Microbial Fuel Cell

Microbial fuel cells (MFCs) are biochemical-catalyzed systems in which electricity is produced by oxidizing biodegradable organic matters in presence of either bacteria or enzyme. This system can serve as a device for generating clean energy and, also wastewater treatment unit. In this paper, production of bioelectricity in MFC in batch and continuous systems were investigated. A dual chambered air–cathode MFC was fabricated for this purpose. Graphite plates were used as electrodes and glucose as a substrate with initial concentration of 30 g l−1 was used. Cubic MFC reactor was fabricated and inoculated with Saccharomyces cerevisiae PTCC 5269 as active biocatalyst. Neutral red with concentration of 200 μmol l−1 was selected as electron shuttle in anaerobic anode chamber. In order to enhance the performance of MFC, potassium permanganate at 400 μmol l−1 concentration as oxidizer was used. The performance of MFC was analyzed by the measurement of polarization curve and cyclic volatmmetric data as well. Closed circuit voltage was obtained using a 1 kΩ resistance. The voltage at steady-state condition was 440 mV and it was stable for the entire operation time. In a continuous system, the effect of hydraulic retention time (HRT) on performance of MFC was examined. The optimum HRT was found to be around 7 h. Maximum produced power and current density at optimum HRT were 1210 mA m−2 and 283 mW m−2, respectively.► Power generation was investigated in a single MFC at batch and continuous modes. ► Continuous MFCs offer some advantages over batch systems for practical applications. ► Polarity and cyclic voltammetry, were adopted to analyze experimental data. ► OCV was stable for the duration of 72 h of operation time in batch system. ► At optimum HRT (6.7 h), maximum output were 1210 mA m−2 and 283 mW m−2, respectively.

Practical applications of microbial fuel cells (MFCs) for wastewater treatment will require operation of these systems over a wide range of wastewater temperatures. MFCs at room or higher temperatures (20–35°C) are relatively well studied compared those at lower temperatures. MFC performance was examined here over a temperature range of 4–30°C in terms of startup time needed for reproducible power cycles,

Microbial fuel cells (MFCs) are a promising technology for sustainable production of alternative energy and waste treatment. The performance of microbial fuel cells is severely affected by limitations based on irreversible reactions and processes in the anode and the cathode compartments. The purpose of this paper is to review the cathodic limitations MFCs and provide an overview on cathodic activation,

Industrial wastewater presents a potential hazard to natural water system. This wastewater contains organic matter, which is toxic to the various life forms of the system. Industrial wastewater has complex mixture of chemicals whose behavior towards biological system can be different. Treatment of these wastes is therefore of paramount important. Wastewaters produced from pharma Industries pose several problems. Pharma industries are widely been used for the production of wide range of antibiotics, solvents and many by-products which are widely useful for both man-kind and in agriculture purpose. This study was designed a waste water treatment with an aim at minimizing and removing of COD, BOD, dissolved solids and toxic compounds, before it releases into a water body. In the present study efficiency of Microbial Fuel Cells (MFC) in removing contaminants was determined. It was found that MFC is much effective and cheaper method for treating waste water and for the removal of TDS, TSS, BOD, COD, Sulphates and Chlorides. Batch type anaerobic biological treatment plant was constructed and operated for pharma industry waste water treatment. The hydraulic retention time was 12 days. The treated water samples were collected for every 72 hours and tested for its pH, TSS, TDS, COD, BOD, Sulphates and Chlorides to evaluate the efficiency of the plant. The results obtained were quite appreciable as it reduced COD to 91.5% and a small amount of 335mV has also been produced.

Biogenic corrosion of sewers represents a cost of about 10% of total sewage treatment cost in Flanders (Belgium) and is further increasing. In the past, research has resulted in a number of prevention methods, such as injection of air, oxygen, H(2)O(2), NaClO, FeCl(3) and FeSO(4). The possibility of biological oxidation of sulfide using nitrate as the electron acceptor has also been explored in sewer systems. However, all of these methods have a problem with the high cost (euro 1.9-7.2 kg(-1)S removal). In this review, new approaches for hydrogen sulfide emission control in sewer systems are discussed. The control of hydrogen sulfide emission by using a microbial fuel cell (MFC) can be cost-effective while the BOD is removed partially. The use of phages that target sulfate-reducing bacteria (SRB) can possibly inhibit sulfide formation. Novel inhibitors, such as slow release solid-phase oxygen (MgO(2)/CaO(2)) and formaldehyde, warrant further study to control hydrogen sulfide emission in sewer systems.

There has been an increase in recent years in the number of reports of microorganisms that can generate electrical current in microbial fuel cells. Although many new strains have been identified, few strains individually produce power densities as high as strains from mixed ...

