A single chamber packed bed microbial fuel cell biosensor for measuring organic content of wastewater

2009 ◽  
Vol 60 (11) ◽  
pp. 2879-2887 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mirella Di Lorenzo ◽  
Tom P. Curtis ◽  
Ian M. Head ◽  
Sharon B. Velasquez-Orta ◽  
Keith Scott

This study reports an investigation of the effect of the anode surface area on the performance of a single chamber microbial fuel cell (SCMFC) based biosensor for measuring the organic content of wastewater. A packed bed of graphite granules was used as the anode. The surface area of the anode was changed by altering the granule bed thickness (0.3 cm and 1 cm). The anode surface area was found to play a role in the dynamic response of the system. For a granule bed thickness of 1 cm and with an external resistance of 500 Ω, the response time (defined as the time required to achieve 95% of the steady-state current) was reduced by approximately 65% in comparison to a SCMFC biosensor with a carbon cloth anode.

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (16) ◽  
pp. 6538 ◽  
Author(s):  
Enas Taha Sayed ◽  
Hussain Alawadhi ◽  
Khaled Elsaid ◽  
A. G. Olabi ◽  
Maryam Adel Almakrani ◽  
...  

Microbial fuel cell (MFC) is an emerging method for extracting energy from wastewater. The power generated from such systems is low due to the sluggish electron transfer from the inside of the biocatalyst to the anode surface. One strategy for enhancing the electron transfer rate is anode modification. In this study, iron nanostructure was synthesized on a carbon cloth (CC) via a simple electroplating technique, and later investigated as a bio-anode in an MFC operated with real wastewater. The performance of an MFC with a nano-layer of iron was compared to that using bare CC. The results demonstrated that the open-circuit voltage increased from 600 mV in the case of bare CC to 800 mV in the case of the iron modified CC, showing a 33% increase in OCV. This increase in OCV can be credited to the decrease in the anode potential from 0.16 V vs. Ag/AgCl in the case of bare CC, to −0.01 V vs. Ag/AgCl in the case of the modified CC. The power output in the case of the modified electrode was 80 mW/m2—two times that of the MFC using the bare CC. Furthermore, the steady-state current in the case of the iron modified carbon cloth was two times that of the bare CC electrode. The improved performance was correlated to the enhanced electron transfer between the microorganisms and the iron-plated surface, along with the increase of the anode surface- as confirmed from the electrochemical impedance spectroscopy and the surface morphology, respectively.


2010 ◽  
Vol 156 (1) ◽  
pp. 40-48 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mirella Di Lorenzo ◽  
Keith Scott ◽  
Tom P. Curtis ◽  
Ian M. Head

2020 ◽  
Vol 202 ◽  
pp. 10006
Author(s):  
Aris Mukimin

Microbial fuel cell (MFC) is a technology that is not only able to produce energy but also treats wastewater. The membraneless microbial fuel cell (ML-MFC) system was developed to avoid the use of membranes that are prone to clogging and are less applicable. The reactor was made and arranged in two chambers connected by pipes and the fluid flow rate is set using a peristaltic pump. Three anodes (carbon cloth) were paired with a carbon-Pt cathode GDL (Gas Diffusion Layer) type. The reactor was applied to wastewater taken from the industrial WWTP unit at the point before and after UASB. ML-MFC reactors can produce currents of 0.2 mA (before UASB) and 0.25 mA (after UASB). Current production is strongly influenced by the flow rate and characteristics of wastewater. Increased flow rates and complex character of wastewater will reduce current production. The electric power produced is 0.035 mwatt for wastewater before UASB and 0.086 mwatt after UASB with a COD removal is close to the same, which is 21% at a flow rate of 11 L / min1


2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ghasem Najafpour ◽  
Parisa Nouri ◽  
Mostafa Rahimnejad

