Electricity generation from the treatment of wastewater with a hybrid up‐flow microbial fuel cell

The performance of a prototype up‐flow single‐chambered microbial fuel cell (MFC) for electrical power generation using brewery wastewater as fuel is reported. The designed reactor consisted of three zones, namely a lower anaerobic digestion zone, a central MFC zone, and an upper effluent clarifier zone. Tests were conducted in batch mode using a beer wastewater as the fuel/electron donor (COD concentration: 430 mg/L) and mixed consortia (both sewage microflora and anaerobic sludge) as a source of electrogenic bacteria. A stable current density of ～2,270 mA/m² was generated under continuous polarization with a constant external resistance (0.01 kΩ) and cell polarization gave a peak power density of 330 mW/m² at a current density of 1,680 mA/m². Electrochemical impedance analysis showed that the overall internal resistance of the reactor was quite low, that is, 8.0 Ω. Cyclic voltammetric analysis of the anodic biofilm at low scan rate revealed quite complex processes at the anode, with three redox peaks, at potentials of 116, 214, and 319 mV (vs. NHE). Biotechnol. Bioeng. 2010;107: 52–58. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Bioelectrochemical analysis of a hyperthermophilic microbial fuel cell generating electricity at temperatures above 80 °C

We examined whether a hyperthermophilic microbial fuel cell (MFC) would be technically feasible. Two-chamber MFC reactors were inoculated with subsurface microorganisms indigenous to formation water from a petroleum reservoir and were started up at operating temperature 80 °C. The MFC generated a maximum current of 1.3 mA 45 h after the inoculation. Performance of the MFC improved with an increase in the operating temperature; the best performance was achieved at 95 °C with the maximum power density of 165 mWm^?2, which was approximately fourfold higher than that at 75 °C. Thus, to our knowledge, our study is the first to demonstrate generation of electricity in a hyperthermophilic MFC (operating temperature as high as 95 °C). Scanning electron microscopy showed that filamentous microbial cells were attached on the anode surface. The anodic microbial consortium showed limited phylogenetic diversity and primarily consisted of hyperthermophilic bacteria closely related to Caldanaerobacter subterraneus and Thermodesulfobacterium commune.     

Enhanced electrode-reducing rate during the enrichment process in an air-cathode microbial fuel cell

The improvement in electricity generation during the enrichment process of a microbial consortium was analyzed using an air-cathode microbial fuel cell (MFC) repeatedly fed with acetate that was originally inoculated with sludge from an anaerobic digester. The anodic maximum current density produced by the anode biofilm increased from 0.12 mA/cm² at day 28 to 1.12 mA/cm² at day 105. However, the microbial cell density on the carbon cloth anode increased only three times throughout this same time period from 0.21 to 0.69 mg protein/cm², indicating that the biocatalytic activity of the consortium was also enhanced. The microbial activity was calculated to have a per biomass anode-reducing rate of 374 μmol electron g protein⁻¹ min⁻¹ at day 28 and 1,002 μmol electron g protein⁻¹ min⁻¹ at day 105. A bacterial community analysis of the anode biofilm revealed that the dominant phylotype, which was closely related to the known exoelectrogenic bacterium, Geobacter sulfurreducens, showed an increase in abundance from 32% to 70% of the total microbial cells. Fluorescent in situ hybridization observation also showed the increase of Geobacter-like phylotypes from 53% to 72%. These results suggest that the improvement of microbial current generation in microbial fuel cells is a function of both microbial cell growth on the electrode and changes in the bacterial community highly dominated by a known exoelectrogenic bacterium during the enrichment process.     

Comparison of Electrode Reduction Activities of Geobacter sulfurreducens and an Enriched Consortium in an Air-Cathode Microbial Fuel Cell

An electricity-generating bacterium, Geobacter sulfurreducens PCA, was inoculated into a single-chamber, air-cathode microbial fuel cell (MFC) in order to determine the maximum electron transfer rate from bacteria to the anode. To create anodic reaction-limiting conditions, where electron transfer from bacteria to the anode is the rate-limiting step, anodes with electrogenic biofilms were reduced in size and tests were conducted using anodes of six different sizes. The smallest anode (7 cm², or 1.5 times larger than the cathode) achieved an anodic reaction-limiting condition as a result of a limited mass of bacteria on the electrode. Under these conditions, the limiting current density reached a maximum of 1,530 mA/m², and power density reached a maximum of 461 mW/m². Per-biomass efficiency of the electron transfer rate was constant at 32 fmol cell⁻¹ day⁻¹ (178 μmol g of protein⁻¹ min⁻¹), a rate comparable to that with solid iron as the electron acceptor but lower than rates achieved with fumarate or soluble iron. In comparison, an enriched electricity-generating consortium reached 374 μmol g of protein⁻¹ min⁻¹ under the same conditions, suggesting that the consortium had a much greater capacity for electrode reduction. These results demonstrate that per-biomass electrode reduction rates (calculated by current density and biomass density on the anode) can be used to help make better comparisons of electrogenic activity in MFCs.     

