Enrichment of electrogenic consortiums for the degradation of vinasses and molasses in MFC

Energy production in bioelectrochemical systems is affected by microorganisms developed during the degradation processes of organic matter from wastewater from the sugar industry and alcoholic beverages such as tequila and mezcal. However, the efficiencies of chemical to electrical energy conversion remain insufficient for large scale implementation of this technology. Microorganisms used for bioelectricity generation; model organisms such as Geobacter sulfurreduscens and Shewanella oneidensis have been studied exhaustively. However, there are few reports about the capabilities of mixed consortiums for the degradation of organic matter and bioelectricity production. In the present study, the performance of MFC was evaluated with equivalent circuit modeling. Results suggest that internal resistances affect performance. In addition, capacitive and ion transport elements are also influenced by the consortiums that have been developed. Scanning electronic microscopy analysis showed differences in anodic biofilm density and, together with an analysis of amplicon sequences of the 16S rRNA gene, it was found that the substrate has a direct effect on the development of Electrogenic Microbial Consortiums (EMC) an their organic matter degradation and bioelectricity production capacities.