Effect of Operational Parameters on Micro Bio Fuel Cell
Additional Funding Sources
This project is supported by a 2018-2019 STEM Undergraduate Research Grant from the Higher Education Research Council.
Presentation Date
7-2019
Abstract
Microbial fuel cells (MFCs) are devices that generate electricity through oxidation of organic matter using bacteria as catalyst. In an MFC, electrons (e-), protons (H+), and carbon dioxide (CO2) are produced. Protons migrate to the cathode through media (anolyte), and electrons flow from an anode, through a conductive wire, to a cathode where H+, e-, and O2 are combined to form water (H2O). In this project, an air-cathode single chamber MFC was used, which possessed four bamboo charcoal (BC) plates as the anode and the cathode made of Pt-coated carbon felt. The MFC was fed with a diluted potato extract solution as substrate (energy source). Three MFCs were run concurrently to evaluate the effect of the number of the BC plates (anode) and the distance between the cathode and anode on the MFC performance; i.e., generation of voltage (mV), current (mA), power (mW), and power density (mW/m3 of cathode area). Results showed that the electrode distance between the cathode and anode did not affect significantly on the MFC performance, whereas the increase in the number of the BC plates generally increased the power density. The results provided the useful information in the future design of MFC systems.
Effect of Operational Parameters on Micro Bio Fuel Cell
Microbial fuel cells (MFCs) are devices that generate electricity through oxidation of organic matter using bacteria as catalyst. In an MFC, electrons (e-), protons (H+), and carbon dioxide (CO2) are produced. Protons migrate to the cathode through media (anolyte), and electrons flow from an anode, through a conductive wire, to a cathode where H+, e-, and O2 are combined to form water (H2O). In this project, an air-cathode single chamber MFC was used, which possessed four bamboo charcoal (BC) plates as the anode and the cathode made of Pt-coated carbon felt. The MFC was fed with a diluted potato extract solution as substrate (energy source). Three MFCs were run concurrently to evaluate the effect of the number of the BC plates (anode) and the distance between the cathode and anode on the MFC performance; i.e., generation of voltage (mV), current (mA), power (mW), and power density (mW/m3 of cathode area). Results showed that the electrode distance between the cathode and anode did not affect significantly on the MFC performance, whereas the increase in the number of the BC plates generally increased the power density. The results provided the useful information in the future design of MFC systems.
Comments
W25