Microbial Fuel Cell (MFC) is an efficient system for generating low power where wastewater is substrate for the biocatalyst. In this work, Annular Single Chamber Microbial Fuel Cell (ASCMFC) with spiral anode was fabricated and tested. Carbon cloth and stainless steel 400 meshes were selected as cathode and anode electrodes, respectively. In order to enhance the conductivity of anode, the graphite coating was applied. A 40% platinum as catalyst was used on carbon based cathode in MFC. The carbon cloth was coated with 5% Nafion solution. In fact Nafion acts as Proton Exchange Membrane (PEM) in the fabricated MFC. For the first time, wastewater of Chocolate industry with COD 1400 mg/L was used as substrate in anode compartment. Also a mixture of anaerobic sludge from wastewater treatment plant (Qaem-Shahr, Iran) was introduced into MFC. Maximum voltage obtained in the ASCMFC system was 792 mV in an open-circuit mode. Also, Fabricated MFC operating at 30 ◦C, the maximum achieved power density using an external resistance of 500Ω was about 4.8 W/m3. The upshots from single chamber MFC were compared to dual chamber MFC. The findings demonstrate that, due to the generated high power density and voltage by the cell, the ASCMFC has a great potential for COD removal and wastewater treatment.


2015 ◽  
Vol 5 (01) ◽  
Author(s):  
Kristaufan Joko Pramono ◽  
Krisna Adhitya Wardana ◽  
Prima Besty Asthary ◽  
Saepulloh .

Pulp and paper industry produces large amount of wastewater that has high pollution potentials. Nowadays, development of renewable energy resources is being researched. Membrane-less Microbial Fuel Cell (ML-MFC) can be an alternative for wastewater treatment and bioenergy producers of renewable electricity. This study was subjected to evaluate the performance of ML-MFC in pulp and paper wastewater treatment and to analyze the potentials production of electricity energy. ML-MFC reactors in laboratory scale used in this experiment were made of acrylic, provided with electrodes functioning as anode and cathode which have surface area of 1.4778 x 10-2 m2 and 4.926 x 10-3 m2, respectively. In this experiment, wastewater from pulp and paper mill was continuously fed into the reactor with retention time of 48 hours and organic load about 0.23 – 0.51 kg COD/m3.day. The results showed that there was potential of electricity production from pulp and paper mill’s wastewater treatment by ML-MFC. The maximum COD reduction and maximum power supply voltage that could be achieved were 38.50% and 118.8 mV, respectively. The maximum electric power obtained on the anode surface area of 1.4778 x 10-2 m2 was 8.46 mW/m2 when the electric current value was 101.50 mA/m2 and the resistance was 500 Ω.Keywords: wastewater, organic, bioconversion, electricity, membrane-less microbial fuel cell (ML-MFC) ABSTRAKIndustri pulp dan kertas menghasilkan air limbah dalam jumlah besar yang memiliki potensi pencemaran tinggi. Saat ini, upaya pengembangan sumber energi terbarukan terus dilakukan. Membraneless Microbial Fuel Cell (ML-MFC) adalah salah satu alternatif pengolahan air limbah dan penghasil bioenergi listrik yang dapat terbarukan. Penelitian ini dilakukan untuk mengevaluasi kinerja ML-MFC dalam pengolahan air limbah pulp dan kertas proses biologi dan menganalisa potensi produksi energi listrik. Reaktor ML-MFC skala laboratorium yang digunakan dalam percobaan terbuat dari akrilik dengan rangkaian elektroda yang berfungsi sebagai anoda dengan luas permukaan 1,4778 x 10-2 m2 dan katoda dengan luas permukaan 4,926 x 10-3 m2. Pada percobaan ini, air limbah industri pulp dan kertas dialirkan melalui reaktor secara kontinu dengan waktu tinggal 48 jam dan beban organik 0,23 – 0,51 kg COD/m3.hari. Hasil penelitian menunjukkan bahwa terdapat potensi produksi energi listrik dari proses pengolahan air limbah industri pulp dan kertas oleh ML-MFC. Reduksi maksimum nilai COD dan tegangan listrik maksimum yang dapat dicapai adalah 38,50% dan 118,8 mV. Daya listrik maksimum yang diperoleh pada luas permukaan anoda sebesar 1,4778 x 10-2 m2 adalah 8,46 mW/m2 pada saat nilai arus listrik 101,50 mA/m2 dan beban resistansi 500 Ω.Kata kunci: air limbah, organik, biokonversi, energi listrik, membrane-less microbial fuel cell (ML-MFC)


