ),( Thuy Thu Thi Nguyen ),( Thu Ha Thi Dang ),( Mai Thanh Thi Nguyen ),( Huy Quang Nguyen ),( Byung Hong Kim ) 한국미생물·생명공학회 2019 Journal of microbiology and biotechnology Vol.29 No.7

In this study, we investigated the potential of using sediment bioelectrochemical systems (SBESs) for in situ treatment of the water and sediment in brackish aquaculture ponds polluted with uneaten feed. An SBES integrated into a laboratory-scale tank simulating a brackish aquaculture pond was established. This test tank and the control (not containing the SBES) were fed with shrimp feed in a scheme that mimics a situation where 50% of feed is uneaten. After the SBES was inoculated with microbial sources from actual shrimp pond sediments, electricity generation was well observed from the first experimental week, indicating successful enrichment of electrochemically active bacteria in the test tank sediment. The electricity generation became steady after 3 weeks of operation, with an average current density of 2.3 mA/㎡ anode surface and an average power density of 0.05 mW/㎡ anode surface. The SBES removed 20-30% more COD of the tank water, compared to the control. After 1 year, the SBES also reduced the amount of sediment in the tank by 40% and thus could remove approximately 40% more COD and approximately 52% more nitrogen from the sediment, compared to the control. Insignificant amounts of nitrite and nitrate were detected, suggesting complete removal of nitrogen by the system. PCR-DGGE-based analyses revealed the dominant presence of Methylophilus rhizosphaerae, Desulfatitalea tepidiphila and Thiothrix eikelboomii, which have not been found in bioelectrochemical systems before, in the bacterial community in the sediment of the SBES-containing tank. The results of this research demonstrate the potential application of SBESs in helping to reduce water pollution threats, fish and shrimp disease risks, and thus farmers’ losses.

Removal of organic matter and nitrogen in swine wastewater using an integrated ion exchange and bioelectrochemical system

Lim, Seung Joo,Kim, Tak-Hyun Elsevier 2015 Bioresource technology Vol.189 No.-

<P><B>Abstract</B></P> <P>Swine wastewater was treated using an integrated ion exchange and bioelectrochemical system. This system contains three chambers separated by a cation exchange membrane (CEM) and an anion exchange membrane (AEM). Each chamber acted as a bioanode chamber, an aerated biocathode chamber, and a denitrification chamber. To accelerate the ammonium transportation through CEM, a bioelectrochemical system was installed between bioanode and aerated biocathode. The current was provided by a programmable DC power supply. The average chemical oxygen demand (COD) removal efficiencies at applied voltages of 0, 1 and 3V were 65.6%, 75.4% and 80.6%, respectively. Unlike the COD removal, the total nitrogen removal was proportional to the ammonium flux through the CEM. The average total nitrogen removal efficiencies at the applied voltages of 0, 1 and 3V were 37.0%, 63.1% and 70.5%, respectively.</P> <P><B>Highlights</B></P> <P> <UL> <LI> Swine wastewater was treated using an ion exchange and bioelectrochemical system. </LI> <LI> The average organic matter removal was 80.6% at the applied voltage of 3V. </LI> <LI> The average total nitrogen removal was 70.5% at the applied voltage of 3V. </LI> </UL> </P>

Critical review of bioelectrochemical systems integrated with membrane-based technologies for desalination, energy self-sufficiency, and high-efficiency water and wastewater treatment

Yang, Euntae,Chae, Kyu-Jung,Choi, Mi-Jin,He, Zhen,Kim, In S. Elsevier 2019 Desalination Vol.452 No.-

<P><B>Abstract</B></P> <P>Bioelectrochemical systems (BESs) are versatile electrochemical technologies that use microbial catalysts for simultaneously harvesting energy and treating wastewater. However, there is a consensus that practical energy applications and clean water production remain technically challenging for stand-alone BESs. To address these technological challenges, membrane-based technologies for water/wastewater treatment and energy production, such as electrodialysis, forward osmosis, reverse electrodialysis, and pressurized filtration (e.g., ultrafiltration), have been integrated into BESs. This integration has created new systems including microbial desalination cells, osmotic microbial fuel cells, pressurized filtration-microbial fuel cells, and microbial reverse-electrodialysis cells. This article aims to provide a comprehensive review on the recent progress in BESs integrated with membrane-based technologies, discuss advantages and limitations, and present outlooks toward further development of these technologies.</P> <P><B>Highlights</B></P> <P> <UL> <LI> Membrane-based processes have recently been integrated into bioelectrochemical systems. </LI> <LI> Current development and challenges of these technologies extensively are discussed. </LI> <LI> For desalination, microbial desalination cell and osmotic microbial fuel cell </LI> <LI> For energy self-sustenance, microbial reverse-electrodialysis cell </LI> <LI> For high efficient wastewater treatment, pressurized filtration microbial fuel cell </LI> </UL> </P> <P><B>Graphical abstract</B></P> <P>[DISPLAY OMISSION]</P>

