Science Buddies: "Ask an Expert"

Does anyone know how to inoculate anaerobic bacteria into the anode of a microbial fuel cell. I don't want to kill the bacteria with oxygen.

Thanks,
Jackie Ni

Hi Jackie,

One suggestion to help us experts answer your questions better. Please ask all your questions on ONE thread. Don't make a new one for each question. This helps us to see all the questions and answers relating to one project.

Did you call Carolina Bio? They are a good source of technical information about growing bacteria and are always happy to help young students. They may be able to give you a source for the bacteria and tell you how to grow them. The company that provides you with the bacteria is the best place to ask about how to grow them because they are the ones who grow them routinely to sell. They will provide instructions with the cultures for how to handle them.

The conditions in the mud are anaerobic, so once you put the bacteria in the cell and put mud over them they should be protected from oxygen. The bacteria in mud that you get from a pond are active and stay that way even after you add them to the fuel cell.

Hopefully one of the other experts has worked with anaerobic bacteria and can give some more suggestions on how to set up your experiment so it works. I understand your concern and we want to make sure your procedure is done correctly so you get good data.

Let us know what you find out from the company that sells the bacterial cultures.

Sybee