Flexible and Stretchable Biobatteries: Monolithic Integration of Membrane‐Free Microbial Fuel Cells in a Single Textile Layer

The fabrication and performance of a flexible and stretchable microbial fuel cell (MFC) monolithically integrated into a single sheet of textile substrate are reported. The single‐layer textile MFC uses Pseudomonas aeruginosa (PAO1) as a biocatalyst to produce a maximum power of 6.4 µW cm^?2 and current density of 52 µA cm^?2, which are substantially higher than previous textile‐MFCs and are similar to other flexible paper‐based MFCs. The textile MFC demonstrates a stable performance with repeated stretching and twisting cycles. The membrane‐less single‐chamber configuration drastically simplifies the fabrication and improves the performance of the MFC. A conductive and hydrophilic anode in a 3D fabric microchamber maximizes bacterial electricity generation from a liquid environment and a silver oxide/silver solid‐state cathode reduces cathodic overpotential for fast catalytic reaction. A simple batch fabrication approach simultaneously constructs 35 individual devices, which will revolutionize the mass production of textile MFCs. This stretchable and twistable power device printed directly onto a single textile substrate can establish a standardized platform for textile‐based biobatteries and will be potentially integrated into wearable electronics in the future.     

Characterization of electrochemical activity of a strain ISO2‐3 phylogenetically related to Aeromonas sp. isolated from a glucose‐fed microbial fuel cell

The microbial communities associated with electrodes in closed and open circuit microbial fuel cells (MFCs) fed with glucose were analyzed by 16S rRNA approach and compared. The comparison revealed that bacteria affiliated with the Aeromonas sp. within the Gammaproteobacteria constituted the major population in the closed circuit MFC (harvesting electricity) and considered to play important roles in current generation. We, therefore, attempted to isolate the dominant bacteria from the anode biofilm, successfully isolated a Fe (III)‐reducing bacterium phylogenetically related to Aeromonas sp. and designated as strain ISO2‐3. The isolated strain ISO2‐3 could grow and concomitantly produce current (max. 0.24 A/m²) via oxidation of glucose or hydrogen with an electrode serving as the sole electron acceptor. The strain could ferment glucose, but generate less electrical current. Cyclic voltammetry supported the strain ISO2‐3 was electrically active and likely to transfer electrons to the electrode though membrane‐associated compounds (most likely c‐type cytochrome). This mechanism requires intimate contact with the anode surface. Scanning electron microscopy revealed that the strain ISO2‐3 developed multiplayer biofilms on the anode surface and also produced anchor‐like filamentous appendages (most likely pili) that may promote long‐range electron transport across the thick biofilm. Biotechnol. Bioeng. 2009; 104: 901–910. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

High and Reversible Lithium Ion Storage in Self‐Exfoliated Triazole‐Triformyl Phloroglucinol‐Based Covalent Organic Nanosheets

Covalent organic framework (COF) can grow into self‐exfoliated nanosheets. Their graphene/graphite resembling microtexture and nanostructure suits electrochemical applications. Here, covalent organic nanosheets (CON) with nanopores lined with triazole and phloroglucinol units, neither of which binds lithium strongly, and its potential as an anode in Li‐ion battery are presented. Their fibrous texture enables facile amalgamation as a coin‐cell anode, which exhibits exceptionally high specific capacity of ≈720 mA h g^?1 (@100 mA g^?1). Its capacity is retained even after 1000 cycles. Increasing the current density from 100 mA g^?1 to 1 A g^?1 causes the specific capacity to drop only by 20%, which is the lowest among all high‐performing anodic COFs. The majority of the lithium insertion follows an ultrafast diffusion‐controlled intercalation (diffusion coefficient, D_Li⁺ = 5.48 × 10^?11 cm² s^?1). The absence of strong Li‐framework bonds in the density functional theory (DFT) optimized structure supports this reversible intercalation. The discrete monomer of the CON shows a specific capacity of only 140 mA h g^?1 @50 mA g^?1 and no sign of lithium intercalation reveals the crucial role played by the polymeric structure of the CON in this intercalation‐assisted conductivity. The potentials mapped using DFT suggest a substantial electronic driving‐force for the lithium intercalation. The findings underscore the potential of the designer CON as anode material for Li‐ion batteries.     

