scholarly journals Effect of cell structure and heat pretreating of the microorganisms on performance of a microbial fuel cell

2019 ◽  
Vol 79 (9) ◽  
pp. 1746-1754 ◽  
Author(s):  
Milad Kadivarian ◽  
Ali A. Dadkhah ◽  
Mohsen Nasr Esfahany

Abstract While microbial fuel cells are being considered as a tool for energy saving in wastewater treatment facilities, such applications in oil refineries pose a challenge due to harder acclimation of microorganisms. In this research, the effect of heat pretreating mixed culture microorganisms (MCM), and cell cross section, on the performance of a novel cell design with two cross sections (single chamber microbial fuel cells, with circular: SCMFC_CC and rectangular: SCMFC_RC cross section) fed batched with refinery wastewater were investigated. First, using original and heat pretreated MCM, the performance of SCMFC_CC in terms of chemical oxygen demand (COD) removal and electricity production was investigated. Then, using only the heat pretreated MCM, the electricity production of SCMFC_RC was measured and compared with that of SCMFC_CC. Heat pretreatment of MCM improved maximum open circuit voltage (OCV) and maximum power density generated by 14% and 16%, respectively. However, heat pretreatment reduced COD removal by about 4%. The performance of SCMFC_CC in terms of maximum OCV and power density compared to SCMFC_RC was improved by 41% and 279%, respectively. Heat treatment of MCM increases the electricity generation of the cell, while reducing the performance of COD reduction due to decreasing the microorganism varieties in the MCM.

2014 ◽  
Vol 1008-1009 ◽  
pp. 285-289 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chong Yang Gao ◽  
Ai Jie Wang ◽  
Yang Guo Zhao

Double-chambered microbial fuel cells (MFCs) were used to investigate the effect of sulfate and sulfate-reducing bacteria (SRB) on electricity generation by molybdate inhibition coupled with PCR-DGGE technique. Results showed that low influent sulfate (< 1470 mg/L) improved power density and voltage, while higher sulfate blocked the MFC efficiency. Molybdate inhibited the activity of SRB and consequently decreased MFC voltage and power density which confirmed some SRB were involved in the electricity generation. Microbial community analysis indicated thatDesulfovibrio desulfuricanscontributed to the electricity production and stability of MFC.


2012 ◽  
Vol 217-219 ◽  
pp. 956-960 ◽  
Author(s):  
En Ren Zhang ◽  
Qiang Ji ◽  
Lei Liu

Microbial fuel cells with brush bio-anode and bio-cathode made of PAN-based carbon fibers were constructed, and the electricity production was investigated. Experimental results indicate that both the anode and the cathode could be catalyzed by mixed bacterial cultures. Oxygen-reduction at the cathode could be carried out effectively with the assistance of catalytic action by bacteria, enhancing the electrochemical properties of the cathode. Stable electricity production could be obtained with maximum power 5.6 mW (corresponding power density ~2.1 W/m3 MFC volume) when operating MFC in continuous flow mode. PAN-based carbon fibers were shown to be suitable electrode materials for MFCs, especially in systems for the future applications.


2014 ◽  
Vol 548-549 ◽  
pp. 855-859
Author(s):  
Chin Tsan Wang

Sediment microbial fuel cells (SMFCs) produce electricity through the bacterial oxidation of organic matter contained in the sediment, but the power density is limited and needs to be improved. In this study, a new design of a fined-type cathode with carbon cloth embedded partly, as opposed to completely, in SMFCs were utilized. As a result, the design allowing the cathode to contact air will have a positive effect on the power performance and decrease the resistance of the inner system. The power density in the cases where the cathode was about half soaked was about two folds the case where it was soaked completely. Furthermore, SMFCs would also be seen as a driving force in hastening the COD removal because it was about 1.92-folds the COD removal of the cases where SMFCs where not present. These findings can be applied to sewage treatment and improving the power performance in SMFCs.


