Adrian Fisher and colleagues at the University of Cambridge, UK, have grown purple bacteria Rhodopseudomonas palustris, which fed on cyanobacteria Arthrospira maxima for carbon source. The bacteria duo was used in microbial fuel cell applications. Rhodopseudomonas palustris uses light for energy but does not use carbon dioxide as a carbon source, so the purple bacteria fed on the cyanobacteria for its carbon source.
The authors have compared the cyanobacteria to two other chemical sources of carbon, namely, acetate and glycerol. They showed that the cyanobacteria gave the highest volumetric power of the three.
This work could provide valuable information for the development of future renewable energy systems.
The manuscript has just been accepted. You can read the full paper for free by clicking on the link below. Please note that you may need to register online for free access.
Rhodopseudomonas palustris purple bacteria fed Arthrospira maxima cyanobacteria: demonstration of application in a microbial fuel cell
Alister Edward Inglesby, David Alexander Beatty and Adrian C Fisher
RSC Adv., 2012, DOI: 10.1039/C2RA20264F, Accepted Manuscript
