Design of the simple two-chamber microbial fuel cell.

Design of the simple two-chamber microbial fuel cell.

Source publication
Article
Full-text available
The pattern of micro-electricity production of simple two-chamber microbial fuel cells (MFC) was monitored in this study. Piggery wastewater and anaerobic sludge served as fuel and inocula for the MFC, respectively. The output power, including voltage and current generation, of triplicate MFCs was measured using an on-line monitoring system. The ma...

Contexts in source publication

Context 1
... MFCs were studied by recording the voltage across an external load capacitor ( Figure 1). Based on data provided by the manufacturer, the equivalent series resistance (ESR) for the DC signal is 50 mΩ while the impedance of the 10F capacitor (NESSCAP, ESHSR-0010C0-002R7) is < 1 Ω for the input AC signal with frequency >0.1 Hz. ...
Context 2
... MFCs were studied by recording the voltage across an external load capacitor ( Figure 1). Based on data provided by the manufacturer, the equivalent series resistance (ESR) for the DC signal is 50 m while the impedance of the 10F capacitor (NESSCAP, ESHSR-0010C0-002R7) is < 1  for the input AC signal with frequency >0.1 Hz. ...
Context 3
... the potential drop can be measured with time using a voltmeter. To minimize the load impedance and maximize the output power for the MFCs in this study, a capacitor of ten farads was used as charge storage of the cell (Figure 1), which also monitored the electron-transfer mechanism in MFCs without any cell perturbation. Due to the high capacitance of the capacitor and small external load impedance, this passive real-time charge storage monitoring system could be adopted to the performance-testing platform. ...
Context 4
... voltage data were obtained by multi-meters (Mobile-Logger DMM, BM510 series; Brymen Technology Co., New Taipei City, Taiwan) and stored in computers via RS232 adaptors (RS232C Interface Kit, Brymen Technology Co., Taiwan). Data were collected at 1-s intervals and saved periodically ( Figure 1). Energies 2019, 12, x FOR PEER REVIEW 5 of 15 the same time, the number of output charges or electrons can be calculated from the potential drop or voltage across the capacitor over time. ...
Context 5
... the potential drop can be measured with time using a voltmeter. To minimize the load impedance and maximize the output power for the MFCs in this study, a capacitor of ten farads was used as charge storage of the cell (Figure 1), which also monitored the electron-transfer mechanism in MFCs without any cell perturbation. Due to the high capacitance of the capacitor and small external load impedance, this passive real-time charge storage monitoring system could be adopted to the performance-testing platform. ...
Context 6
... voltage data were obtained by multi-meters (Mobile-Logger DMM, BM510 series; Brymen Technology Co., New Taipei City, Taiwan) and stored in computers via RS232 adaptors (RS232C Interface Kit, Brymen Technology Co., Taiwan). Data were collected at 1-s intervals and saved periodically (Figure 1). 2019, 12, x FOR PEER REVIEW 5 of 15 the same time, the number of output charges or electrons can be calculated from the potential drop or voltage across the capacitor over time. ...
Context 7
... the potential drop can be measured with time using a voltmeter. To minimize the load impedance and maximize the output power for the MFCs in this study, a capacitor of ten farads was used as charge storage of the cell (Figure 1), which also monitored the electron-transfer mechanism in MFCs without any cell perturbation. Due to the high capacitance of the capacitor and small external load impedance, this passive real-time charge storage monitoring system could be adopted to the performance-testing platform. ...
Context 8
... voltage data were obtained by multi-meters (Mobile-Logger DMM, BM510 series; Brymen Technology Co., New Taipei City, Taiwan) and stored in computers via RS232 adaptors (RS232C Interface Kit, Brymen Technology Co., Taiwan). Data were collected at 1-s intervals and saved periodically (Figure 1). ...

Similar publications

Article
Full-text available
One of the most advanced systems of microbial fuel cells is the benthic microbial fuel cell (BMFC). Despite several developments, this strategy still has a number of significant flaws, such as instable organic substrate. Waste material (sugarcane) is used as a substrate in this work to address the organic substrate instability. The process was oper...

