Transforming Energy Lecture Series Sponsored by the Univ. of Maryland Energy Research Center

Friday, February 3, 2012
3:00 p.m.
Rm. 1202, Glenn L. Martin Hall
Annette Mateus
301 405 4799
amateus@umd.edu

Dr. Bruce Logan, Kappe Professor of Environmental Engineering
Civil & Environmental Engineering and Director, Engineering Energy & Environmental Institute
Penn State University

"Bioelectrochemical Systems for Energy Production and the Generation of Other Value-Added Products"

Abstract

The ability of certain microorganisms to transfer electrons outside the cell (exoelectrogens) or to accept electrons directly into the cell (electrotrophs) has created opportunities for new types of bioelectrochemical technologies, including: microbial fuel cells (MFCs), to produce electrical power; microbial electrolysis cells (MECs), to produce fuels such as hydrogen and methane gases; microbial desalination cells (MDCs) to partially or fully desalinate water; and microbial reverse electrodialysis cells (MRCs) that can be used to boost current densities in MFCs or MECs. In an MFC, exoelectrogens oxidize organic matter and release electrons to the anode. These electrons flow to the counter electrode (cathode) where they combine with oxygen and protons to form water, generating current and power. Sustained current generation is possible using virtually any type of biodegradable organic matter. In an MEC additional voltage is added (with no oxygen present) to the circuit allowing hydrogen gas to be electrochemically evolved at the cathode. The voltage needed (>0.2 V) is substantially smaller than that needed to electrolyze water. By including a stack of membranes into MFCs or MECs, it is possible to desalinate water while producing energy. Alternatively, sources of salt and fresh water can be used in the membrane stack to produce additional energy from the salinity gradient energy. In this presentation, I highlight different applications possible for these bioelectrochemical systems, and present new architectures that are being used to scale down these systems for high though put screening, and to scale up these systems for commercial applications.

Biography

Bruce Logan is the Kappe Professor of Environmental Engineering at Penn State University, and Director of the Engineering Energy & Environmental Institute. He has published over 300 journal papers and several books (including one on microbial fuel cells), and works in a variety of research areas including bioenergy production, bioremediation, environmental transport processes, colloidal dynamics, and microbial adhesion. Dr. Logan is a visiting professor at Newcastle University in the UK, Harbin Institute of Technology in China, Dalian University of Technology in China, and he is an investigator with the King Abdullah University of Science & Technology (KAUST) in Saudi Arabia.

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