UMERC Faculty Member

Jennifer Becker, Assistant Professor
Environmental Science and Technology
Agriculture and Natural Resources

Phone: 301.405.1179
Email: gbecker@umd.edu  |  website

Statement of energy interests and expertise

Dr. Jennifer Becker is a bioenvironmental engineer and focuses on the use of anaerobic microbiological processes in biotechnological applications as well as on the reuse and management of residuals generated by agriculture, industries, and municipalities. The lignocellulosic residues that remain after corn and other crops are harvested have a high energy content that currently is largely untapped. Microbial fuel cells (MFCs) can be used to convert the
biochemical energy in organic materials directly to electrical energy.
Electrochemically active microorganisms in MFCs derive electrons from the oxidation of reduced growth substrates and transfer them to an anodic electrode rather than a chemical electron acceptor (like oxygen). Electrical current is generated when electrons flow through the MFC external circuit to a cathode. However, energy production using MFCs currently is primarily limited to dissolved substrates. Because large amounts of energy must be invested in physical treatments (e.g., steam explosion) that generate soluble substrates
from lignocellulosic biomass, electricity production from these crop residues in MFCs is not yet viable. Thus, Dr. Becker is interested in the development of MFC processes that capture the energy potential in lignocellulosic biomass.