Why do you think your paper is highly cited?

The topic of bioenergy production has been a very hot topic lately. This paper provides useful information on developing an architecture for bioelectricity production using microbial fuel cells.

  Does it describe a new discovery, methodology, or synthesis of knowledge?

This concerns a new discovery about how to make a high surface area electrode (anode) that can provide both a high porosity and a high surface area for bacterial attachment to the surface.

  Would you summarize the significance of your paper in layman's terms?

We devised an electrically conductive anode, which looks like a bottle brush (i.e., a wire-stemmed brush used to clean the inside of a bottle) that has electrical conductivity and is favorable for attachment of bacteria that produce electricity directly from the decomposition of organic matter (Fig. 1). It is sort of like the "Matrix" movie, but instead of wiring up people to produce electricity, we use bacteria. These bottle brush electrodes were successfully used to increase power densities over previous designs.

  How did you become involved in this research, and were there any problems along the way?

We have been working since 2002 on microbial fuel cells, trying to produce high current densities.

  Where do you see your research leading in the future?

This and other advances will lead to scaleable systems that can be used to directly produce power from any source of biodegradable organic matter. They will initially likely be used as a technology for wastewater treatment, providing excess power while cleaning the wastewater, as opposed to consuming power.

Bruce Logan, Ph.D.
Director, H2E Center &
Engineering Environmental Institute
Penn State University
University Park, PA, USA

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Figure 1:

Figure 1:

Brush electrode: an electrically conductive anode, which looks like a bottle brush. Click for a larger view.

Keywords: bioenergy production, bioelectricity production using microbial fuel cell, high porosity, high surface area, bacterial attachment to the surface, high surface area electrode, anode, electrically conductive anode, bottle brush electrodes, bacteria that produce electricity, decomposition of organic matter, microbial fuel cells.