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Biokinetic evaluation of fatty acids degradation in microbial fuel cell type bioreactors

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Abstract

Biodegradations of Na-lactate and Na-acetate were evaluated in microbial fuel cell (MFC) type bioreactors. Increase in lactate concentration from 1,000 to 5,000 mg L−1 enhanced the biodegradation rate from 4.6 to 23.9 mg L−1 h−1. Sequential batch operation of MFC enhanced the lactate biodegradation rate. With acetate, neither increase in concentration nor sequential operation had a marked effect. Maximum power and current densities in MFCs operated batch-wise with lactate and acetate were 3.30 and 2.28 mW m−2, and 48.2 and 40.2 mA m−2, respectively. In the MFC operated continuously, increase in lactate loading rate caused the biodegradation rate to pass through maximum value of 1,668.2 mg L−1 h−1 (residence time: 1.2 h). Open circuit potential, power and current densities for continuous operation were 700 mV, 8.10 mW m−2 and 43.0 mA m−2, respectively. Using the experimental data, kinetic models for microbial growth and biodegradation of lactate and acetate in the MFC were developed.

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Abbreviations

X :

Biomass concentration (mg L−1)

t :

Time (h)

µ max–Lac :

Maximum specific growth rate, lactate degradation (h−1)

µ max–Ace :

Maximum specific growth rate, acetate degradation (h−1)

S Lac :

Lactate ion concentration (mg L−1)

S Ace :

Acetate ion concentration (mg L−1)

K s–Lac :

Saturation constant for lactate degradation (mg Lac L−1)

K s–Ace :

Saturation constant for acetate degradation (mg Ace L−1)

K d–Lac :

Endogenous decay coefficient for lactate degradation (h−1)

K d–Ace :

Endogenous decay coefficient for acetate degradation (h−1)

Y x–Lac :

Yield constant for lactate degradation [mg cell-dry weight (mg Lac)−1]

Y x–Ace :

Yield constant for acetate degradation [mg cell-dry weight (mg Ace)−1]

R :

Ratio of residual to initial lactate concentrations

F :

Proportion of reactions involved in lactate degradation (complete vs. incomplete oxidations)

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Acknowledgments

This work was made possible by the financial support of the Saskatchewan Ministry of Agriculture (Agriculture Development Fund) and a Discovery Grant provided to MN by the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, S7N 5A9, Canada

    Lyman Moreno & Mehdi Nemati

  2. Prairie Swine Centre Inc, Saskatoon, SK, S7H 5N9, Canada

    Bernardo Predicala

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  1. Lyman Moreno
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  2. Mehdi Nemati
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Correspondence to Mehdi Nemati.

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Moreno, L., Nemati, M. & Predicala, B. Biokinetic evaluation of fatty acids degradation in microbial fuel cell type bioreactors. Bioprocess Biosyst Eng 38, 25–38 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00449-014-1240-3

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