• Journal of Soil and Groundwater Environment
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• v.17 no.1
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• pp.33-41
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• 2012

Nanoscale zero-valent iron (nZVI) has recently received much attention for remediation of soil and groundwater contaminated with trichloroethylene (TCE). But there have been many debates on the toxic or inhibitory effects of nZVI on the environment. The objective of this study was to investigate the effects of nZVI on the activity of Geobacter lovleyi and to determine the potent effect of combination of abiotic and biotic treatment of TCE dechlorination. TCE degradation efficiencies of Geobacter lovleyi along with nZVI were more increased than those when nZVI was solely used. The amount of total microbial protein was increased in the presence of nZVI and hydrogen evolved from nZVI was consumed as electron donor by Geobacter lovleyi. In addition, dechlorination of TCE to cis-DCE by Geobacter lovleyi along with nZVI in respiking of exogenous of TCE shows that the reactivity of Geobacter lovleyi was also maintained. These results suggest that the application of Geobacter lovleyi along with nZVI for the dehalorination is beneficial for the enhancement of TCE degradation rate and reactivity of Geobacter lovleyi.

• Journal of the Korean GEO-environmental Society
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• v.13 no.11
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• pp.37-42
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• 2012

This study investigated the use of Geobacter lovleyi with TBOS(Tetrabutoxysilane) for TCE(Trichloroethylene) dechlorination. The TCE dechlorination by Geobacter lovleiy was mathematically described as the independent variables such as initial concentration of TCE, protein mass of Geobacter lovleyi and initial concentration of TOBS, and these were modeled by the use of response surface methodology(RSM). These experiments were carried out as a Box-Behnken Design(BBD) consisting of 15 experiments. The application of RSM yielded the following equation, which is empirical relationship for the dechlorination efficiency($Y_1$, %) of TCE and first order kinetic constant of TCE($Y_2,\;d^{-1}$) by independent variables in coded unit : $Y_1=-11.50X_1$(initial concentration of TCE) + $4.25X_2$(protein mass as Geobacter lovleyi injected mass) - $4.75X_3$(initial concentration of TBOS) - ${6.58X_1}^2$ - ${8.58X_2}^2$ + 93.67, $Y_2=-10.92X_1+5.06X_2-4.89X_3-{4.93X_3}^2-2.19X_1X_2+2.54X_1X_3-2.19X_2X_3+16.71$. In this case, the value of the adjusted determination coefficient(adjusted $R^2$= 0.975 and 0.934) were closed to 1, showing a high significance of the model. Statistical results showed the order of TCE dechlorination at experimental factors to be initial TCE concentration > initial TBOS concentration > protein mass, but the interaction effects were non-significant.

• Journal of the Korean GEO-environmental Society
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• v.13 no.9
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• pp.53-59
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• 2012

This study investigated characteristics of decomposition of tetrabutoxysilane (TBOS) as a slow release substrate (SRS) and on effect of TBOS decompostion compounds (acetate and butylate) for anaerobic dechlorination of trichloroethylene (TCE). In the batch experiment, TCE, cis-dichloroethene (cis-DCE), 1-butanol and TBOS were analysed by GC/FID and acetate and butylate were measured by HPLC. 1M of TBOS transferred and accumulated 4M of 1-butanol by abiotically hydrolysis reaction. The hydrolysis rate was in a range of 0.186 ${\mu}M/day$. On other hand, 1-butanol fermented to butyrate and acetate with indigenous culture from natural sediments. This results showed that TBOS could be used a slow release substrate in the natural sites. The dechlorinated potential of TCE with acetate and butyrate was increased with a decreasing initial TCE concentrations. In addition, first order coefficients of dechlorination with acetate as electron donor was higher then that with butyrate. It is because that dechlorination of Geobacter lovleyi was affected by substrate affinity, biodegradability and microbial acclimation on various substrates. However, dechlorinated potential of Geobacter lovleyi was decreased with accumulation cis-DCE in the anaerobic decholoronation process. The overall results indicated that SRS with Geobacter lovleyi might be a promising material for enhancing dechlorination of TCE on natural site and cis-DCE should be treated by ZVI as reductive material or by coexisting other dechlorinated bacteria.