Isolation of Novel CO Converting Microorganism Using Zero Valent Iron for a Bioelectrochemical System (BES)

임현성,김창만,송영은,백지윤,임채호,김중래 한국생물공학회 2019 Biotechnology and Bioprocess Engineering Vol.24 No.1

Carbon monoxide (CO) is one of the main waste gas components of the steel industry and biomass gasification process. CO has also been highlighted as a feedstock for biological conversion to platform and valueadded chemicals. Conventional CO-converting strains have drawbacks of slow growth rate and high sensitivity to oxygen as well as low conversion yield. Most CO conversion microbes harbor the Wood-Ljungdahl pathway (WLP) and CO-dehydrogenase, and the reducing equivalent is significantly limited for acetyl-CoA synthesis. In this study, electrochemically active CO converting strains were isolated and characterized using zero valent iron (ZVI) granules (Fe0) as an external electron donor. The strains isolated from ZVI augmented enrichment could also use a carbon electrode as the electron donor, and simultaneously convert CO to acetate and VFAs in a bioelectrochemical system. From enrichment and isolation with ZVI, both Clostridium sp. HN02 and Fonticella sp. HN43 were isolated and showed higher performance for acetate production from CO in BES, and electrochemical activity by cyclic voltammetry.

Prevention of Electrochemical Degradation in Bioelectrochemical System by Electrical Control

Taeyoung KIM 한국생물공학회 2021 한국생물공학회 학술대회 Vol.2021 No.4

The bioelectrochemical system is recognized for its potential as a useful future environmental-energy techno-logy in terms of sustainable wastewater treatment and green energy production^1,2). Though the bioelectrochemical technology has rapidly developed over the past 20 years, until now, the scale-up of the bioelectrochemical system to the level of industrial application in the real world has not been achieved. The problems in bioelectrochemical degradation such as voltage reversal phenomenon and power overshoot should be overcome in order to achieve a proven level of wastewater treatment efficiency and power generation³⁾. In this study, three multi-electrode-embedded microbial fuel cells (MFCs) were sequentially connected and operated in series and parallel modes, fed by effluent of an anaerobic digester continuously operated using swine wastewater. The MFCs connected in parallel showed the higher power density compared to the series mode. The bioelectrochemical degradations were prevented by MFCs connected in parallel and connected with power management system despite inevitable electrical malfunction conditions by imbalance organic loadings. These findings can lead to be closer real application of bioelectrochemical systems for sustainable wastewater treatment and bioenergy generation.

생물전기화학시스템에서 슬러지를 이용한 에너지생산 특성 분석

최정동 ( Jeongdong Choi ),이고운 ( Goun Lee ) 한국폐기물자원순환학회(구 한국폐기물학회) 2016 한국폐기물자원순환학회 추계학술발표논문집 Vol.2016 No.-

생물전기화학시스템은 미생물 연료전지로 불리며, 연료전지의 음극, 양극, 분리막으로 구성된 시스템에서 미생물의 활동을 기반으로 유기물을 분해 및 전력생산을 동시에 할 수 있는 장치이다. 생물전기화학시스템을 이용한 전력생산 및 오염물질의 분해의 측면에서 액상 기질을 이용한 많은 연구가 이루어졌다. 액상의 기질은 미생물이 이용하기 쉬운 유기물질을 포함하여 쉽게 전력을 생산할 수 있으나 슬러지의 경우 전처리를 통하여 기질을 미생물이 쉽게 이용할 수 있는 장점이 있다. 그럼에도 불구하고 슬러지를 직접적으로 이용하는 생물전기 화학시스템의 연구는 여전히 초기단계에 있다. 본 연구에서는 하수슬러지를 이용하여 생물전기화학시스템에서 직접적으로 전력을 생산하고 동시에 슬러지 감량화를 이루고자 하였다. 슬러지를 직접적으로 기질로 사용한 경우, 기존의 액상기질을 사용한 반응조와 비교하여 장시간 일정한 전력생산을 기대할 수 있었으며 기질의 충진시간 간격을 길게 하는 장점을 보였다. 그러나, 완전한 기질의 제거는 기대할 수 없었으며 생물전기화학시스템으로 1차적으로 에너지 및 슬러지 감량화를 하여 2차적인 처리가 필요할 것으로 판단되었다.

