Microbial electrochemical sensor systems for rapid measurement of volatile fatty acid intermediates
PhD by Publication
Title | Microbial electrochemical sensor systems for rapid measurement of volatile fatty acid intermediates |
---|---|
Type | PhD by Publication |
Authors | Hill, Andrew |
Supervisor | |
1. First | Prof Bernadette McCabe |
2. Second | Dr Stephan Tait |
3. Third | Dr Peter Harris |
Prof Craig Baillie | |
Institution of Origin | University of Southern Queensland |
Qualification Name | Doctor of Philosophy |
Number of Pages | 104 |
Year | 2022 |
Publisher | University of Southern Queensland |
Place of Publication | Australia |
Digital Object Identifier (DOI) | https://doi.org/10.26192/y9z3v |
Abstract | Biogas production from renewable sources is set to grow in Australia over the next decade. Anaerobic digestion is the key process employed to produce biogas and is being incorporated with other renewable energy production such as wind and solar. Biogas can contribute to stabilising energy supply-demand through steady baseload and on-demand variable biogas energy production. As adoption of more novel anaerobic digestion technologies increases, monitoring of key process parameters is becoming more crucial. Relatively poor process transparency accompanied with process sensitivity are key drivers to developing alternative monitoring options. One key parameter and indicator of process instability is the concentration of volatile fatty acids; metabolites formed during the anaerobic digestion process, and that build-up when the process is stressed. Current methods to measure volatile fatty acids include titration, gas chromatograph, and high-performance liquid chromatography. Unfortunately, these methods typically require an external laboratory, which can take several hours and/or require reliable manual sampling of the digestate to obtain a measurement. Consequently, there is a need for measurement alternatives to enable timely and reliable measurement of volatile fatty acids to monitor anaerobic digestion performance. Microbial electrochemical sensors show potential as a viable alternative to these problems but still face challenges in development. The themes within this thesis identify and investigate challenges to microbial electrochemical technologies. A cost-effective potentiostat design was presented as a way to overcome barriers associated with cost. As a sensor, a microbial electrochemical sensor needs to be capable of stable and predictable output, therefore a microbial electrochemical sensors biofilm growth long-term was explored in terms of cell performance to identify ageing effects on transduced signal. Lastly, to address the need for rapid measurements in high-rate anaerobic digesters, the conductivity impact on microbial electrochemical sensor biofilm response times and peak current was investigated. These interrelating studies contribute to further understanding of a promising alternate method for volatile fatty acid measurement, microbial electrochemical technologies. |
Keywords | Cost-effective; Anareobic; Biofilm; Electrochemical; Stability; Electrolyte |
Related Output | |
Has part | Microbial electrochemical sensors for volatile fatty acid measurement in high strength wastewaters: A review |
Contains Sensitive Content | Does not contain sensitive content |
ANZSRC Field of Research 2020 | 400999. Electronics, sensors and digital hardware not elsewhere classified |
400904. Electronic device and system performance evaluation, testing and simulation | |
340604. Electrochemistry | |
Public Notes | This article is part of a UniSQ Thesis by publication. See Related Output. |
Byline Affiliations | Centre for Agricultural Engineering |
https://research.usq.edu.au/item/y9z3v/microbial-electrochemical-sensor-systems-for-rapid-measurement-of-volatile-fatty-acid-intermediates
Download files
94
total views55
total downloads0
views this month0
downloads this month