scholarly journals Dynamic Flow Characteristics and Design Principles of Laminar Flow Microbial Fuel Cells

Micromachines ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 9 (10) ◽  
pp. 479 ◽  
Author(s):  
Way Cheng ◽  
Celal Erbay ◽  
Reza Sadr ◽  
Arum Han
Keyword(s):  
Fuel Cells ◽  
Laminar Flow ◽  
Microbial Fuel Cells ◽  
Rectangular Cross Section ◽  
Fluid Velocity ◽  
Flow Characteristics ◽  
Surface Characteristics ◽  
Substantial Effect ◽  
Design Guidelines ◽  
Bacterial Attachment

Laminar flow microbial fuel cells (MFCs) are used to understand the role of microorganisms, and their interactions with electrodes in microbial bioelectrochemical systems. In this study, we reported the flow characteristics of laminar flow in a typical MFC configuration in a non-dimensional form, which can serve as a guideline in the design of such microfluidic systems. Computational fluid dynamics simulations were performed to examine the effects of channel geometries, surface characteristics, and fluid velocity on the mixing dynamics in microchannels with a rectangular cross-section. The results showed that decreasing the fluid velocity enhances mixing but changing the angle between the inlet channels, only had strong effects when the angle was larger than 135°. Furthermore, different mixing behaviors were observed depending on the angle of the channels, when the microchannel aspect ratio was reduced. Asymmetric growth of microbial biofilm on the anode side skewed the mixing zone and wall roughness due to the bacterial attachment, which accelerated the mixing process and reduced the efficiency of the laminar flow MFC. Finally, the magnitude of mass diffusivity had a substantial effect on mixing behavior. The results shown here provided both design guidelines, as well as better understandings of the MFCs due to microbial growth.

Bacterial growth and respiration in laminar flow microbial fuel cells

2014 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
pp. 023125 ◽  
Author(s):  
Arwa Fraiwan ◽  
Douglas F. Call ◽  
Seokheun Choi
Keyword(s):  
Fuel Cells ◽  
Laminar Flow ◽  
Bacterial Growth ◽  
Microbial Fuel Cells

scholarly journals Enhancement of the Start-Up Time for Microliter-Scale Microbial Fuel Cells (µMFCs) via the Surface Modification of Gold Electrodes

Micromachines ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (7) ◽  
pp. 703
Author(s):  
Begüm Şen-Doğan ◽  
Meltem Okan ◽  
Nilüfer Afşar-Erkal ◽  
Ebru Özgür ◽  
Özge Zorlu ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Surface Modification ◽  
Fuel Cells ◽  
Microbial Fuel Cells ◽  
Microelectromechanical Systems ◽  
Electrochemical Impedance ◽  
Shewanella Oneidensis ◽  
Bacterial Attachment ◽  
Anode Surface ◽  
Sem Images ◽  
Start Up

Microbial Fuel Cells (MFCs) are biological fuel cells based on the oxidation of fuels by electrogenic bacteria to generate an electric current in electrochemical cells. There are several methods that can be employed to improve their performance. In this study, the effects of gold surface modification with different thiol molecules were investigated for their implementation as anode electrodes in micro-scale MFCs (µMFCs). Several double-chamber µMFCs with 10.4 µL anode and cathode chambers were fabricated using silicon-microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) fabrication technology. µMFC systems assembled with modified gold anodes were operated under anaerobic conditions with the continuous feeding of anolyte and catholyte to compare the effect of different thiol molecules on the biofilm formation of Shewanella oneidensis MR-1. Performances were evaluated using polarization curves, Electrochemical Impedance Spectroscopy (EIS), and Scanning Electron Microcopy (SEM). The results showed that µMFCs modified with thiol self-assembled monolayers (SAMs) (cysteamine and 11-MUA) resulted in more than a 50% reduction in start-up times due to better bacterial attachment on the anode surface. Both 11-MUA and cysteamine modifications resulted in dense biofilms, as observed in SEM images. The power output was found to be similar in cysteamine-modified and bare gold µMFCs. The power and current densities obtained in this study were comparable to those reported in similar studies in the literature.

Tuning of Surface Characteristics of Anodes for Efficient and Sustained Power Generation in Microbial Fuel Cells

2020 ◽  
Vol 3 (9) ◽  
pp. 6224-6236
Author(s):  
Bhuvanendran Revamma Sreelekshmy ◽  
Arya Jayalekshmy Rajappan ◽  
Rubina Basheer ◽  
Vipinlal Vasudevan ◽  
Anjana Ratheesh ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Power Generation ◽  
Fuel Cells ◽  
Microbial Fuel Cells ◽  
Surface Characteristics

scholarly journals Enhanced Power Extraction with Sediment Microbial Fuel Cells by Anode Alternation

Fuels ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
pp. 168-178
Author(s):  
Marzia Quaglio ◽  
Daniyal Ahmed ◽  
Giulia Massaglia ◽  
Adriano Sacco ◽  
Valentina Margaria ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Fuel Cells ◽  
Energy Harvesting ◽  
Power Density ◽  
Microbial Fuel Cells ◽  
Average Power ◽  
Power Extraction ◽  
Harvesting Technique ◽  
Harvesting Method ◽  
Energy Harvesting Devices ◽  
Efficient Power

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.

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