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The Mechanisms and Applications of Microbial Electrocatalysis

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A special issue of Microorganisms (ISSN 2076-2607). This special issue belongs to the section "Microbial Biotechnology".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (1 July 2020) | Viewed by 32352

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Special Issue Editor

Prof. Dr. Xiaobo Liu

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Guest Editor

School of Environmental and Biological Engineering, Nanjing University of Science and Technology, Nanjing 210094, China
Interests: microbiomes; photosynthetic bacteria; microalgae; biogeochemical cycles; microbial interaction
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Microbial electrocatalysis involves bidirectional electron transfer between biotic and abiotic components, whereby redox-active microorganisms play the important role in the electrochemical reactions between electron donors and acceptors. One typically applied model is the microbial fuel cell (MFC), in which microorganisms transfer electrons to the MFC anode after oxidizing the electron donors, thus generating electron flow towards the cathode. Most importantly, this redox process has been closely associated with biogeochemical cycles, such as the nitrogen, carbon, and sulfur cycles, showing many emerging applications in waste treatment and resource recovery, sustainable energy production, and bio-inspired materials development. Such promising applications of microbial electrocatalysis bring together fundamental research in microbiology, electrochemistry, environmental engineering, and materials science. Based on the recent advances, this Special Issue aims to publish papers that address:

Electron transfer between microbial cells and extracellular substances;
Catalytic elimination of environmental pollutants, such as heavy metal ions, nitrates, and waste;
New catalytic routes and processes for the production of clean energy and green chemicals;
Microbial electrocatalysis in which wastes are converted to useful products.

Dr. Xiaobo Liu
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

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Keywords

microbial electrocatalysis
extracellular electron transfer
redox mediator
bioremediation and biodegradation
biosynthesis for clean energy and green chemicals

Published Papers (5 papers)

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Research

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15 pages, 4440 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Recovery of Metals from Acid Mine Drainage by Bioelectrochemical System Inoculated with a Novel Exoelectrogen, Pseudomonas sp. E8

by Chenbing Ai, Shanshan Hou, Zhang Yan, Xiaoya Zheng, Charles Amanze, Liyuan Chai, Guanzhou Qiu and Weimin Zeng

Microorganisms 2020, 8(1), 41; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/microorganisms8010041 - 24 Dec 2019

Cited by 32 | Viewed by 6009

Abstract

Acid mine drainage (AMD) is a typical source of environmental pollution ascribing to its characteristics of high acidity and heavy metal content. Currently, most strategies for AMD treatment merely focus on metal removal rather than metal recovery. However, bioelectrochemical system (BES) is a promising technology to simultaneously remove and recover metal ions from AMD. In this study, both cupric ion and cadmium ion in simulated AMD were effectively recovered by BES inoculated with a novel exoelectrogen, Pseudomonas sp. E8, that was first isolated from the anodic electroactive biofilm of a microbial fuel cell (MFC) in this study. Pseudomonas sp. E8 is a facultative anaerobic bacterium with a rod shape, 0.43–0.47 μm wide, and 1.10–1.30 μm long. Pseudomonas sp. E8 can agglomerate on the anode surface to form a biofilm in the single-chamber MFC using diluted Luria-Bertani (LB) medium as an energy substrate. A single-chamber MFC containing the electroactive Pseudomonas sp. E8 biofilms has a maximum output voltage of 191 mV and a maximum power density of 70.40 mW/m², which is much higher than those obtained by most other exoelectrogenic strains in the genus of Pseudomonas. Almost all the Cu²⁺ (99.95% ± 0.09%) and Cd²⁺ (99.86% ± 0.04%) in simulated AMD were selectively recovered by a microbial fuel cell (MFC) and a microbial electrolysis cell (MEC). After the treatment with BES, the high concentrations of Cu²⁺(184.78 mg/L), Cd²⁺(132.25 mg/L), and total iron (49.87 mg/L) in simulated AMD were decreased to 0.02, 0.19, and 0 mg/L, respectively. Scanning electron micrograph (SEM), energy dispersive X-ray spectrometry (EDXS) and X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis indicate that the Cu²⁺ and Cd²⁺ in simulated AMD were selectively recovered by microbial electrochemical reduction as Cu⁰ (together with trace amounts of Cu₂O) or Cd⁰ on the cathode surface. Collectively, data suggest that Pseudomonas sp. E8 has great potential for AMD treatment and metal recovery. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Mechanisms and Applications of Microbial Electrocatalysis)

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13 pages, 1561 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Bioconversion of Flavonoid Glycosides from Hippophae rhamnoides Leaves into Flavonoid Aglycones by Eurotium amstelodami

by Qiuya Gu, Guoliang Duan and Xiaobin Yu

Microorganisms 2019, 7(5), 122; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/microorganisms7050122 - 05 May 2019