Fast‐Charging and Ultrahigh‐Capacity Lithium Metal Anode Enabled by Surface Alloying

Li metal anodes are going through a great revival but they still encounter grand challenges. One often neglected issue is that most reported Li metal anodes are only cyclable under relatively low current density (<5 mA cm^?2) and small areal capacity (<5 mAh cm^?2), which essentially limits their high‐power applications and results in ineffective Li utilization (<1%). Herein, it is reported that surface alloyed Li metal anodes can enable reversible cycling with ultrafast rate and ultralarge areal capacity. Low‐cost Si wafers are used and are chemically etched down to 20–30 µm membranes. Simply laminating a Si membrane onto Li foil results in the formation of Li_xSi alloy film fused onto Li metal with mechanical robustness and high Li‐ion conductivity. Symmetric cell measurements show that the surface alloyed Li anode has excellent cycling stability, even under high current density up to 25 mA cm^?2 and unprecedented areal capacity up to 100 mAh cm^?2. Furthermore, the surface alloyed Li anode is paired with amorphous MoS₃ cathode and achieves remarkable full‐cell performance.     

Inhibitory effect of iron‐oxidizing bacteria on ferrous‐promoted chalcopyrite leaching

It is generally accepted that iron‐oxidizing bacteria, Thiobacillus ferrooxidans, enhance chalcopyrite leaching. However, this article details a case of the bacteria suppressing chalcopyrite leaching. Bacterial leaching experiments were performed with sulfuric acid solutions containing 0 or 0.04 mol/dm³ ferrous sulfate. Without ferrous sulfate, the bacteria enhance copper extraction and oxidation of ferrous ions released from chalcopyrite. However, the bacteria suppressed chalcopyrite leaching when ferrous sulfate was added. This is mainly due to the bacterial consumption of ferrous ions which act as a promoter for chalcopyrite oxidation with dissolved oxygen. Coprecipitation of copper ions with jarosite formed by the bacterial ferrous oxidation also causes the bacterial suppression of copper extraction. © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Biotechnol Bioeng 64: 478–483, 1999.     

High Polarity Poly(vinylidene difluoride) Thin Coating for Dendrite‐Free and High‐Performance Lithium Metal Anodes

The high‐polarity β‐phase poly(vinylidene difluoride) (β‐PVDF), which has all trans conformation with F and H atoms located on the opposite sides of the polymer backbone, is demonstrated to be a promising artificial solid‐electrolyte interphase coating on both Cu and Li metal anodes for dendrite‐free Li deposition/stripping and enhanced cycling performance. A thin (≈4 µm) β‐PVDF coating on Cu enables uniform Li deposition/stripping at high current densities up to 5 mA cm^?2, Li‐plating capacity loadings of up to 4 mAh cm^?2, and excellent cycling stability over hundreds of cycles under practical conditions (1 mA cm^?2 with 2 mAh cm^?2). Full cells containing an LiFePO₄ cathode and an anode of either β‐PVDF coated Cu or Li also exhibit excellent cycling stability. The profound effects of the high‐polarity PVDF coating on dendrite suppression are attributed to the electronegative F‐rich interface that favors layer‐by‐layer Li deposition. This study offers a new strategy for the development of dendrite‐free metal anode technology.     

Glycerol-fed microbial fuel cell with a co-culture of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Shewanella oneidensis</Emphasis> MR-1 and <Emphasis Type="Italic">Klebsiella pneumonae</Emphasis> J2B

Glycerol is an attractive feedstock for bioenergy and bioconversion processes but its use in microbial fuel cells (MFCs) for electrical energy recovery has not been investigated extensively. This study compared the glycerol uptake and electricity generation of a co-culture of Shewanella oneidensis MR-1 and Klebsiella pneumonia J2B in a MFC with that of a single species inoculated counterpart. Glycerol was metabolized successfully in the co-culture MFC (MFC-J&M) with simultaneous electricity production but it was not utilized in the MR-1 only MFC (MFC-M). A current density of 10 mA/m² was obtained while acidic byproducts (lactate and acetate) were consumed in the co-culture MFC, whereas they are accumulated in the J2B-only MFC (MFC-J). MR-1 was distributed mainly on the electrode in MFC-J&M, whereas most of the J2B was observed in the suspension in the MFC-J reactor, indicating that the co-culture of both strains provides an ecological driving force for glycerol utilization using the electrode as an electron acceptor. This suggests that a co-culture MFC can be applied to electrical energy recovery from glycerol, which was previously known as a refractory substrate in a bioelectrochemical system.     

