scholarly journals Enhanced Power Extraction with Sediment Microbial Fuel Cells by Anode Alternation

Fuels ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
pp. 168-178
Author(s):  
Marzia Quaglio ◽  
Daniyal Ahmed ◽  
Giulia Massaglia ◽  
Adriano Sacco ◽  
Valentina Margaria ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Fuel Cells ◽  
Energy Harvesting ◽  
Power Density ◽  
Microbial Fuel Cells ◽  
Average Power ◽  
Power Extraction ◽  
Harvesting Technique ◽  
Harvesting Method ◽  
Energy Harvesting Devices ◽  
Efficient Power

Sediment microbial fuel cells (SMFCs) are energy harvesting devices where the anode is buried inside marine sediment, while the cathode stays in an aerobic environment on the surface of the water. To apply this SCMFC as a power source, it is crucial to have an efficient power management system, leading to development of an effective energy harvesting technique suitable for such biological devices. In this work, we demonstrate an effective method to improve power extraction with SMFCs based on anodes alternation. We have altered the setup of a traditional SMFC to include two anodes working with the same cathode. This setup is compared with a traditional setup (control) and a setup that undergoes intermittent energy harvesting, establishing the improvement of energy collection using the anodes alternation technique. Control SMFC produced an average power density of 6.3 mW/m2 and SMFC operating intermittently produced 8.1 mW/m2. On the other hand, SMFC operating using the anodes alternation technique produced an average power density of 23.5 mW/m2. These results indicate the utility of the proposed anodes alternation method over both the control and intermittent energy harvesting techniques. The Anode Alternation can also be viewed as an advancement of the intermittent energy harvesting method.

Conductive polypyrrole hydrogels and carbon nanotubes composite as an anode for microbial fuel cells

RSC Advances ◽  
2015 ◽  
Vol 5 (63) ◽  
pp. 50968-50974 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xinhua Tang ◽  
Haoran Li ◽  
Zhuwei Du ◽  
Weida Wang ◽  
How Yong Ng
Keyword(s):  
Carbon Nanotubes ◽  
Fuel Cells ◽  
Power Density ◽  
Electrocatalytic Activity ◽  
Microbial Fuel Cells ◽  
Conductive Polypyrrole

Polypyrrole hydrogels/carbon nanotubes enhanced electrocatalytic activity, biocompatibility and power density in microbial fuel cells.

scholarly journals Simultaneous wastewater treatment and energy harvesting in microbial fuel cells: an update on the biocatalysts

RSC Advances ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (43) ◽  
pp. 25874-25887 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yajing Guo ◽  
Jiao Wang ◽  
Shrameeta Shinde ◽  
Xin Wang ◽  
Yang Li ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Wastewater Treatment ◽  
Fuel Cells ◽  
Energy Harvesting ◽  
Microbial Fuel Cells

This review provides an update on MFC-based wastewater treatment and energy harvesting research, and analyze various biocatalysts used in MFCs.

scholarly journals Natural Wolframite Used as Cathode Photocatalyst for Improving the Performance of Microbial Fuel Cells

2018 ◽  
Vol 8 (12) ◽  
pp. 2504
Author(s):  
Junxian Shi ◽  
Anhuai Lu ◽  
Haibin Chu ◽  
Hongyu Wu ◽  
Hongrui Ding
Keyword(s):  
Fuel Cells ◽  
Power Density ◽  
Microbial Fuel Cells ◽  
Environmental Remediation ◽  
Low Cost ◽  
Reduction Process ◽  
Maximum Power ◽  
Maximum Power Density ◽  
Graphite Cathode ◽  
Vis Spectroscopy

Developing simple and cheap electrocatalysts or photocatalysts for cathodes to increase the oxygen reduction process is a key factor for better utilization of microbial fuel cells (MFCs). Here, we report the investigation of natural wolframite employed as a low-cost cathode photocatalyst to improve the performance of MFCs. The semiconducting wolframite was characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and Raman spectroscopy. The band gap and photo respond activities were determined by UV-vis spectroscopy and linear sweep voltammetry (LSV), respectively. Compared with the normal graphite cathode, when MFCs were equipped with a wolframite-coated cathode, the maximum power density was increased from 41.47 mW·m−2 to 95.51 mW·m−2. Notably, the maximum power density further improved to 135.57 mW·m−2 under light irradiation, which was 2.4 times higher than with a graphite cathode. Our research demonstrated that natural wolframite, a low-cost and abundant natural semiconducting mineral, showed promise as an effective photocathode catalyst which has great potential applications related to utilizing natural minerals in MFCs and for environmental remediation by MFCs in the future.

Conversion of sewage sludge into high-performance bifunctional electrode materials for microbial energy harvesting

2015 ◽  
Vol 3 (16) ◽  
pp. 8475-8482 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yong Yuan ◽  
Ting Liu ◽  
Peng Fu ◽  
Jiahuan Tang ◽  
Shungui Zhou
Keyword(s):  
Fuel Cells ◽  
Sewage Sludge ◽  
Energy Harvesting ◽  
Microbial Fuel Cells ◽  
High Performance ◽  
Electrode Materials

Sewage sludge amended with biomass was converted into highly conductive biochar, which was used as a high-performance anode and cathode for microbial fuel cells.

scholarly journals Using Shewanella Oneidensis MR1 as a Biocatalyst in a Microscale Microbial Fuel Cell

2013 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jie Yang ◽  
Sasan Ghobadian ◽  
Reza Montazami ◽  
Nastaran Hashemi
Keyword(s):  
Power Generation ◽  
Fuel Cells ◽  
Fuel Cell ◽  
Microbial Fuel Cell ◽  
Power Density ◽  
Microbial Fuel Cells ◽  
Shewanella Oneidensis ◽  
Proton Exchange ◽  
Carbon Cloth ◽  
Anode Chamber

Microbial fuel cell (MFC) technology is a promising area in the field of renewable energy because of their capability to use the energy contained in wastewater, which has been previously an untapped source of power. Microscale MFCs are desirable for their small footprints, relatively high power density, fast start-up, and environmentally-friendly process. Microbial fuel cells employ microorganisms as the biocatalysts instead of metal catalysts, which are widely applied in conventional fuel cells. MFCs are capable of generating electricity as long as nutrition is provided. Miniature MFCs have faster power generation recovery than macroscale MFCs. Additionally, since power generation density is affected by the surface-to-volume ratio, miniature MFCs can facilitate higher power density. We have designed and fabricated a microscale microbial fuel cell with a volume of 4 μL in a polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) chamber. The anode and cathode chambers were separated by a proton exchange membrane. Carbon cloth was used for both the anode and the cathode. Shewanella Oneidensis MR-1 was chosen to be the electrogenic bacteria and was inoculated into the anode chamber. We employed Ferricyanide as the catholyte and introduced it into the cathode chamber with a constant flow rate of approximately 50 μL/hr. We used trypticase soy broth as the bacterial nutrition and added it into the anode chamber approximately every 15 hours once current dropped to base current. Using our miniature MFC, we were able to generate a maximum current of 4.62 μA.

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