Bioelectrochemical Characterization of Heavy Metals Resistant yeast: Hansenula fabianii Isolated from Tannery Wastewater

Abstract

To date, heavy metals present a main drawback for bioelectrochemical systems (BESs) performances. Therefore, our results confirm, for the first time, that Hansenulafabianii is an electrochemical active yeast that has a potential tolerance against various heavy metals. The bioreactor inoculated by Hansenula fabianii in mediatoless conditions provided a maximum current density of 32 mA/m(2); up to 300 mA/m(2) in the presence of methylene blue. In mediatorless conditions, cyclic voltammetry (CV) on a yeast pellet showed a single oxidative peak at 450mV and a pair peak, the CV of the supernatant confirmed that Hansenula fabianii secretedits own mediator. The obtained results proved that Hansenula fabianii based biofuel cell could be used for simultaneous current generation and heavy metal bioremediation.