Cited by 26 | Viewed by 4890

Abstract

The flowering process has been reported to play crucial roles in improving the flavor and efficacy of fermented tea. Hippophae rhamnoides leaves containing many beneficial ingredients are a suitable plant source for tea processing. In this study, we isolated a β-glucosidase-producing fungus Eurotium amstelodami BSX001 from the fermented tea and used Hippophae rhamnoides leaves (HRL) as a substrate to explore the detailed process of bioconversion of some important functional factors. The results show that the contents of total phenolic compounds and flavonoids increased significantly after seven days, especially flavonoid aglycones (e.g., quercetin, kaempferol, and isorhamnetin). Such compounds greatly enhance the antioxidative activity of fermented products. Metabolic analysis of the standard compounds (rutin, quercetin-3-glucoside, kaempferol-3-glucoside, quercetin, isorhamnetin-3-glucoside, isorhamnetin, and kaempferol) further confirmed the effective biotransformation by E. amstelodami. Mechanisms of the bioconversion could be involved in deglycosylation, dihydroxylation, and O-methylation. Our findings expand the understanding of tea fermentation process and provide further guidance for the fermented tea industry. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Mechanisms and Applications of Microbial Electrocatalysis)

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Review

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13 pages, 657 KiB

Open AccessReview

The Potential of Microbial Fuel Cells for Remediation of Heavy Metals from Soil and Water—Review of Application

by Chaolin Fang and Varenyam Achal

Microorganisms 2019, 7(12), 697; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/microorganisms7120697 - 13 Dec 2019

Cited by 58 | Viewed by 6588

Abstract

The global energy crisis and heavy metal pollution are the common problems of the world. It is noted that the microbial fuel cell (MFC) has been developed as a promising technique for sustainable energy production and simultaneously coupled with the remediation of heavy metals from water and soil. This paper reviewed the performances of MFCs for heavy metal removal from soil and water. Electrochemical and microbial biocatalytic reactions synergistically resulted in power generation and the high removal efficiencies of several heavy metals in wastewater, such as copper, hexavalent chromium, mercury, silver, thallium. The coupling system of MFCs and microbial electrolysis cells (MECs) successfully reduced cadmium and lead without external energy input. Moreover, the effects of pH and electrode materials on the MFCs in water were discussed. In addition, the remediation of heavy metal-contaminated soil by MFCs were summarized, noting that plant-MFC performed very well in the heavy metal removal. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Mechanisms and Applications of Microbial Electrocatalysis)

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29 pages, 1444 KiB

Open AccessReview

Microbial Surfactants: The Next Generation Multifunctional Biomolecules for Applications in the Petroleum Industry and Its Associated Environmental Remediation

by Emmanuel O. Fenibo, Grace N. Ijoma, Ramganesh Selvarajan and Chioma B. Chikere

Microorganisms 2019, 7(11), 581; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/microorganisms7110581 - 19 Nov 2019

Cited by 153 | Viewed by 9738

Abstract

Surfactants are a broad category of tensio-active biomolecules with multifunctional properties applications in diverse industrial sectors and processes. Surfactants are produced synthetically and biologically. The biologically derived surfactants (biosurfactants) are produced from microorganisms, with Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Bacillus subtilis Candida albicans, and Acinetobacter calcoaceticus as dominant species. Rhamnolipids, sophorolipids, mannosylerithritol lipids, surfactin, and emulsan are well known in terms of their biotechnological applications. Biosurfactants can compete with synthetic surfactants in terms of performance, with established advantages over synthetic ones, including eco-friendliness, biodegradability, low toxicity, and stability over a wide variability of environmental factors. However, at present, synthetic surfactants are a preferred option in different industrial applications because of their availability in commercial quantities, unlike biosurfactants. The usage of synthetic surfactants introduces new species of recalcitrant pollutants into the environment and leads to undesired results when a wrong selection of surfactants is made. Substituting synthetic surfactants with biosurfactants resolves these drawbacks, thus interest has been intensified in biosurfactant applications in a wide range of industries hitherto considered as experimental fields. This review, therefore, intends to offer an overview of diverse applications in which biosurfactants have been found to be useful, with emphases on petroleum biotechnology, environmental remediation, and the agriculture sector. The application of biosurfactants in these settings would lead to industrial growth and environmental sustainability. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Mechanisms and Applications of Microbial Electrocatalysis)

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14 pages, 1158 KiB

Open AccessReview

A Review on Microbial Electrocatalysis Systems Coupled with Membrane Bioreactor to Improve Wastewater Treatment

by Jicun Wang, Shuai Zhao, Apurva Kakade, Saurabh Kulshreshtha, Pu Liu and Xiangkai Li

Microorganisms 2019, 7(10), 372; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/microorganisms7100372 - 20 Sep 2019

Cited by 19 | Viewed by 4485

Abstract

Microbial electrocatalysis is an electro reaction that uses microorganisms as a biocatalyst, mainly including microbial electrolytic cells (MEC) and microbial fuel cells (MFC), which has been used for wastewater treatment. However, the low processing efficiency is the main drawback for its practical application and the additional energy input of MEC system results in high costs. Recently, MFC/MEC coupled with other treatment processes, especially membrane bioreactors (MBR), has been used for high efficiency and low-cost wastewater treatment. In these systems, the wastewater treatment efficiency can be improved after two units are operated and the membrane fouling of MBR can also be alleviated by the electric energy that was generated in the MFC. In addition, the power output of MFC can also reduce the energy consumption of microbial electrocatalysis systems. This review summarizes the recent studies about microbial electrocatalysis systems coupled with MBR, describing the combination types and microorganism distribution, the advantages and limitations of the systems, and also addresses several suggestions for the future development and practical applications. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Mechanisms and Applications of Microbial Electrocatalysis)

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