생물전기화학시스템을 이용한 염화에틸렌의 생물학적 탈염소화

유재철(Jae Cheul Yu),박영현(Young Hyun Park),선지윤(Ji Yun Seon),홍성숙(Seong Suk Hong),조순자(Sun Ja Cho),이태호(Tae Ho Lee) 大韓環境工學會 2012 대한환경공학회지 Vol.34 No.5

산업용제로 널리 이용되고 있는 PCE (Perchloroethylene)나 TCE (Trichloroethylene)와 같은 염화에틸렌화합물은 안정된 세정력을 가지고 있어 널리 이용되고 있지만 무분별한 사용과 부주의한 취급으로 인해 최근 토양 및 지하수 오염지역이 늘어나고 있다. 본 연구에서는 퇴적토, 슬러지, 토양, 지하수 등 다양한 지역에서 총 10개의 시료를 식종원으로 이용하여 생물학적 PCE 탈염소화 가능성을 평가하고, 가장 우수한 탈염소화 능력을 보인 낙동강 퇴적토 시료를 대상으로 PCE를 에틸렌까지 안정적으로 탈염소화 가능한 혼합미생물을 농화배양하였다. 농화배양된 탈염소화 미생물을 생물전기화학시스템(Bioelectrochemical System, BES)의 환원부에 식종하여 전극을 전자공급원으로 이용한 탈염소화 가능성을 평가한 결과, PCE가 TCE, cis-dichloroethylene, vinyl chloride를 거쳐 최종산물인 에틸렌으로 탈염소화됨을 확인할 수 있었다. Polymerase chain reaction-denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (PCR-DGGE)를 이용한 미생물군집 분석결과, 농화배양액에서 구축된 탈염소 미생물 군집과 BES 환원전극부내 미생물 군집 구조는 다르게 나타났으며, 전기화학적 활성을 지닌 다양한 미생물이 존재함을 확인할 수 있었다. BES 환원전극부에서 부유성장하는 미생물과 전극에 생물막을 형성하는 미생물 군집구조에도 큰 차이가 있었으며, 이는 탈염소화 메커니즘의 차이에 기인하는 것으로 판단된다. 추가적인 연구를 통해서 자세한 생물전기화학적 탈염소화 메커니즘을 밝혀낸다면 생물전기화학적 탈염소화 기술은 염화에틸렌 오염 토양/지하수의 획기적인 생물정화기술로 자리잡게 될 것이다. Chlorinated ethylenes such as perchloroethylene (PCE) and trichloroethylene (TCE) are widely used as industrial solvents and degreasing agents. Because of improper handling, these highly toxic chlorinated ethylenes have been often detected from ontaminated soils and groundwater. Biological PCE dechlorination activities were tested in bacterial cultures inoculated with 10 different environmental samples from sediments, sludges, soils, and groundwater. Of these, the sediment using culture (SE 2) was selected and used for establishing an efficient PCE dechlorinating enrichment culture since it showed the highest activity of dechlorination. The cathode chamber of bioelectrochemical system (BES) was inoculated with the enrichment culture and the system with a cathode polarized at -500 mV (Vs Ag/AgCl) was operated under fed-batch mode. PCE was dechlorinated to ethylene via TCE, cis-dichloroethylene, and vinyl chloride. Microbial community analysis with polymerase chain reaction-denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (PCR-DGGE) showed that the microbial community in the enrichment culture was significantly changed during the bio-electrochemical PCE dechlorination in the BES. The communities of suspended-growth bacteria and attached-growth bacteria on the cathode surface are also quite different from each other, indicating that there were some differences in their mechanisms receiving electrons from electrode for PCE dechlorination. Further detailed research to investigate electron transfer mechanism would make the bio-elctrochemical dechlorination technique greatly useful for bioremediation of soil and groundwater contaminated with chlorinated ethylenes.

