How could chemical engineering help in deciphering electromicrobial mechanisms?

CNRS – Laboratoire de Génie Chimique (Chemical Engineering Centre) 4 allée Emile Monso, 31432 Toulouse, France

^a Corresponding author: alain.bergel@ensiacet.fr

Abstract

Electroactive microbial biofilms constitute a still-new research area of bioelectrochemistry, which proposes experimental systems that are original relative to those that have been studied for decades. In bioelectrochemistry, the interface is generally designed by the experimentalist, sometimes by using sophisticated surface modification protocols, in order to immobilize the biological component on the electrode surface in the best possible way. In contrast, in the case of electroactive biofilms, microorganisms do the work. The microbial cells produce slime that glues them to the electrode surface and forms complex biofilm/electrode interfaces, on which the experimentalist has very few action levers. In this context, chemical engineering methods can be very helpful to decipher the numerous interacting steps that control electron transfer and also to scale up the interfaces to actual applications.