Analysis and enhancement of the energy utilization efficiency of corn stover using strain Lsc-8 in a bioelectrochemical system

The strain Lsc-8 can produce a current density of 33.08 µA cm(−2) using carboxymethylcellulose (CMC) as a carbon source in a three-electrode configuration. A co-culture system of strain Lsc-8 and Geobacter sulfurreducens PCA was used to efficiently convert cellulose into electricity to improve the electricity generation capability of microbial fuel cells (MFCs). The maximum current density achieved by the co-culture with CMC was 559 μA cm(−2), which was much higher than that of strain Lsc-8 using CMC as the carbon source. The maximum power density reached 492.05 ± 52.63 mW cm(−2), which is much higher than that previously reported. Interaction mechanism studies showed that strain Lsc-8 had the ability to secrete riboflavin and convert cellulose into acetic acid, which might be the reason for the high electrical production performance of the co-culture system. In addition, to the best of our knowledge, a co-culture or single bacteria system using agricultural straw as the carbon source to generate electricity has not been reported. In this study, the maximum current density of the three-electrode system inoculated with strain Lsc-8 was 14.56 μA cm(−2) with raw corn stover as the sole carbon source. Raw corn stover as a carbon source was also investigated for use in a co-culture system. The maximum current density achieved by the co-culture was 592 μA cm(−2). The co-culture system showed a similar electricity generation capability when using raw corn stover and when using CMC. This research shows for the first time that a co-culture or single bacteria system can realize both waste biomass treatment and waste power generation. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12934-023-02058-6.