A Laboratory-Scale Study of the Applicability of a Halophilic Sediment Bioelectrochemical System for in situ Reclamation of Water and Sediment in Brackish Aquaculture Ponds: Effects of Operational Conditions on Performance

( Hai The Pham ),( Phuong Ha Vu ),( Thuy Thu Thi Nguyen ),( Ha Viet Thi Bui ),( Huyen Thanh Thi Tran ),( Hanh My Tran ),( Huy Quang Nguyen ),( Byung Hong Kim ) 한국미생물생명공학회(구 한국산업미생물학회) 2019 Journal of microbiology and biotechnology Vol.29 No.10

Sediment bioelectrochemical systems (SBESs) can be integrated into brackish aquaculture ponds for in-situ bioremediation of the pond water and sediment. Such an in-situ system offers advantages including reduced treatment cost, reusability and simple handling. In order to realize such an application potential of the SBES, in this laboratory-scale study we investigated the effect of several controllable and uncontrollable operational factors on the in-situ bioremediation performance of a tank model of a brackish aquaculture pond, into which a SBES was integrated, in comparison with a natural degradation control model. The performance was evaluated in terms of electricity generation by the SBES, Chemical oxygen demand (COD) removal and nitrogen removal of both the tank water and the tank sediment. Real-life conditions of the operational parameters were also experimented to understand the most close-to-practice responses of the system to their changes. Predictable effects of controllable parameters including external resistance and electrode spacing, similar to those reported previously for the BESs, were shown by the results but exceptions were observed. Accordingly, while increasing the electrode spacing reduced the current densities but generally improved COD and nitrogen removal, increasing the external resistance could result in decreased COD removal but also increased nitrogen removal and decreased current densities. However, maximum electricity generation and COD removal efficiency difference of the SBES (versus the control) could be reached with an external resistance of 100 Ω, not with the lowest one of 10 Ω. The effects of uncontrollable parameters such as ambient temperature, salinity and pH of the pond (tank) water were rather unpredictable. Temperatures higher than 35℃ seemed to have more accelaration effect on natural degradation than on bioelectrochemical processes. Changing salinity seriously changed the electricity generation but did not clearly affect the bioremediation performance of the SBES, although at 2.5% salinity the SBES displayed a significantly more efficient removal of nitrogen in the water, compared to the control. Variation of pH to practically extreme levels (5.5 and 8.8) led to increased electricity generations but poorer performances of the SBES (vs. the control) in removing COD and nitrogen. Altogether, the results suggest some distinct responses of the SBES under brackish conditions and imply that COD removal and nitrogen removal in the system are not completely linked to bioelectrochemical processes but electrochemically enriched bacteria can still perform nonbioelectrochemical COD and nitrogen removals more efficiently than natural ones. The results confirm the application potential of the SBES in brackish aquaculture bioremediation and help propose efficient practices to warrant the success of such application in real-life scenarios.

Genome-wide Transcriptional Profile of Electroactive Clostridium Strain in Bioelectrochemical System

Okkyoung CHOI,Han Min WOO,Youngsoon UM 한국생물공학회 2014 한국생물공학회 학술대회 Vol.2014 No.10

2LJ-4 Electrochemically Enhanced metabolic regulation for platform and intermediate chemical production

김중래 한국공업화학회 2017 한국공업화학회 연구논문 초록집 Vol.2017 No.1

Bioelectrochemical system (BES) uses electrochemically active microorganism which can interact with carbon electrode as electron donor and/or accepter. Recently the electrochemical activity of whole cell microorganism has been introduced into novel BES based bioprocess which promotes biological conversion of various substrates to value added chemicals. The control of microbe-electrode interaction possibly can increase productivity and yield of bioconversion process. It has been reported that commodity chemicals such as methane, acetate, ethanol and buthanol can be produced by biotic cathodic reduction using controlled poised potential, and electron recovery into chemicals shows over 80%. In this presentation, recent research outcomes of unbalanced bioelectrochemical conversion by the use of wild and genetically engineered strains will be presented. BES and its future perspective of application for useful product and biorefinery process will be discussed.