Constraints on the Efficiency of Electromicrobial Production

2020 
Electromicrobial production technologies (EMP) aim to combine renewable electricity and microbial metabolism. We have constructed molecular to reactor scale models of EMP systems using H2-oxidation and extracellular electron transfer (EET). We predict the electrical-to-biofuel conversion efficiency could rise to ≥52% with in vivo CO2-fixation. H2 and EET-mediated EMP both need reactors with high surface areas. H2-diffusion at ambient pressure requires areas 20 to 2,000 times that of the solar photovoltaic (PV) supplying the system. Agitation can reduce this to less than the PV area, and the power needed becomes negligible when storing ≥ 1.1 megawatts. EET-mediated systems can be built that are
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