Bioelectrochemical Systems (BESs) use micro-organisms to catalyze an oxidation and/or reduction reaction at an anodic and cathodic electrode respectively. Briefly, at an anode oxidation of organic and inorganic electron donors can occur. Prime examples of such electron donors are waste organics and sulfides. At the cathode, an electron acceptor such as oxygen or nitrate can be reduced. The anode and the cathode are connected through an electrical circuit. If electrical power is harvested from this circuit, the system is called a Microbial Fuel Cell; if electrical power is invested, the system is called a Microbial Electrolysis Cell.

The overall framework of bio-energy and bio-fuels is discussed. A number of chapters discuss the basics – microbiology, microbial ecology, electrochemistry, technology and materials development. The book continues by highlighting the plurality of processes based on BES technology already in existence, going from wastewater based reactors to sediment based bio-batteries. The integration of BESs into existing water or process lines is discussed. Finally, an outlook is provided of how BES will fit within the emerging biorefinery area.

This title belongs to Integrated Environmental Technology Series.

Contents:

Introduction– MFCs and BESs in the context of environmental and industrial biotechnology
Korneel Rabaey, Jurg Keller, Lars Angenent, Piet Lens, Uwe Schroder

From biofuels and biochemicals to bioenergy and the role of micro-organisms for their production
Alfons Stams and Caroline Plugge, and Jules van Lier

Enzymatic fuel cells and their complementarity relative to BES/MFC
Zana Zulic and Shelley Minteer

Shuttling via soluble compounds
Enrico Marsili and Xiaoming Zhang

Direct electron shuttling via membrane associated compounds
Orianna Bretschger, Yuri A Gorby, Kenneth H Nealson

Designing microbial extracellular electron transfer
Lars Angenent and Miriam Rosenbaum

Electrochemical losses defining BES performance
Uwe Schroder

Measurement techniques
Florian Mansfeld, Daniel Lowy, Daniel Bond

Materials for BES
Bruce Logan

Technological factors affecting BES performance and bottlenecks towards scale up
Bert Hamelers

Organics oxidation
Stefano Freguia

Sulphur conversions
Paritam Kumar Dutta, Jurg Keller, Zhiguo Yuan, Rene Rozendal

Electrochemical reductions
Rene Rozendal and Uwe Schroder

Bio-electrochemical reductions in reactor systems
Peter Clauwaert

Bio-electrochemical systems for soil bioremediation
Federico Aulenta and Mauro Majone

Conversions driving deep sea power production
Peter Girguis

From BOD to toxicity: bacteria as universal sensors
Byung Hong Kim and In Seop Chang

Feedstocks for BES conversions
Freda R Hawkes, Jun Rae Kim, Godfrey Kyazze, Giuliano C Premier, Alan J Guwy

Integrating BES in the water and sludge line
Lars Angenent and Miriam Rosenbaum

Peripherals of BES – from processing current to data transmission
Ioannis Ieropoulos, John Greenman, Chris Melhuish

Towards a mathematical description of Bioelectrochemical systems
Jorge Rodriguez

Towards the bio-electrochemical refinery
Korneel Rabaey and Jurg Keller, Lars Angenent, Piet Lens and Uwe Schroder