Evaluation of procedures to acclimate a microbial fuel cell for electricity production

A microbial fuel cell (MFC) is a relatively new type of fixed film bioreactor for wastewater treatment, and the most effective methods for inoculation are not well understood. Various techniques to enrich electrochemically active bacteria on an electrode were therefore studied using anaerobic sewage sludge in a two-chambered MFC. With a porous carbon paper anode electrode, 8 mW/m² of power was generated within 50 h with a Coulombic efficiency (CE) of 40%. When an iron oxide-coated electrode was used, the power and the CE reached 30 mW/m² and 80%, respectively. A methanogen inhibitor (2-bromoethanesulfonate) increased the CE to 70%. Bacteria in sludge were enriched by serial transfer using a ferric iron medium, but when this enrichment was used in a MFC the power was lower (2 mW/m²) than that obtained with the original inoculum. By applying biofilm scraped from the anode of a working MFC to a new anode electrode, the maximum power was increased to 40 mW/m². When a second anode was introduced into an operating MFC the acclimation time was not reduced and the total power did not increase. These results suggest that these active inoculating techniques could increase the effectiveness of enrichment, and that start up is most successful when the biofilm is harvested from the anode of an existing MFC and applied to the new anode.     

Atomic Fe‐Doped MOF‐Derived Carbon Polyhedrons with High Active‐Center Density and Ultra‐High Performance toward PEM Fuel Cells

A metalorganic gaseous doping approach for constructing nitrogen‐doped carbon polyhedron catalysts embedded with single Fe atoms is reported. The resulting catalysts are characterized using scanning transmission electron microscopy, X‐ray photoelectron spectroscopy, and X‐ray absorption spectroscopy; for the optimal sample, calculated densities of Fe–N_x sites and active N sites reach 1.75812 × 10¹³ and 1.93693 × 10¹⁴ sites cm^‐2, respectively. Its oxygen reduction reaction half‐wave potential (0.864 V) is 50 mV higher than that of 20 wt% Pt/C catalyst in an alkaline medium and comparable to the latter (0.78 V vs 0.84 V) in an acidic medium, along with outstanding durability. More importantly, when used as a hydrogen–oxygen polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cell (PEMFC) cathode catalyst with a catalyst loading as low as 1 mg cm^‐2 (compared with a conventional loading of 4 mg cm^‐2), it exhibits a current density of 1100 mA cm^‐2 at 0.6 V and 637 mA cm^‐2 at 0.7 V, with a power density of 775 mW cm^‐2, or 0.775 kW g^–1 of catalyst. In a hydrogen–air PEMFC, current density reaches 650 mA cm^‐2 at 0.6 V and 350 mA cm^‐2 at 0.7 V, and the maximum power density is 463 mW cm^‐2, which makes it a promising candidate for cathode catalyst toward high‐performance PEMFCs.     

Eutectic‐Derived Mesoporous Ni‐Fe‐O Nanowire Network Catalyzing Oxygen Evolution and Overall Water Splitting

The development of efficient and abundant water oxidation catalysts is essential for the large‐scale storage of renewable energy in the form of hydrogen fuel via electrolytic water splitting, but still remains challenging. Based upon eutectic reaction and dealloying inheritance effect, herein, novel Ni‐Fe‐O‐based composite with a unique mesoporous nanowire network structure is designed and synthesized. The composite exhibits exceptionally low overpotential (10 mA cm^?2 at an overpotential of 244 mV), low Tafel slope (39 mV dec^?1), and superior long‐term stability (remains 10 mA cm^?2 for over 60 h without degradation) toward oxygen evolution reaction (OER) in 1 m KOH. Moreover, an alkaline water electrolyzer is constructed with the Ni‐Fe‐O composite as catalyst for both anode and cathode. This electrolyzer displays superior electrolysis performance (affording 10 mA cm^?2 at 1.64 V) and long‐term durability. The remarkable features of the catalyst lie in its unique mesoporous nanowire network architecture and the synergistic effect of the metal core and the active metal oxide, giving rise to the strikingly enhanced active surface area, accelerated electron/ion transport, and further promoted reaction kinetics of OER.     

