A Fiber-Optic Sensor for Accurately Monitoring Biofilm Growth in a Hydrogen Production Photobioreactor

作者:Zhong Nianbing; Liao Qiang*; Zhu Xun; Chen Rong
来源:Analytical Chemistry, 2014, 86(8): 3994-4001.
DOI:10.1021/ac500353y

摘要

A new simple fiber-optic evanescent wave sensor was created to accurately monitor the growth and hydrogen production performance of biofilms. The proposed sensor consists of two probes (i.e., a sensor and reference probe), using the etched fibers with an appropriate surface roughness to improve its sensitivity. The sensor probe measures the biofilm growth and change of liquid-phase concentration inside the biofilm. The reference probe is coated with a hydrophilic polytetrafluoroethylene membrane to separate the liquids from photosynthetic bacteria Rhodopseudomonas palustris CQK 01 and to measure the liquid concentration. We also developed a model to demonstrate the accuracy of the measurement. The biofilm measurement was calibrated using an Olympus microscope. A linear relationship was obtained for the biofilm thickness range from 0 to 120 mu m with a synthetic medium under continuous supply to the bioreactor. The highest level of hydrogen production rate occurred at a thickness of 115 mu m.