Microbial Community Analysis of a Single Chamber Microbial Fuel Cell Using Potato Wastewater

Microbial fuel cells (MFCs) convert chemical energy to electrical energy via bio-electrochemical reactions mediated by microorganisms. This study investigated the diversity of the microbial community in an air cathode single chamber MFC that used potato-process wastewater as substrate. Terminal restriction fragment length polymorphism results indicated that the bacterial communities on the anode, cathode, control electrode, and MFC bulk fluid were similar, but differed dramatically from that of the anaerobic domestic sludge and potato wastewater inoculum. The 16S ribosomal DNA sequencing results showed that microbial species detected on the anode were predominantly within the phyla of Proteobacteria, Firmicutes, and Bacteroidetes. Fluorescent microscopy results indicated that there was a clear enhancement of biofilm formation on the anode. Results of this study could help improve understanding of the complexity of microbial communities and optimize the microbial composition for generating electricity by MFCs that use potato wastewater.