Spatiometabolic stratification of anoxic biofilm in prototype bioelectrogenic system

A prototype bio-catalyzed electrogenic system integrated with a biological treatment process (SBR-BET) was evaluated to study specific function of anoxic condition on the electrogenic activity. A multiphasic approach was employed, where the influence of DO on bio-electrogenic activity was optimized initially, later optimal anode to cathode inter-electrode distance was enumerated. Amongst the four electrode distances evaluated, 2 cm showed higher power output. Bioelectrokinetics analysis was used to validate the system performance with the experimental variation studied. The redox behavior showed an increase in cathodic catalytic activity with an increase in the inter-electrode distance. Spatiometabolic distribution depicted the microbial stratification on the anode. Electrochemically active bacteria present on the anode surface (inner and outer layers of biofilms) showed relatively uniform diversity compared with the suspension culture. (C) 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.