3D TiC/C Core/Shell Nanowire Skeleton for Dendrite‐Free and Long‐Life Lithium Metal Anode

Construction of stable dendrite‐free Li metal anode is crucial for the development of advanced Li–S and Li–air batteries. Herein, self‐supported TiC/C core/shell nanowire arrays as skeletons and confined hosts of molten Li forming integrated trilayer TiC/C/Li anode are described. The TiC/C core/shell nanowires with diameters of 400–500 nm exhibit merits of good lithiophilicity, high electrical conductivity, and abundant porosity. The as‐prepared TiC/C/Li anode exhibits prominent electrochemical performance with a small hysteresis of less than 85 mV beyond 200 cycles (3.0 mA cm^?2) as well as a very high Coulombic efficiency up to 98.5% for 100 cycles at 1.0 mA cm^?2. When the structured anode is coupled with lithium iron phosphate or sulfur cathode, the assembled full cells with trilayer TiC/C/Li anodes display enhanced capability retention and improved Coulombic efficiency. This is ascribed to the unique TiC/C matrix, which can not only provide interspace for accommodating “hostless” Li, but also afford interconnected rapid transfer paths for electrons and ions with low local current densities, leading to effective inhabitation growth of Li dendrites and lower interfacial resistance. A fresh way for construction of advanced stable Li metal anodes is provided in this work.     

Lithiophilic CuO Nanoflowers on Ti‐Mesh Inducing Lithium Lateral Plating Enabling Stable Lithium‐Metal Anodes with Ultrahigh Rates and Ultralong Cycle Life

Lithium (Li) metal anodes are promising candidates for high‐energy‐density batteries. However, uncontrollable dendritic plating behavior and infinite volume expansion are hindering their practical applications. Herein, a novel CuO@Ti‐mesh (CTM) is prepared by microwave‐assisted reactions, followed by pressing on Li wafers, leading to Li/CuO@Ti‐mesh (LCTM) composite anodes. The lithiophilic CuO nanoflowers on Ti‐mesh provides evenly distributed nucleation sites, inducing uniform Li‐ion lateral plating, which can effectively inhibit the growth of Li dendrites and volume expansion during cycling. The as‐prepared LCTM composite anode exhibits high Coulombic efficiency (CE) of 94.2% at 10 mA cm^‐2 over 90 cycles. Meanwhile, the LCTM anode shows a low overpotential of 50 mV at 10 mA cm^‐2 over 16 000 cycles and a low overpotential of 90 and 250 mV even at ultrahigh current densities of 20 and 40 mA cm^‐2. When paired with Li₄Ti₅O₁₂ (LTO), it enhances the capacity retention of LTO/Li wafer full cells by about two times from 36.6% to 73.0% and 42.0% to 80.0% at 5C and 10C with long‐term cycling. It is hoped that this LCTM anode with ultrahigh rates and ultralong cycle life may put Li‐metal anode forward to practical applications, such as in Li–S, Li‐air batteries, etc.     

Bifunctional Conducting Polymer Coated CoP Core–Shell Nanowires on Carbon Paper as a Free‐Standing Anode for Sodium Ion Batteries

This study proposes a conformal surface coating of conducting polymer for protecting 1D nanostructured electrode material, thereby enabling a free‐standing electrode without binder for sodium ion batteries. Here, polypyrrole (PPy), which is one of the representative conducting polymers, encapsulated cobalt phosphide (CoP) nanowires (NWs) grown on carbon paper (CP), finally realizes 1D core–shell CoP@PPy NWs/CP. The CoP core is connected to the PPy shell via strong chemical bonding, which can maintain a Co–PPy framework during charge/discharge. It also possesses bifunctional features that enhances the charge transfer and buffers the volume expansion. Consequently, 1D core–shell CoP@PPy NWs/CP demonstrates superb electrochemical performance, delivering a high areal capacity of 0.521 mA h cm^?2 at 0.15 mA cm^?2 after 100 cycles, and 0.443 mA h cm^?2 at 1.5 mA cm^?2 even after 1000 cycles. Even at a high current density of 3 mA cm^?2, a significant areal discharge capacity reaching 0.285 mA h cm^?2 is still maintained. The outstanding performance of the CoP@PPy NWs/CP free‐standing anode provides not only a novel insight into the modulated volume expansion of anode materials but also one of the most effective strategies for binder‐free and free‐standing electrodes with decent mechanical endurance for future secondary batteries.     