2020 ◽  
Vol 202 ◽  
pp. 10005
Author(s):  
Aris Mukimin

Microbial fuel cell (MFC) is a technology that is not only able to produce energy but also treats wastewater. The membraneless microbial fuel cell (ML-MFC) system was developed to avoid the use of membranes that are prone to clogging and are less applicable. The reactor was made and arranged in two chambers connected by pipes and the fluid flow rate is set using a peristaltic pump. Three anodes (carbon cloth) were paired with a carbon-Pt cathode GDL (Gas Diffusion Layer) type. The reactor was applied to wastewater taken from the industrial WWTP unit at the point before and after UASB. ML-MFC reactors can produce currents of 0.2 mA (before UASB) and 0.25 mA (after UASB). Current production is strongly influenced by the flow rate and characteristics of wastewater. Increased flow rates and complex character of wastewater will reduce current production. The electric power produced is 0.035 mwatt for wastewater before UASB and 0.086 mwatt after UASB with a COD removal is close to the same, which is 21% at a flow rate of 11 L / min1


2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Tesfalem Atnafu ◽  
Seyoum Leta

Abstract Background Microbial fuel cell (MFC) technology is a promising sustainable future energy source with a renewable and abundant substrate. MFC critical drawbacks are anode surface area limitations and electrochemical loss. Recent studies recommend thick anode biofilm growth due to the synergetic effect between microbial communities. Engineering the anode surface area is the prospect of MFC. In this study, a microbial electrode jacket dish (MEJ-dish) was invented, first time to the authors’ knowledge, to support MFC anode biofilm growth. The MFC reactor with MEJ-dish was hypothesized to develop a variable biofilm thickens. This reactor is called a fragmented electro-active biofilm-microbial fuel cell (FAB-MFC). It was optimized for pH and MEJ-dish types and tested at a bench-scale. Results Fragmented (thick and thin) anode biofilms were observed in FAB-MFC but not in MFC. During the first five days and pH 7.5, maximum voltage (0.87 V) was recorded in MFC than FAB-MFC; however, when the age of the reactor increases, all the FAB-MFC gains momentum. It depends on the MEJ-dish type that determines the junction nature between the anode and MEJ-dish. At alkaline pH 8.5, the FAB-MFC generates a lower voltage relative to MFC. On the contrary, the COD removal was improved regardless of pH variation (6.5–8.5) and MEJ-dish type. The bench-scale studies support the optimization findings. Overall, the FAB improves the Coulombic efficiency by 7.4–9.6 % relative to MFC. It might be recommendable to use both FAB and non-FAB in a single MFC reactor to address the contradictory effect of increasing COD removal associated with the lower voltage at higher pH. Conclusions This study showed the overall voltage generated was significantly higher in FAB-MFC than MFC within limited pH (6.5–7.5); relatively, COD removal was enhanced within a broader pH range (6.5–8.5). It supports the conclusion that FAB anode biofilms were vital for COD removal, and there might be a mutualism even though not participated in voltage generation. FAB could provide a new flexible technique to manage the anode surface area and biofilm thickness by adjusting the MEJ-dish size. Future studies may need to consider the number, size, and conductor MEJ-dish per electrode.


Author(s):  
Rajkumar Rajendran ◽  
Gnana Prakash Dhakshina Moorthy ◽  
Haribabu Krishnan ◽  
Sumisha Anappara

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