Molecular Identification of Electrogenic Bacteria Colonizing the Anode Electrode in Microbial Fuel Cell using Cow Urine as Inoculum

Electrogenic bacteria are group of microorganisms capable of transferring electrons extracellularly from their cell envelope to various electron acceptor, including electrodes. This study focused on the utilization of MFC to generate bioelectricity from wastewater using cow urine as inoculum and identify the bacteria colonizing the anode electrode. The samples were obtained from Dutse metropolis, Jigawa state, Nigeria. The voltage generated was measured using digital multimeter. The Bacterial biofilm formation on the anode was confirmed using scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The anodic bacteria were identified using molecular approach. The maximum voltage, power and current density obtained were 196 mV, 18.26 mW/m2 and 97 mA/m2 respectively. The SEM results showed that the bacteria were able to form biofilms attached to the electrode. The sequencing results showed the highest similarities to those of Bacillus paramycoides (98.69 %), Bacillus trophicus (99.87 %) and Priestia flexa (99.74 %). This result could contribute to improve understanding on the diversity and function of electrogenic bacteria for optimizing MFC performance and maximizing energy yield.