• Journal of Hydrogen and New Energy
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• v.19 no.6
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• pp.498-504
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• 2008

Metal-reducing bacterium, Geobacter sulfurreducens is available for mediator-less microbial fuel cell (MFC) because it has biological nanowires(pili) which transfer electrons to outside the cell. In this study, in the anode chamber of the MFC system using G. sulfurreducens, the concentrations of NaCl, sodium phosphate and sodium bicarbonate as electrolytes were mainly optimized for the generation of electricity from acetate. 0.4%(w/v) NaClO and 0.5M $H_2SO_4$ could be utilized for the sterilization of acrylic plates and proton exchange membrane (major construction materials of the MFC reactor), respectively. When NaCl concentration in anode phosphate buffer increased from 5 to 50 mM, power density increased from 6 to $20\;mW/m^2$. However, with increasing sodium phosphate buffer concentration from 5 to 50 mM, power density significantly decreased from 18 to $1\;mW/m^2$. Twenty-four mM sodium bicarbonate did not affect electricity generation as well as pH under 50 mM phosphate buffer condition. Optimized anode chamber of MFC using G. sulfurreducens generated relatively high power density ($20\;mW/m^2$) with the maximum coulombic efficiency (41.3%).

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.22 no.10
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• pp.1395-1400
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• 2012

In this study, we investigated various cultural and operational factors to enhance electricity generation in a microbial fuel cell (MFC) using Geobacter sulfurreducens. The pure culture of G. sulfurreducens was cultivated using various substrates including acetate, malate, succinate, and butyrate, with fumarate as an electron acceptor. Cell growth was observed only in acetate-fed medium, when the cell concentrations increased 4-fold for 3 days. A high acetate concentration suppressed electricity generation. As the acetate concentration was increased from 5 to 20 mM, the power density dropped from 16 to $13mW/m^2$, whereas the coulombic efficiency (CE) declined by about half. The immobilization of G. sulfurreducens on the anode considerably reduced the enrichment period from 15 to 7 days. Using argon gas to create an anaerobic condition in the anode chamber led to increased pH, and electricity generation subsequently dropped. When the plain carbon paper cathode was replaced by Pt-coated carbon paper (0.5 mg $Pt/cm^2$), the CE increased greatly from 39% to 83%.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.26 no.4
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• pp.757-762
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• 2016

The group of Fe(III) oxide-reducing bacteria includes exoelectrogenic bacteria, and they possess similar properties of transferring electrons to extracellular insoluble-electron acceptors. The exoelectrogenic bacteria can use the anode in microbial fuel cells (MFCs) as the terminal electron acceptor in anaerobic acetate oxidation. In the present study, the anodic community was compared with the community using Fe(III) oxide (ferrihydrite) as the electron acceptor coupled with acetate oxidation. To precisely analyze the structures, the community was established by enrichment cultures using the same inoculum used for the MFCs. High-throughput sequencing of the 16S rRNA gene revealed considerable differences between the structure of the anodic communities and that of the Fe(III) oxide-reducing community. Geobacter species were predominantly detected (>46%) in the anodic communities. In contrast, Pseudomonas (70%) and Desulfosporosinus (16%) were predominant in the Fe(III) oxide-reducing community. These results demonstrated that Geobacter species are the most specialized among Fe(III)-reducing bacteria for electron transfer to the anode in MFCs. In addition, the present study indicates the presence of a novel lineage of bacteria in the genus Pseudomonas that highly prefers ferrihydrite as the terminal electron acceptor in acetate oxidation.

• Korean Journal of Microbiology
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• v.45 no.2
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• pp.140-147
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• 2009

In this study, anaerobic enrichment cultivation was performed with the sediments from the Gimpo and Inchon areas. Lactate as an electron donor and PCE as an electron acceptor was injected into the serum bottle with an anaerobic medium. After the incubation of 8 weeks, the reductive dechlorination of PCE was observed in 7 sites among 16 sites (43%). Three enrichment cultures showed completely dechlorination of PCE to ethene, while four enrichment culture showed transformation of PCE to cis-DCE. The bacterial community structure was analyzed by PCR-DGGE. Dechlorinating bacteria were detected by species-specific primers. The dominant species in seven anaerobic enrichments were found to belong to the genus of Dehalococcoides sp. and Geobacter sp., and Dehalobacter sp.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.26 no.3
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• pp.511-520
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• 2016

