Difference between revisions of "Team:Westminster/Application"

 
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<h3>Applications</h3>
 
<h3>Applications</h3>
 
<p>
 
<p>
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Potential applications for our project could be used in both developed and developing countries for industry such as:</p>
 
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<ul>
 
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<li>Textiles
 
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<li>Paper and pulp mills
 
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<li>Cotton mill
 
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<li>Brewery wastewater
 
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</ul>
 
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<p>
 
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The waste water from such factories could be used as the main carbon source for our synthetic <i>Escherichia coli. </i>In doing so will reduce the level of toxicity of the waste water and produce a green energy source which will offset the heavy reliance of fossil fuels.
 
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<br><br>
 
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The efficient transfer of electrons from an exoelectrogenic bacterium to an electrode is a challenging task faced by engineers and scientists; it has been shown that the efficiency of a microbial fuel cell power output is directly related to the composition and thickness of the biofilm grown. This conductive matrix that bacterial cells make around the anode enables higher kinetic rates of electron transfer using three possible exoelectrogenic routes.</p>
 
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<ol>
 
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<li>Membrane bound cytochromes
 
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<li>Conductive nanowires
 
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<li>Production of soluble electron mediators.
 
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</ol>
 
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<p>
 
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The first example can be found in <i>Shewanella oneidensis</i> MR-1 species and is understood to work as a chain of proteins (CymA-MtrCAB-OmcA) that transport electrons from inside the cell, past the inner and outer membrane of the bacteria to an electron acceptor. This pathway has been the focus of our research in trying to exhibit exoelectrogenic characteristics in a model organism such as <i>E.coli.</i></p>
 
  
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<h3>How microbial fuel cell (MFC) works</h3>
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Potential applications for our project could be used in both developed and developing countries for industry such as:<br>
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<p>
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<li>Textiles
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In anaerobic conditions, when no oxygen is present the microorganisms produce carbon dioxide, protons and electrons when consuming a carbon source. The architecture of a MFC capitalises on this principal to create electricity. Once the bacteria have formed a biofilm around the anode, and start to break down organic matter, electrons are striped from the carbon source by an oxidation reaction and translocated out of the cell via an electron transport pathways found only in these specific exoelectrogenic bacteria. These donated electrons are transferred to a carbon electrode (anode) and moved along a wire to a cathode, as electrons pass through this wire an electrical current is generated. At the cathode the electrons reduce atmospheric oxygen to clean water with the addition of protons that are generated during the oxidation reaction. This enables the factory to become more self-sufficient in reduction of waste, reduction of power costs.</p>
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<li>Paper and pulp mills
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<p>
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<li>Cotton mill
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The size of the fuel cell will need to be upscaled in order to accommodate the high level of waste produced by the factory, but also to produce an adequate yield of electricity in order to make this viable. The initial costs of implementing such a bioreactor will be expensive. However, the idea is that once it is established the costs will cover themselves in the reduction of waste water cleanup, the costs of fossil fuel usage, and the quantity of water used. We are hoping that in time the bioreactor will pay for itself and its reduction to the potential damage to the environment making a positive impact on the environment as well as allowing profits to continue. Thus enabling this operation to be viable.</p><p>
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<li>Brewery wastewater<br>
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This is a potential application in developing and developed nations. This application is not just reversed for industries listed above. It has been estimated that domestic waste water contains 9.3 times as much energy that is currently used to treat it (Logan, 2009); this opens up the opportunity as an application for waste water treatment for sewage and water companies. Again this system could be used to not only to reduce the level of waste, but the energy produce by the bioreactor could be used to fuel the water plant by offsetting the costs and dependency of fossil fuels. </p><p>
+
The waste water from such factories could be used as the main carbon source for our synthetic <i>Escherichia col</i>i. In doing so will reduce the level of toxicity of the waste water and produce a green energy source which will offset the heavy reliance of fossil fuels. It also offers potential to extract useful chemicals from wastewater, such as hydrogen and bioplastics. <br><br>
 +
However, the performance of this system is currently poor, typically <10% of what is theoretically possible. In addition, energy recovery by MFCs from treatment of Industrial wastewater including brewery wastewater, azo-dye wastewater, municipal wastewater and other sources is still poor typically less than 150W/m3 of the anode volume and for potential sustainable operation, energy recovery need to reach 1000W/m3. <br><br>
 +
 
 +
One the current issues regarding the energy output are resolved, the size of the fuel cell will need to be up scaled in order to accommodate the high level of waste produced by the factory, but also to produce an adequate yield of electricity in order to offset the energy used from other power sources during the manufacturing process. The initial costs of implementing such a bioreactor will be expensive. However, once the system is in place, the reduction in costs related to wastewater clean-up and the offset of electrical energy used during the product manufacture, should cover all the debt incurred for the system set up. Not only can this new form of renewable energy save money for companies that are dealing with a high rate of wastewater disposal, but also most importantly, it can reduce the reliance on fossil fuels. <br><br>
 +
 
 +
This application is not just reserved for industries listed previously. It has been estimated that domestic waste water contains 9.3 times as much energy that is currently used to treat it (Logan, 2009). This adds another element to the viable uses of the system- wastewater treatment for sewage and water companies. <br><br>
 +
 
 +
In 2007, Foster’s Brewery together with University of Queensland and University of Ghent, designed the first MFC using brewery wastewater as the organic carbon source for their microorganisms. Professor Keller and his team had positive results using a 10 litre prototype. This project was a small to medium sized scale (1000 litre) and was set up to better understand possible problems that could occur in relation to scaling up the system. There is little information regarding the performance of the MFC in the study other than that the anode appeared to become obsolete due to an excessive build up of biofilm on the cathode (Logan, 2010). Despite setbacks experienced with the scale up during this project, research must continue in order to develop solutions that can overcome such issues in the future.<br><br>
 +
 
