Inocula selection in microbial fuel cells based on anodic biofilm abundance of Geobacter sulfurreducens

Microbial fuel cells （MFCs） rely on microbial conversion of organic substrates to electricity. The optimal perfor- mance depends on the establishment of a microbial community rich in electrogenic bacteria. Usually this micro- bial community is established from inoculation of the MFC anode chamber with naturally occurring mixed inocula. In this study, the electrochemical performance of MFCs and microbial community evolution were eval- uated for three inocula including domestic wastewater （DW）, lake sediment （LS） and biogas sludge （BS） with varying substrate loading （Lsub） and external resistance （Rext） on the MFC. The electrogenic bacterium Geobacter sulfurreducens was identified in all inocula and its abundance during MFC operation was positively linked to the MFC performance. The IS inoculated MFCs showed highest abundance （18% ± 1%） of G. sulfurreducens, maximum current density [Imax = （690 ± 30） mA.m 2] and coulombic efficiency （CE = 29% ±1%） with acetate as the substrate./max and CE increased to （1780 ± 30） mA.m-2 and 58%± 1%, respectively, after decreasing the Rext from 1000 Ωto 200 Ω, which also correlated to a higher abundance ofG. sulfurreducens （21% ±0.7%） on the MFC anodic biofilm. The data obtained contribute to understanding the microbial community response to Lsub and Roy, for of timizing electricity eneration in MFCs.

Corrosion Rate and Scale of Cast Iron in Water Distribution Systems

A specialised electrochemical measurement cell was plugged into a pilot water distribution system to simulate the pipe inner-wall corrosion. The linear polarisation resistance(LPR) technique and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy(EIS) were measured in real time to study the variation of the corrosion rate(CR) and scale of cast iron. Three corrosion stages were observed according to the LPR analysis: an initial stage with significantly fluctuating CR, a developmental stage with slowly decreasing CR, and a stable stage with a low CR of approximately 0.157 5 mm·a^(-1). The EIS revealed that the scales with a compact outer layer and a porous inner layer finally formed in the stable stage, and the polarisation resistance was approximately 2 175 ?·cm^2. A physicochemical analysis of the scales showed that ferric oxides, oxyhydroxides and calcite made the outer layer compact and effectively limited the diffusion of oxygen through the scales, which resulted in a low CR.