scholarly journals A Novel Design Portable Plugged-Type Soil Microbial Fuel Cell for Bioelectricity Generation

Energies ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (3) ◽  
pp. 553
Author(s):  
Hoang-Uyen-Dung Nguyen ◽  
Dang-Trang Nguyen ◽  
Kozo Taguchi
Keyword(s):  
Microbial Fuel Cells ◽  
Low Cost ◽  
Cost Effective ◽  
Soil Microbial ◽  
Remote Sensors ◽  
On Demand ◽  
Sensing Systems ◽  
Soil Microbial Fuel Cell ◽  
Micropower Generation ◽  
Novel Design

Soil microbial fuel cells (SMFCs) are a promising cost-effective power source for on-demand electricity generation applications. So far, reported SMFC configurations are usually bulky and hard to setup. In this study, a low-cost portable plugged-type SMFC (PSMFC) was designed and fabricated for on-demand micropower generation. The PSMFC can be activated just by plugging into natural wet soil, which is easy to access in the natural condition. The PSMFC uses carbon-based electrodes for cost-effectiveness. After setting the PSMFC into the soil to activate, it started to produce electricity after 1 h and reached the power density of 7.3 mW/m2 after 48 h. The proposed PSMFC can potentially generate electricity for remote sensors or soil sensing systems.

Rimdas: A Proposed System for Reducing Runway Incursions

2010 ◽  
Vol 18 (2) ◽  
pp. 10-17 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter N. Squire ◽  
Jane H. Barrow ◽  
Kevin T. Durkee ◽  
Carl “Mac” Smith ◽  
Jennifer C. Moore ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Low Cost ◽  
Cost Effective ◽  
Cognitive Engineering ◽  
Sensor Technology ◽  
Critical Factors ◽  
Flexible System ◽  
Air Traffic Controllers ◽  
Runway Incursions ◽  
Runway Incursion ◽  
Novel Design

FEATURE AT A GLANCE: To address the increasingly serious problem of runway incursions at airports, we developed a novel design based on inexpensive sensor technology and a hybrid cognitive engineering development plan. Alerting time and monetary costs were critical factors in the creation of a low-cost, scalable, and flexible system that can directly warn pilots and air traffic controllers of impending incursions. This article describes the human-centered design process used to develop an alternative to current runway incursion prevention systems. Because it is cost-effective, the system could be employed at nearly any airport regardless of size or budget.

scholarly journals Ceramic Soil Microbial Fuel Cells Sensors for Early Detection of Eutrophication

Proceedings ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 60 (1) ◽  
pp. 64
Author(s):  
Lola Gonzalez Olias ◽  
Alba Rodríguez Otero ◽  
Petra J. Cameron ◽  
Mirella Di Lorenzo
Keyword(s):  
Early Detection ◽  
Dissolved Oxygen ◽  
Microbial Fuel Cells ◽  
Algal Growth ◽  
Oxygen Depletion ◽  
Soil Microbial ◽  
Soil Microbial Fuel Cell ◽  
Saturated Design ◽  
Self Powered ◽  
Power Point

The increasing use of fertilisers rises the risk of eutrophication, a sudden algal bloom that seriously damage ecosystems due to critical oxygen depletion. Continuous monitoring of oxygen in environmental waters could improve the detection of eutrophication and prevent anoxic conditions. However, online and in situ dissolved oxygen sensors are yet to be implemented due to poor portability and power requirements. Here, we propose a ceramic soil microbial fuel cell as a self-powered sensor for algal growth detection via monitoring of dissolved oxygen in water. The sensor signal follows the characteristic photosynthetic cycle, with a maximum day current of 0.18 ± 0.2 mA and a minimum night current of 0.06 ± 0.34 mA, which correlates with dissolved oxygen (R2 = 0.85 (day); R2= 0.5 (night)) and algal concentration (R2 = 0.63). A saturated design of experiments on seven factors suggests that temperature, dissolved oxygen, nitrates, and pH are the most influential operational factors in the voltage output. Moreover, operating the system at maximum power point (Rext = 2 kΩ) improves the sensor sensitivity. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first proposed MFC-based biosensor for in-field, early detection of eutrophic events.

scholarly journals Minimalistic soil microbial fuel cells for bioremediation of recalcitrant pollutants