Enabling High‐Energy Solid‐State Batteries with Stable Anode Interphase by the Use of Columnar Silicon Anodes

All‐solid‐state batteries (ASSBs) with silicon anodes are promising candidates to overcome energy limitations of conventional lithium‐ion batteries. However, silicon undergoes severe volume changes during cycling leading to rapid degradation. In this study, a columnar silicon anode (col‐Si) fabricated by a scalable physical vapor deposition process (PVD) is integrated in all‐solid‐state batteries based on argyrodite‐type electrolyte (Li₆PS₅Cl, 3 mS cm^?1) and Ni‐rich layered oxide cathodes (LiNi_0.9Co_0.05Mn_0.05O₂, NCM) with a high specific capacity (210 mAh g^?1). The column structure exhibits a 1D breathing mechanism similar to lithium, which preserves the interface toward the electrolyte. Stable cycling is demonstrated for more than 100 cycles with a high coulombic efficiency (CE) of 99.7–99.9% in full cells with industrially relevant areal loadings of 3.5 mAh cm^?2, which is the highest value reported so far for ASSB full cells with silicon anodes. Impedance spectroscopy revealed that anode resistance is drastically reduced after first lithiation, which allows high charging currents of 0.9 mA cm^?2 at room temperature without the occurrence of dendrites and short circuits. Finally, in‐operando monitoring of pouch cells gave valuable insights into the breathing behavior of the solid‐state cell.     

Enabling Iron‐Based Highly Effective Electrochemical Water‐Splitting and Selective Oxygenation of Organic Substrates through In Situ Surface Modification of Intermetallic Iron Stannide Precatalyst

A strategy to overcome the unsatisfying catalytic performance and the durability of monometallic iron‐based materials for the electrochemical oxygen evolution reaction (OER) is provided by heterobimetallic iron–metal systems. Monometallic Fe catalysts show limited performance mostly due to poor conductivity and stability. Here, by taking advantage of the structurally ordered and highly conducting FeSn₂ nanostructure, for the first time, an intermetallic iron material is employed as an efficient anode for the alkaline OER, overall water‐splitting, and also for selective oxygenation of organic substrates. The electrophoretically deposited FeSn₂ on nickel foam (NF) and fluorine‐doped tin oxide (FTO) electrodes displays remarkable OER activity and durability with substantially low overpotentials of 197 and 273 mV at 10 mA cm^?2, respectively, which outperform most of the benchmarking NiFe‐based catalysts. The resulting superior activity is attributed to the in situ generation of α‐FeO(OH)@FeSn₂ where α‐FeO(OH) acts as the active site while FeSn₂ remains the conductive core. When the FeSn₂ anode is coupled with a Pt cathode for overall alkaline water‐splitting, a reduced cell potential (1.53 V) is attained outperforming that of noble metal‐based catalysts. FeSn₂ is further applied as an anode to produce value‐added products through selective oxygenation reactions of organic substrates.     

Power production in MFCs inoculated with Shewanella oneidensis MR‐1 or mixed cultures

Power densities and oxidation–reduction potentials (ORPs) of MFCs containing a pure culture of Shewanella oneidensis MR‐1 were compared to mixed cultures (wastewater inoculum) in cube shaped, 1‐, 2‐, and 3‐bottle batch‐fed MFC reactor configurations. The reactor architecture influenced the relative power produced by the different inocula, with the mixed culture generating 68–480% more power than MR‐1 in each MFC configuration. The mixed culture produced the maximum power density of 858 ± 9 mW m^?2 in the cubic MFC, while MR‐1 produced 148 ± 20 mW m^?2. The higher power by the mixed culture was primarily a result of lower internal resistances than those produced by the pure culture. Power was a direct function of ohmic resistance for the mixed culture, but not for strain MR‐1. ORP of the anode compartment varied with reactor configuration and inoculum, and it was always negative during maximum power production but it did not vary in proportion to power output. The ORP varied primarily at the end of the cycle when substrate was depleted, with a change from a reductive environment during maximum power production (approximately ?175 mV for mixed and approximately ?210 mV for MR‐1 in cubic MFCs), to an oxidative environment at the end of the batch cycle (～250 mV for mixed and ～300 mV for MR‐1). Mixed cultures produced more power than MR‐1 MFCs even though their redox potential was less negative. These results demonstrate that differences between power densities produced by pure and mixed cultures depend on the MFC architecture. Biotechnol. Bioeng. 2010; 105: 489–498. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.