Citations

... It is also to mention that the cathode potential can be also affected by the value of EEL since the resistance of the circuit -and thus, the 'rate' of electron passage to the cathode -may affect the rate of the cathode reaction, which may be a matter of concern especially in a cathode reaction-limited MFC operation [76]. Nevertheless, it was shown in previous work that in a well-designed cathode half-cell, this effect is minor compared to EEL's influence on the anode potential [61]. ...
Article
Full-text available
The scope of the current review is to discuss and evaluate the role of the external electrical load/resistor (EEL) on the overall behavior and functional properties of microbial fuel cells (MFCs). In this work, a comprehensive analysis is made by considering various levels of MFC architecture, such as electric and energy harvesting efficiency, anode electrode potential shifts, electro-active biofilm formation, cell metabolism and extracellular electron transfer mechanisms, as a function of the EEL and its control strategies. It is outlined that taking the regulation of EEL into account at MFC optimization is highly beneficial, and in order to support this step, in this review, a variety of guidelines are collected and analyzed.
... In 2019, the use of MFCs with real wastewater was tackled by Su et al. [146] and Santoro et al. [147]. ...
... They were connected to a charge capacitor and studied regarding current decomposition in the frequency domain, by using Fast Fourier Transform (FFT). The retrieved results showed that the MFC current has AC and DC contributions, which can be associated with the exoelectrogen community behavior [146]. ...
Article
Environmental concerns gather considerable academic research and private investment, namely when addressing water and energy. Wastewater treatment and reuse have become a standard practice across the globe. In Europe, this topic has been addressed through the European Commission policy for the environment. Microbial Fuel Cells are a useful technology for wastewater treatment. They can be used for resource scavenging and energy production. Their power output still can't counterbalance, per se, the energy expenditure on wastewater treatment stations, but it can help provide autonomy for physical, chemical, and biochemical measurements in wastewater. The true energetic potential, however, has not been fully exploited, since significant energy losses are still associated with these systems, decreasing the efficiency of this technology. As works with microbial fuel cells grow in number and diversity, an adequate review of the strategies used to apply these devices as power sources is needed. This work explores the most relevant research, to date, about maximum power extraction from Microbial Fuel Cells, addressing, in detail, the power conditioning devices and strategies for power improvement: from single cells with passive components to cell groups and active strategies, using maximum power point tracking techniques and power converters in different operating modes.
... The research on MFC applications to real wastewater substrates or even on adapted WWTP has been increasing, giving a clear indication of the technology readiness for further investment and research. In 2019,Su et al. (2019) andSantoro et al. (2019) addressed the performance of MFCs with real wastewater: while Su et al. used piggery wastewater, Santoro et al. researched a particular type of stratified MFC to use urine substrate. As the WWTP incorporation is concerned, the most recent work was by Xu et al. ...
Chapter
The bioelectroactive fuel cells (BFC) or bioelectrochemical systems (BES) are regarded as a potent source for producing green and sustainable energy. The two major BFCs studied extensively are the enzymatic fuel cells and the microbial fuel cells. The main difference between them is the bioactive source that catalyzes the electrochemical reaction in the system. In recent times BES has gained tremendous publicity due to its unique technique for producing fuel, bioremediation, and many other applications. The BES differs from chemical fuel cells (CFC) in terms of catalysts, reaction mechanism, operational conditions, yield, and quantity of the product, etc. Although the BES has some limitations, it is considered to be advantageous over conventional CFC in several ways. However, the losses and the limitations present in BES are the main drawbacks. The present chapter highlights the working mechanism, operational condition, and other fundamental concepts of the BFC.
Chapter
Multiple types of wastewater contain abundant nutrients and chemical energy within organic and inorganic compounds, as well as reusable water. Thus, based on a circular economy perspective, wastewater treatment plants could be designed as biorefineries and potential energy producers, reducing the demand for fossil fuels and, consequently, CO2 emissions. The microbial fuel cell (MFC) is a bioelectrochemical system aligned with this systematic perspective. This novel technology, relying on interactions between electrochemically active bacteria and solid-state electrodes (anode and cathode), can treat wastewater and directly convert biodegradable compounds into electricity. MFCs are mostly considered for converting organic carbon into electricity, but recent findings demonstrated their ability to convert nitrogen compounds as well. New possibilities include the oxidation of ammonia nitrogen on the anode coupled with current generation and utilization of oxidized nitrogen (nitrite and nitrate) as electron acceptors on the cathode. This is particularly important for industrial and agro-industrial effluents, which commonly presents high concentration of organic carbon and nitrogen species. Despite its remarkable advantages, large-scale implementation of MFC technology is still limited by relatively low power densities. In this regard, the proper selection of electrode materials can optimize the MFC performance in terms of power output. Tridimensional carbonaceous electrodes offer unique properties regarding morphology, surface, adhesion of the biofilm, electron transfer, and oxidation of the substrate. Furthermore, the capacitive properties of high specific surface electrodes can be utilized in charge and discharge cycles to increase power output by combining faradaic and non-faradaic currents. Operating parameters such as temperature and resistance of the external circuit can affect the level of the current generation by modulating the activity and predominance of electroactive bacteria in the biofilm of MFCs. In this chapter, MFC systems are reviewed. Fundamentals of the process occurring within MFCs are presented, and main contributions in the field of MFC focused on carbon and nitrogen conversions, tridimensional electrodes, and capacitive properties are discussed. Then, relevant insights towards their potential applications in energy generation from wastewater are presented.