ABSTRAK Listrik merupakan salah satu komponen yang sangat berperan banyak dalam kehidupan suatu bangsa dan bahkan bagi setiap manusia. Di Indonesia, listrik diperoleh dengan cara mengolah berbagai macam sumberdaya fosil secara besar-besaran sehingga mengakibatkan menurunnya cadangan bahan bakar fosil. Salah satu upaya untuk mencegah hal tersebut adalah dengan mulai membangun sumber-sumber energi terbarukan seperti memanfaatkan mikroorganisme sebagai penghasil energi listrik melalui sistem microbial fuel Cell (MFC). Sistem MFC akan memanfaatkan hasil dari proses metabolisme bakteri. Bakteri akan melakukan metabolisme dengan mengurai glukosa menjadi hidrogen (H2) dan oksigen(O2). Hidrogen merupakan bahan baku yang digunakan untuk reaksi reduksi dengan oksigen, sehingga melepaskan elektron pada anoda sebagai sumber arus listrik. Sistem MFC yang digunakan adalah single chamber terdiri dari komponen rekator yang terbuat dari bahan akrilik, elektroda anoda dari bahan Aluminium foil, elektroda katoda dari bahan grafith, dan substrat utama dari feses sapi. Besar tegangan yang dihasilkan oleh MFC dipengaruhi oleh beberapa variabel diantaranya Formulasi substrat, jenis substrat, luas penampang elektroda, dan waktu yang dibutuhkan mikroba untuk bermetabolisme sehingga menghasilkan tegangan yang optimum. Jenis formulasi substrat yang menghasilkan tegangan paling optimum adalah 2200 ml pelarut, 40 gram NaCl, dan 100 gram feses sapi yaitu sebesar 1.318 Volt. ABSTRACT Electricity is one of the components that play an important role in the life of a nation and even for every human being. In Indonesia, electricity is obtained by processing various kinds of fossil resources on a large scale that resulting in a decrease of fossil fuel reserves. One effort to prevent this is to start designing renewable energy sources such as utilizing microorganisms as the producers of electrical energy through a microbial fuel cell (MFC) system. The MFC system will utilize the results of bacterial metabolic processes. Bacteria will undergo the metabolism by breaking down glucose into hydrogen (H2) and oxygen (O2). Hydrogen is a raw material used for reduction reactions with oxygen to release electrons at the anode as a source of electric current. The MFC system used in this study was a single chamber consisting of reactor components made of acrylic, anode electrodes from Aluminum foil, cathode electrodes from grafith material, and the main substrate was from cow feces. The voltage generated by MFC was influenced by several variables including the formulation of the substrate, the type of substrate, the cross-sectional area of the electrode, and the time it took for microbes to undergo the metabolism process to produce the optimum voltage. The type of substrate formulation that produced the most optimum voltage was 2200 ml of solvent, 40 grams of NaCl, and 100 grams of cow feces which was equal to 1,318 Volts.

Successful biodegradation process of different complexes required attention to biological parameters (such as choice of microorganisms), control of the chemical and physical environment (pH, redox potential, temperature and metallic ions) and consideration of the metal mines condition. In this context, the present paper presents the study regarding the main interactions between acidophilic bacteria and toxic metal ions can occur through active processes, involving the metabolic sequences of living microorganisms or passive processes, independent of cellular metabolism. The acidophilic bacterial cultures used in the degradation experiments of organic compounds were selected on the basis of their capacity to hydrolyse the starch in the presence of different inorganic forms of heavy metal ions The heterotrophic bacterial capacity by producing organic acid was very high, which confirm the adaptation of these populations to higher concentrations of heavy metallic ions. Comparative results bring an improved bacterial growth and sensitivity to specific environmental conditions and bacterial populations although the effect is not maintained after longer times. Our analysis regarding the efficiency of extracellular enzymes from Acidiphilium populations shows continuous agitation conditions (21 days) in the presence of 2-3g/l starch induce an increased extracellular hydrolytic activity (50-60%) when sulphates is present in the environment.

In a microbial fuel cell (MFC), power can be generated from the oxidation of organic matter by bacteria at the anode, with reduction of oxygen at the cathode. Proton exchange membranes used in MFCs are permeable to oxygen, resulting in the diffusion of oxygen into the anode chamber. This could either lower power generation by obligate anaerobes or result in

Power generation in microbial fuel cells (MFCs) is a function of the surface areas of the proton exchange membrane (PEM) and the cathode relative to that of the anode. To demonstrate this, the sizes of the anode and cathode were varied in two-chambered MFCs having PEMs with three different surface areas (A PEM=3.5, 6.2, or 30.6 cm2). For a fixed anode