 +
Further applications could also include the use of promoters that can eliminate heavy metals from wastewater, such as lead and copper promoters. Adapting the promoter to the requirements of the wastewater may improve the efficiency of the MFC in decontaminating wastewater, and may also produce by-products such as caustic soda (Logan, 2010). This by-product can then be used in a variety of other product manufacturing processes. For instance, paper and pulp mills caustic soda is used in the bleaching and pulping stage (Logan, 2010). <br><br>
 +
 
  
−
In 2007, Foster’s Brewery together with University of Queensland and University of Ghent, designed the first MFC using brewery waste water as the organic carbon source for their microorganisms. Professor Keller and his team had positive results using a 10 litre prototype. This project was a small to medium sized scale (1000 litre) in order to investigate the issues with scale up. There is little information regarding the performance of the study other than that the anode appeared to be comprised due to an excessive buildup of biofilm on the cathode (Logan, 2010). Despite setbacks experienced with scale up during this project, research must continue in order to investigate methods in order to overcome such issues in the future. </p><p>
+
</p>
−
Further applications could also include the use of promoters that can eliminate heavy metals from waste water, such as lead and copper promoters. Adapting the promoter to the requirements of the waste water may improve the efficiency in which the MFC is able to decontaminate the water, but may also produce by-products such as caustic soda (Logan, 2010). In the case of paper and pulp mills caustic soda is used in the bleaching and pulping stage (Logan, 2010). Therefore, recycling the caustic soda produced by the MFC, may have a knock on effect in that it too reduces the costs of the plant but also reduce the amount of caustic soda leaching into the environment. </p>
+
 
<p>
 
<p>
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Logan, B. E. (2009). <i>Exoelectrogenic bacteria that power microbial fuel cells. </i>Nature Reviews Microbiology, 7(5), 375-381.
+
References:<br>
 +
Logan, B. E. (2009). <i>Exoelectrogenic bacteria that power microbial fuel cells. </i>Nature Reviews Microbiology, 7(5), 375-381.<br>
 
Logan, B, E. (2010). <i>Scaling up microbial fuel cells and other bioelectrochemical systems. </i>Appl Microbiol Biotechnol. 85: 1165-1671
 
Logan, B, E. (2010). <i>Scaling up microbial fuel cells and other bioelectrochemical systems. </i>Appl Microbiol Biotechnol. 85: 1165-1671
 
</p>
 
</p>

Latest revision as of 23:57, 18 September 2015

Applications

Potential applications for our project could be used in both developed and developing countries for industry such as:

  • Textiles
  • Paper and pulp mills
  • Cotton mill
  • Brewery wastewater
    The waste water from such factories could be used as the main carbon source for our synthetic Escherichia coli. In doing so will reduce the level of toxicity of the waste water and produce a green energy source which will offset the heavy reliance of fossil fuels. It also offers potential to extract useful chemicals from wastewater, such as hydrogen and bioplastics.

    However, the performance of this system is currently poor, typically <10% of what is theoretically possible. In addition, energy recovery by MFCs from treatment of Industrial wastewater including brewery wastewater, azo-dye wastewater, municipal wastewater and other sources is still poor typically less than 150W/m3 of the anode volume and for potential sustainable operation, energy recovery need to reach 1000W/m3.

    One the current issues regarding the energy output are resolved, the size of the fuel cell will need to be up scaled in order to accommodate the high level of waste produced by the factory, but also to produce an adequate yield of electricity in order to offset the energy used from other power sources during the manufacturing process. The initial costs of implementing such a bioreactor will be expensive. However, once the system is in place, the reduction in costs related to wastewater clean-up and the offset of electrical energy used during the product manufacture, should cover all the debt incurred for the system set up. Not only can this new form of renewable energy save money for companies that are dealing with a high rate of wastewater disposal, but also most importantly, it can reduce the reliance on fossil fuels.

    This application is not just reserved for industries listed previously. It has been estimated that domestic waste water contains 9.3 times as much energy that is currently used to treat it (Logan, 2009). This adds another element to the viable uses of the system- wastewater treatment for sewage and water companies.

    In 2007, Foster’s Brewery together with University of Queensland and University of Ghent, designed the first MFC using brewery wastewater as the organic carbon source for their microorganisms. Professor Keller and his team had positive results using a 10 litre prototype. This project was a small to medium sized scale (1000 litre) and was set up to better understand possible problems that could occur in relation to scaling up the system. There is little information regarding the performance of the MFC in the study other than that the anode appeared to become obsolete due to an excessive build up of biofilm on the cathode (Logan, 2010). Despite setbacks experienced with the scale up during this project, research must continue in order to develop solutions that can overcome such issues in the future.

    Further applications could also include the use of promoters that can eliminate heavy metals from wastewater, such as lead and copper promoters. Adapting the promoter to the requirements of the wastewater may improve the efficiency of the MFC in decontaminating wastewater, and may also produce by-products such as caustic soda (Logan, 2010). This by-product can then be used in a variety of other product manufacturing processes. For instance, paper and pulp mills caustic soda is used in the bleaching and pulping stage (Logan, 2010).

    References:
    Logan, B. E. (2009). Exoelectrogenic bacteria that power microbial fuel cells. Nature Reviews Microbiology, 7(5), 375-381.
    Logan, B, E. (2010). Scaling up microbial fuel cells and other bioelectrochemical systems. Appl Microbiol Biotechnol. 85: 1165-1671