Energy Conversion in Bioelectrochemical Systems

Modern chemical industry is facing a challenge to become “greener” and more sustainable. Future production processes should be able to eliminate by- and wasteproducts and save raw materials and energy. New process routes which utilize biocatalysts are a promising solution in this direction. Electrochemical processes are no exception in this respect and the use of biocatalysts (enzymes or whole cells) for energy conversion is increasingly appreciated by electrochemical community. The application of enzymes as biocatalysts is especially promising since they hold a promise of development of new fuel cell types which can utilize a broader spectrum of catalysts and fuels than the fuel cells today and can simplify the fuel cell design [1]. In addition the extent of fuel conversion (partial or total) can be tailored, which gives the possibility of supplemental chemical production. In this contribution some of our efforts to date in development, optimization and modeling of glucose enzymatic fuel cell are presented [2-3].