Metabolite Analysis of Clostridium acetobutylicum: Fermentation in a Microbial Fuel Cell

Abstract

Microbial fuel cells (MFCs) were used to monitor metabolism changes in Clostridium acetobutylicum fermentations. When MFCs were inoculated with C. acetobutylicum, they generated a unique voltage output pattern where two distinct voltage peaks occurred over a weeklong period. This result was markedly different to previously studied organisms which usually generate one sustained voltage peak. Analysis of the fermentation products indicated that the dual voltage peaks correlated with glucose metabolism. The first voltage peak correlated with acidogenic metabolism (acetate and butyrate production) and the second peak with solventogenic metabolism (acetone and butanol production). This demonstrates that MFCs can be applied as a novel tool to monitor the shift from acid production to solvent production in C. acetobutylicum.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Jan 01, 2010
Accession Number
ADA527877

Entities

People

  • Amethist S. Finch
  • Christian J. Sund
  • James J. Sumner
  • Timothy D. Mackie

Organizations

  • United States Army Research Laboratory

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Energy and Power Technologies

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Acids
  • Anaerobic Bacteria
  • Butyrates
  • Cells
  • Chemical Compounds
  • Chemistry
  • Clostridium
  • Detectors
  • Fermentation
  • Fuel Cells
  • Liquid Chromatography
  • Metabolism
  • Metabolites
  • Microbial Fuel Cells
  • Microbiology
  • Organic Acids
  • Production

Fields of Study

  • Biology

Readers

  • Analytical Chemistry
  • Electrical Engineering
  • Microbial Pathology

Technology Areas

  • Biotechnology