The most energy-demanding step of wastewater treatment is the aeration-dependent elimination of organic carbon. Microbial fuel cells (MFCs) offer an alternative strategy in which carbon elimination is conducted by anaerobic microorganisms that transport respiratory electrons originating from carbon oxidation to an anode. Hence, chemical energy is directly transformed into electrical energy. In this study, the use and stability of barcode-containing exoelectrogenic model biofilms under non-axenic wastewater treatment conditions are described. Genomic barcodes were integrated in Shewanella oneidensis, Geobacter sulfurreducens, and G. metallireducens. These barcodes are unique for each strain and allow distinction between those cells and naturally occurring wild types as well as quantification of the amount of cells in a biofilm via multiplex qPCR. MFCs were pre-incubated with these three strains, and after 6 days the anodes were transferred into MFCs containing synthetic wastewater with 1% wastewater sludge. Over time, the system stabilized and the coulomb efficiency was constant. Overall, the initial synthetic biofilm community represented half of the anodic population at the end of the experimental timeline. The part of the community that contained a barcode was dominated by G. sulfurreducens cells (61.5%), while S. oneidensis and G. metallireducens cells comprised 10.5% and 17.9%, respectively. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study to describe the stability of a synthetic exoelectrogenic consortium under non-axenic conditions. The observed stability offers new possibilities for the application of synthetic biofilms and synthetically engineered organisms fed with non-sterile waste streams.

• Microbiology and Biotechnology Letters
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• v.47 no.4
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• pp.630-638
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• 2019

Nitrous oxide (N₂O) is a greenhouse gas with a global warming potential 310 times higher than that of carbon dioxide. In this study, an N₂O-reducing consortium was obtained by enrichment culture using advanced treatment sludge as the inoculum. The dominant bacteria in the consortium were Sulfurovum (17.95%), Geobacter (14.63%), Rectinema (11.45%), and Chlorobium (8.24%). The consortium displayed optimal N₂O reducing activity when acetate was supplied as the carbon source at a carbon/nitrogen ratio (mol·mol^-1) of 6.3. The N₂O reduction rate increased with increasing N₂O concentration at less than 3,000 ppm. Kinetic analysis revealed that the maximum N₂O reduction rate of the consortium was 163.9 ㎍-N·g-VSS^-1·h^-1. Genes present in the consortium included nosZ (reduction of nitrous oxide to N₂), narG (reduction of nitrate to nitrite), nirK (reduction of nitrite to nitric oxide), and norB (reduction of nitric oxide to nitrous oxide). These results indicate that the N₂O-reducing consortium is a promising bioresource that can be used in denitrification and N₂O mitigation.

• Korean Journal of Microbiology
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• v.48 no.4
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• pp.254-261
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• 2012

The purpose of this research was to optimize electric current production of sediment microbial fuel cells by injecting glucose and to investigate its impact on microbial communities involved. It was shown that injection of proper concentration of glucose could increase electric current generated from sediment microbial fuel cells. When 1,000 mg/L of glucose, as opposed to higher concentrations, was injected, electric current increased up to 3 times. This increase is mainly attributed to the mutual relationship between fermenting bacteria and exoelectrogenic bacteria. Here the organic acids generated by fermenting bacteria could be utilized by exoelectrogenic bacteria, removing feedback inhibition caused by the organic acids. When glucose was injected, the population of Clostridium increased as to ferment injected glucose. Glucose fermentation can have either a positive or negative effect on electric current generation. When exoelectrogenic bacteria may readily utilize the end-product, electric current could increase. However, when the end-product was not readily removed, then detrimental chemical reactions (pH decrease, methane generation, organic acids accumulation) occurred: exoelctrogenic bacteria population declined and non-microbial fuel cell related microorganisms prospered. By injecting a proper concentration of glucose, a mutual relationship between fermenting bacteria, such as Clostridium, and exoelectrogenic bacteria, such as Geobacter, should be fulfilled in order to increase electricity production in mixed cultures of microorganisms collected from the aquatic sediments.