DUGi

Tracking bio-hydrogen-mediated production of commodity chemicals from carbon dioxide and renewable electricity

http://dugi.udg.edu/item/http:@@@@hdl.handle.net@@2072@@299555

This study reveals that reduction of carbon dioxide (CO2) to commodity chemicals can be functionally compartmentalized in bioelectrochemical systems. In the present example, a syntrophic consortium composed by H2-producers (Rhodobacter sp.) in the biofilm is combined with carboxidotrophic Clostridium species, mainly found in the bulk liquid. The performance of these H2-mediated electricity-driven systems could be tracked by the activity of a biological H2sensory protein identified at cathode potentials between −0.2 V and −0.3 V vs SHE. This seems to point out that such signal is not strain specific, but could be detected in any organism containing hydrogenases. Thus, the findings of this work open the door to the development of a biosensor application or soft sensors for monitoring such systems

The authors would like to thank the Spanish Ministry (CTQ2014-53718-R and CTM2013-43454-R) and the University of Girona (MPCUdG2016/137) for theirs financial support. LEQUIA and IEA have been recognised as consolidated research groups by the Catalan Government (2014-SGR-1168, and 2014-SGR-484). R. G. gratefully acknowledges support from Ghent University BOF postdoctoral fellowship (BOF15/PDO/068). P.B-V gratefully acknowledges the Catalan Government for the pre-doctoral grant received (2015FI-B2 00076)

Elsevier