Increased Biobutanol Production by Mediator‐Less Electro‐Fermentation

A future bio‐economy should not only be based on renewable raw materials but also in the raise of carbon yields of existing production routes. Microbial electrochemical technologies are gaining increased attention for this purpose. In this study, the electro‐fermentative production of biobutanol with C. acetobutylicum without the use of exogenous mediators is investigated regarding the medium composition and the reactor design. It is shown that the use of an optimized synthetic culture medium allows higher product concentrations, increased biofilm formation, and higher conductivities compared to a synthetic medium supplemented with yeast extract. Moreover, the optimization of the reactor system results in a doubling of the maximum product concentrations for fermentation products. When a working electrode is polarized at −600 mV vs. Ag/AgCl, a shift from butyrate to acetone and butanol production is induced. This leads to an increased final solvent yield of YABE = 0.202 g g−1 (control 0.103 g g−1), which is also reflected in a higher carbon efficiency of 37.6% compared to 23.3% (control) as well as a fourfold decrease in simplified E‐factor to 0.43. The results are promising for further development of biobutanol production in bioelectrochemical systems in order to fulfil the principles of Green Chemistry. Microbial electrochemical technologies provide a unique way of fulfilling the twelve principles of green chemistry for sustainable production technologies. This work shows that in a mediator‐less bioelectrochemical system, a total solvent yield of 0.202 g g−1 during acetone‐butanol‐ethanol fermentation with C. acetobutylicum and a 38% higher carbon efficiency as well as a fourfold decrease in simplified E‐factor to 0.43 compared to conventional fermentation techniques can be achieved by the application of an electric potential during the cultivation. The results are very promising for further development and scale‐up of the electro‐fermentation process with solventogenic clostridia.