2013 ◽  
Vol 68 (3) ◽  
pp. 537-543 ◽  
Author(s):  
T. K. Sajana ◽  
M. M. Ghangrekar ◽  
A. Mitra

The performance of three sediment microbial fuel cells (SMFCs) was evaluated at different feed water pH and electrode spacing for chemical oxygen demand (COD) removal, total nitrogen (TN) removal, and power density; while offering in situ remediation of aquaculture pond water. SMFC-A was operated at the feed water pH of 6.5 and spacing between the electrodes of 100 cm. SMFC-B and SMFC-C were operated at feed water pHs of 8.5 and 6.5, respectively, and distance between electrodes of 50 cm. The anode and cathode were connected with concealed copper wire through an external load of 100 Ω. The average amount of total COD removal rate and TN removal rate, per unit area of cathode, were 1.72 ± 0.06 and 0.021 ± 0.007 g/m2 d in SMFC-A, 1.03 ± 0.08 and 0.024 ± 0.005 g/m2 d in SMFC-B, and 1.14 ± 0.01 and 0.017 ± 0.001 g/m2 d in SMFC-C, respectively. SMFC-A, operated with higher distance between electrodes, demonstrated better removal of organic matter and highest open circuit voltage of 0.903 V. SMFCs with less feed pH (6.5) gave higher COD removal and feed pH of 8.5 gave higher TN removal. SMFCs operated with lesser distance between electrodes gave higher power density.


2020 ◽  
Vol 25 (1) ◽  
pp. 95-102
Author(s):  
Willie Prasidha ◽  
Akmal Irfan Majid

This study was aimed at evaluating the performance of non-aerated and aerated double chamber microbial fuel cells from food waste leachate. The value of open circuit voltage (OCV) and close circuit voltage (CCV) were taken to analyze power density and current density of both configurations. Two double chamber microbial fuel cells (MFC) with different configurations were developed to produce electricity from food waste leachate and studied for 30 days. Anode and catode were made by uncoated carbon felt and graphite rod. Food waste and water were incubated inside a reactor. After 30 days, the electricity production characteristics between the two configurations were obtained. Both configurations reached the same maximum power density and maximum current density but the aerated MFC showed higher performance of maximum open-circuit voltage (OCV), average power density, and current density than non-aerated MFC. The results show that the supplying continuous dissolved air in the cathode chamber resulted in higher voltage, higher average power density, and higher average current density in double chamber microbial fuel cell.


Fuels ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
pp. 168-178
Author(s):  
Marzia Quaglio ◽  
Daniyal Ahmed ◽  
Giulia Massaglia ◽  
Adriano Sacco ◽  
Valentina Margaria ◽  
...  

Sediment microbial fuel cells (SMFCs) are energy harvesting devices where the anode is buried inside marine sediment, while the cathode stays in an aerobic environment on the surface of the water. To apply this SCMFC as a power source, it is crucial to have an efficient power management system, leading to development of an effective energy harvesting technique suitable for such biological devices. In this work, we demonstrate an effective method to improve power extraction with SMFCs based on anodes alternation. We have altered the setup of a traditional SMFC to include two anodes working with the same cathode. This setup is compared with a traditional setup (control) and a setup that undergoes intermittent energy harvesting, establishing the improvement of energy collection using the anodes alternation technique. Control SMFC produced an average power density of 6.3 mW/m2 and SMFC operating intermittently produced 8.1 mW/m2. On the other hand, SMFC operating using the anodes alternation technique produced an average power density of 23.5 mW/m2. These results indicate the utility of the proposed anodes alternation method over both the control and intermittent energy harvesting techniques. The Anode Alternation can also be viewed as an advancement of the intermittent energy harvesting method.


2021 ◽  
Vol 775 ◽  
pp. 145904
Author(s):  
Jaecheul Yu ◽  
Younghyun Park ◽  
Evy Widyaningsih ◽  
Sunah Kim ◽  
Younggy Kim ◽  
...  

2014 ◽  
Vol 157 ◽  
pp. 114-119 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tyler Huggins ◽  
Heming Wang ◽  
Joshua Kearns ◽  
Peter Jenkins ◽  
Zhiyong Jason Ren

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