2022 ◽  
Vol 334 ◽  
pp. 08004
Author(s):  
Arpita Nandy ◽  
Bongkyu Kim ◽  
Mirella Di Lorenzo
Keyword(s):  
Fuel Cells ◽  
Organic Contaminants ◽  
Microbial Fuel Cells ◽  
Microbial Population ◽  
Carbon Materials ◽  
Low Cost ◽  
Soil Microbial ◽  
Sustainable Technologies ◽  
Global Issue ◽  
Enrichment Process

Increased human, agricultural and industrial activities along with improper waste disposal leads to high levels of soil contamination and accumulation of recalcitrant contaminants in the environment. This global issue demands the use of green and sustainable technologies and soil microbial fuel cells (SMFC) can be a potential solution. We adopted minimalistic designs, based on low-cost carbon materials without any expensive catalyst and membrane, which makes the SMFCs suitable for in-field applications. We investigated the ability of the indigenous microbial population of the soil to use organic contaminants as the source of carbon and the enrichment of the electroactive consortium was monitored over time onto the electrode surface of the SMFCs. We tested performance in soil contaminated with pesticide and soil contaminated with hydrocarbons and compare the microbial enrichment process with respect to the case of non-contaminated soil.

scholarly journals Customised light source for Sinuscope - A Novel Design

2019 ◽  
Vol VOLUME 7 (VOLUME 7 NUMBER 2 NOV 2018) ◽  
pp. 28-29
Author(s):  
Arvind Kumar Verma
Keyword(s):  
Light Source ◽  
Low Cost ◽  
Cost Effective ◽  
Routine Practice ◽  
Metallic Tube ◽  
External Light Source ◽  
Novel Design ◽  
Poor Infrastructure

Sinuscopes are durable instruments that deliver excellent visualization needed for diagnostic, therapeutic and surgical sinus and nasal procedures. It requires a light source like all other endoscopes for illumination of the objects. In lieu of expensive cost of commercial external light source we have designed a hand held customized low cost light source for sinuscope to be highly cost effective in routine practice particularly at places with poor infrastructure. This customized light source consists of hallow metallic tube fitted with LED bulb connected with battery which description we are sending for its patenting before presenting it for publication.

scholarly journals Towards cost-effective soil microbial fuel cell designs

2022 ◽  
Vol 334 ◽  
pp. 08007
Author(s):  
Jakub Dziegielowski ◽  
Mirella Di Lorenzo
Keyword(s):  
Fuel Cell ◽  
Microbial Fuel Cell ◽  
Current Collector ◽  
Cost Effective ◽  
Energy Sources ◽  
Economic Evaluations ◽  
Power Ratio ◽  
Soil Microbial ◽  
Soil Microbial Fuel Cell ◽  
Power Densities

Soil microbial fuel cell (SMFC) is a carbon-neutral energy harvesting technology that exploits the use of electroactive bacteria naturally present in soil to directly generate electricity from organic compounds. Given the simplicity of the system design, SMFCs have great potential to be used for decentralised solutions, especially in areas where access to conventional energy sources is limited. Yet, the high cost to power ratio severely limits the translation of this technology into the market. With the aim of reducing the capital cost, in this study we explore the effect of decreasing the amounts of current collector (CC) on the performance. The results demonstrate that increasing the amount of current collector per surface area of the electrode is not a feasible way of enhancing power densities, as to increase the performance by 20% and 35%, the amount of current collector would have to be increased by 150% and 300%, respectively. This highlights the importance of economic evaluations when optimising the design of a SMFC.

scholarly journals Integration of Portable Sedimentary Microbial Fuel Cells in Autonomous Underwater Vehicles

Energies ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (15) ◽  
pp. 4551
Author(s):  
Giulia Massaglia ◽  
Adriano Sacco ◽  
Alain Favetto ◽  
Luciano Scaltrito ◽  
Sergio Ferrero ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Fuel Cells ◽  
Environmental Conditions ◽  
Microbial Fuel Cells ◽  
Autonomous Underwater Vehicle ◽  
Autonomous Vehicle ◽  
Autonomous Underwater Vehicles ◽  
Cost Effective ◽  
Remote Sensors ◽  
Effective System ◽  
Overall Performance

