Promoting Interspecies Electron Transfer with Biochar
Open accessAbstract
Biochar, a charcoal-like product of the incomplete combustion of organic materials, is an increasingly popular soil amendment designed to improve soil fertility. We investigated the possibility that biochar could promote direct interspecies electron transfer (DIET) in a manner similar to that previously reported for granular activated carbon (GAC). Although the biochars investigated were 1000 times less conductive than GAC, they stimulated DIET in co-cultures of Geobacter metallireducens with Geobacter sulfurreducens or Methanosarcina barkeri in which ethanol was the electron donor. Cells were attached to the biochar, yet not in close contact, suggesting that electrons were likely conducted through the biochar, rather than biological electrical connections. The finding that biochar can stimulate DIET may be an important consideration when amending soils with biochar and can help explain why biochar may enhance methane production from organic wastes under anaerobic conditions.
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Biochar addition can promote direct interspecies electron transfer (DIET) and improve biogas production in anaerobic digestion.
“Biochar addition could also promote direct interspecies electron transfer (DIET) and improve biogas production in anaerobic digestion.171,172”
From Sustainable remediation with an electroactive biochar system: mechanisms and perspectives (2020) · cites this paper as [171]
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- Authors
- Chen, S., Rotaru, A.-E., Shrestha, P. M., Malvankar, N. S., Liu, F., Fan, W., Nevin, K. P., & Lovley, D. R.
- Affiliations
- Sun Yat-sen University (CN)
- University of Massachusetts Amherst (US)
- Chinese Academy of Sciences (CN)
- Corresponding author
- Chen, Shanshan
- Rotaru, Amelia-Elena
- Venue
- Scientific Reports
- Published
- 2014-05-21
- Volume
- 4
- Issue
- 1
- Pages
- 5019-5019
- ISSN
- 2045-2322 (ISSN-L)
- PMC
- PMC4028902
- OpenAlex
- W1982170357
- Cited by
- 727
- References
- 44
- Citations by year
- 2026: 42 · 2025: 55 · 2024: 60 · 2023: 61 · 2022: 82 · 2021: 84 · 2020: 89 · 2019: 79 · 2018: 63 · 2017: 45 · 2016: 44 · 2015: 17 · 2014: 6
- FWCI
- 28.60
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- gold
- doi.org
- Licence
- Locations
- Scientific Reports (publishedVersion, cc-by-nc-sa)
- Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (publishedVersion, cc-by-nc-sa)
- PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by-nc-sa)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- University of Southern Denmark Research Portal (University of Southern Denmark) (acceptedVersion)
- OSTI OAI (U.S. Department of Energy Office of Scientific and Technical Information) (submittedVersion)
- Knowledge Repository of Yantai Institute of Coastal Zone Research, CAS (Yantai Institute of Coastal Zone Research) (submittedVersion, cc-by-nc-sa)
- Funders
- U.S. Department of Energy (DESC0004485)
- Sun Yat-sen University
- Topics
- Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Environmental Engineering › Microbial Fuel Cells and Bioremediation
- Physical Sciences › Engineering › Building and Construction › Anaerobic Digestion and Biogas Production
- Physical Sciences › Engineering › Electrical and Electronic Engineering › Electrokinetic Soil Remediation Techniques
- Keywords
- biochar, direct interspecies electron transfer, Geobacter metallireducens, Geobacter sulfurreducens, Methanosarcina barkeri, ethanol electron donor, soil amendment, anaerobic methane production, microbial co-culture
- MeSH terms
- Ethanol, Charcoal, Electron Transport, Electrons, Soil, Methanosarcina barkeri, Coculture Techniques, Geobacter
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