THE STUDY OF HYDROGEN BACTERIA ON PRODUCING ELECTRICAL ENERGY IN MICROBIAL FUEL CELL (MFC) SYSTEM

Jamilah¹ and I Nyoman Pugeg Aryantha^1,2

1)    Microbiology, Genetics and Molecular Biology, School Of Life Sciences and Technology, Institut Teknologi Bandung, Indonesia

2)    Center for Life Sciences, Institut Teknologi Bandung, Indonesia

Corresponding author : nyoman@sith.itb.ac.id

Abstract

Heterotrophic bacteria tend to produce unpleasant odor therefore in this study litotrophic (hydrogen) bacteria are studied for their potency to produce electrical energy in MFC system. Hydrogen bacteria are isolated from Java, Sumatera, Kalimantan, Sulawesi, and Bali Island. Bacterial consortium from each place was cultured in the Mineral Medium for Hydrogen Bacteria. There were 30 isolates of hydrogen bacteria obtained and each of them was evaluated for its ability to generate electric potential. Isolates which can produce more than 500 mV were then combined to produce a bigger electrical voltage. The highest voltage from single isolate was achieved by Cihideung isolate with value 575 mV, while the combination of Cihideung isolate and Tangkuban Perahu (H₂-TP3TR4) gave the highest voltage of 625 mV. The isolate TP3 was identified as Hydrogenophaga palleronii and TR4 as Pseudomonas hydrogenovora.

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2nd International Conference on Mathematics and Natural Sciences (ICMNS), Bandung, 2008