In the present work, sedimentary microbial fuel cells (s-MFC) have been proposed as effective tools to power remote sensors in different aquatic environments, thanks to their ability to produce renewable and sustainable energy continuously and autonomously. The present work proposes the optimization of cylindrical sedimentary microbial fuel cells (s-MFC) as a compact and cost-effective system suitable to be integrated as a payload in an Autonomous Underwater Vehicle (AUV). To this purpose, a new AUV payload, named MFC-payload, is designed to host the cylindrical s-MFC and a data acquisition system to collect and store information on the voltage produced by the cell. Its overall performance was evaluated during two field measurement campaigns carried out in the Mediterranean Sea. This investigation demonstrates the power production by s-MFC during operation of the AUV in seawater and analyzes the actual influence of environmental conditions on the output power. This study demonstrates that energy production by s-MFCs integrated in AUV systems is decoupled by the navigation of the autonomous vehicle itself, showing the effectiveness of the application of MFC-based technology as a power payload for environmental analysis. All these latter results demonstrate and confirm the ability of the devices to continuously produce electricity during different AUV operation modes (i.e., depth and speed), while changing environmental conditions (i.e., pressure, temperature and oxygen content) demonstrate that cylindrical s-MFC devices are robust system that can be successfully used in underwater applications.

scholarly journals Development of a Novel Design and Subsequent Fabrication of an Automated Touchless Hand Sanitizer Dispenser to Reduce the Spread of Contagious Diseases

Healthcare ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (4) ◽  
pp. 445
Author(s):  
Arnab Das ◽  
Adittya Barua ◽  
Md. Ajwad Mohimin ◽  
Jainal Abedin ◽  
Mayeen Uddin Khandaker ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Low Cost ◽  
Sharp Decrease ◽  
Cost Effective ◽  
World Health ◽  
Public Places ◽  
Hand Sanitizer ◽  
Contagious Diseases ◽  
Infra Red ◽  
Health Organization ◽  
Novel Design

Background: The use of a touchless automated hand sanitizer dispenser may play a key role to reduce contagious diseases. The key problem of the conventional ultrasonic and infra-red-based dispensers is their malfunctioning due to the interference of sunlight, vehicle sound, etc. when deployed in busy public places. To overcome such limitations, this study introduced a laser-based sensing device to dispense sanitizer in an automated touchless process. Method: The dispensing system is based on an Arduino circuit breadboard where an ATmega328p microcontroller was pre-installed. To sense the proximity, a light-dependent resistor (LDR) is used where the laser light is to be blocked after the placement of human hands, hence produced a sharp decrease in the LDR sensor value. Once the LDR sensor value exceeds the lower threshold, the pump is actuated by the microcontroller, and the sanitizer dispenses through the nozzle. Results and discussion: A novel design and subsequent fabrication of a low-cost, touchless, automated sanitizer dispenser to be used in public places, was demonstrated. The overall performance of the manufactured device was analyzed based on the cost and power consumption, and environmental factors by deploying it in busy public places as well as in indoor environment in major cities in Bangladesh, and found to be more efficient and cost-effective compared to other dispensers available in the market. A comprehensive discussion on this unique design compared to the conventional ultrasonic and infra-red based dispensers, is presented to show its suitability over the commercial ones. The guidelines of the World Health Organization are followed for the preparation of sanitizer liquid. A clear demonstration of the circuitry connections is presented herein, which facilitates the interested individual to manufacture a cost-effective dispenser device in a relatively short time and use it accordingly. Conclusion: This study reveals that the LDR-based automated hand sanitizer dispenser system is a novel concept, and it is cost-effective compared to the conventional ones. The presented device is expected to play a key role in contactless hand disinfection in public places, and reduce the spread of infectious diseases in society.

scholarly journals A Cost Effective and Preventive Approach to Avoid Integration Faults Caused by Mistakes in Distribution of Software Components

2014 ◽  
Vol 2014 ◽  
pp. 1-15 ◽  
Author(s):  
Luciano Lucindo Chaves
Keyword(s):  
Low Cost ◽  
Cost Effective ◽  
Version Control ◽  
Software Components ◽  
Distributed Software ◽  
The Core ◽  
On Demand ◽  
Software And Hardware ◽  
Distribution Of Components ◽  
Proper Operation

In distributed software and hardware environments, ensuring proper operation of software is a challenge. The complexity of distributed systems increases the number of integration faults resulting from configuration errors in the distribution of components. Therefore, the main contribution of this work is a change in perspective, where integration faults (in the context of mistakes in distribution of components) are prevented rather than being dealt with through postmortem approaches. To this purpose, this paper proposes a preventive, low cost, minimally intrusive, and reusable approach. The generation of hash tags and a built-in version control for the application are at the core of the solution. Prior to deployment, the tag generator creates a list of components along with their respective tags, which will be a part of the deployment package. During production and execution of the application, on demand, the version control compares the tag list with the components of the user station and shows the discrepancies. The approach was applied to a complex application of a large company and was proven to be successful by avoiding integration faults and reducing the diagnosis time by 65%.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document