Temperature dependence of bioelectrochemical CO2 conversion and methane production with a mixed-culture biocathode

This study evaluated the effect of temperature on methane production by CO2 reduction during microbial electrosynthesis (MES) with a mixed-culture biocathode. Reactor performance, in terms of the amount and rate of methane production, current density, and coulombic efficiency, was compared at different temperatures. The microbial properties of the biocathode at each temperature were also analyzed by 16S rRNA gene sequencing. The results showed that the optimum temperature for methane production from CO2 reduction in MES with a mixed-culture cathode was 50 °C, with the highest amount and rate of methane production of 2.06 ± 0.13 mmol and 0.094 ± 0.01 mmol h− 1, respectively. In the mixed-culture biocathode MES, the coulombic efficiency of methane formation was within a range of 19.15 ± 2.31% to 73.94 ± 2.18% due to by-product formation at the cathode, including volatile fatty acids and hydrogen. Microbial analysis demonstrated that temperature had an impact on the diversity of microbial communities in the biofilm that formed on the MES cathode. Specifically, the hydrogenotrophic methanogen Methanobacterium became the predominant archaea for methane production from CO2 reduction, while the abundance of the aceticlastic methanogen Methanosaeta decreased with increased temperature.