Microbial electrochemical sensor systems for rapid measurement of volatile fatty acid intermediates

PhD by Publication


Hill, Andrew. 2022. Microbial electrochemical sensor systems for rapid measurement of volatile fatty acid intermediates. PhD by Publication Doctor of Philosophy . University of Southern Queensland. https://doi.org/10.26192/y9z3v
Title

Microbial electrochemical sensor systems for rapid measurement of volatile fatty acid intermediates

TypePhD by Publication
AuthorsHill, Andrew
Supervisor
1. FirstProf Bernadette McCabe
2. SecondDr Stephan Tait
3. ThirdDr Peter Harris
Prof Craig Baillie
Institution of OriginUniversity of Southern Queensland
Qualification NameDoctor of Philosophy
Number of Pages104
Year2022
PublisherUniversity of Southern Queensland
Place of PublicationAustralia
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.

KeywordsCost-effective; Anareobic; Biofilm; Electrochemical; Stability; Electrolyte
Related Output
Has partMicrobial electrochemical sensors for volatile fatty acid measurement in high strength wastewaters: A review
Contains Sensitive ContentDoes not contain sensitive content
ANZSRC Field of Research 2020400999. 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 AffiliationsCentre for Agricultural Engineering
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https://research.usq.edu.au/item/y9z3v/microbial-electrochemical-sensor-systems-for-rapid-measurement-of-volatile-fatty-acid-intermediates

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Related outputs

Design and analysis of a low-cost potentiostat for application with microbial electrochemical sensors
Hill, Andrew, Tait, Stephan, Harris, Peter, Baillie, Craig, Virdis, Bernardino and McCabe, Bernadette K.. 2023. "Design and analysis of a low-cost potentiostat for application with microbial electrochemical sensors." Electrochimica Acta. 468. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.electacta.2023.143201
Field measurements of fugitive methane emissions from three Australian waste management and biogas facilities
Reinelt, Torsten, McCabe, Bernadette K., Hill, Andrew, Harris Peter, Baillie, Craig and Liebetrau, Jan. 2022. "Field measurements of fugitive methane emissions from three Australian waste management and biogas facilities ." Waste Management. 137, pp. 294-303. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.wasman.2021.11.012