Microbial Electrosynthesis of Acetate Powered by Intermittent Electricity

Microbial electrosynthesis (MES) of acetate is a process using electrical energy to reduce CO₂ to acetic acid in an integrated bioelectrochemical system. MES powered by excess renewable electricity produces carbon-neutral acetate while benefitting from inexpensive but intermittent energy sources. Interruptions in electricity supply also cause energy limitation and starvation of the microbial cells performing MES. Here, we studied the effect of intermittent electricity supply on the performance of hydrogen-mediated MES of acetate. Thermoanaerobacter kivui produced acetic acid for more than 4 months from intermittent electricity supplied in 12 h on–off cycles in a semicontinuously-fed MES system. After current interruptions, hydrogen utilization and acetate synthesis rates were severely diminished. They did not recover to the steady-state rates of continuous MES within the 12 h current-on period under most conditions. Accumulating high product (acetate) concentration exacerbated this effect and prolonged recovery. However, supply of a low background current of 1–5% of the maximum current during “off-times” reduced the impact of current interruptions on subsequent MES performance. This study presents sustained MES at a rate of up to 2 mM h^–1 acetate at an average concentration of 60–90 mM by a pure thermophilic microbial culture powered by intermittent electricity. We identified product inhibition of accumulating acetic acid as a key challenge to improving the efficiency of intermittently powered MES.