scholarly journals Single microfluidic fuel cell with three fuels – formic acid, glucose and microbes: A comparative performance investigation

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (4) ◽  
pp. 306-316
Author(s):  
Sanket Goel ◽  
Lanka Tata Rao ◽  
Prakash Rewatkar ◽  
Haroon Khan ◽  
Satish Kumar Dubey ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Power Generation ◽  
Fuel Cells ◽  
Fuel Cell ◽  
Formic Acid ◽  
Microfluidic Device ◽  
Microfluidic Channel ◽  
Open Circuit ◽  
Portable Devices ◽  
Comparative Performance ◽  
Microfluidic Fuel Cell

The development of microfluidic and nanofluidic devices is gaining remarkable attention due to the emphasis put on miniaturization of conventional energy conversion and storage processes. A microfluidic fuel cell can integrate flow of electrolytes, electrode-electrolyte interactions, and power generation in a microfluidic channel. Such microfluidic fuel cells can be categorized on the basis of electrolytes and catalysts used for power generation. In this work, for the first time, a single microfluidic fuel cell was harnessed by using different fuels like glucose, microbes and formic acid. Herein, multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNT) acted as electrode material, and performance investigations were carried out separately on the same microfluidic device for three different types of fuel cells (formic acid, microbial and enzymatic). The fabricated miniaturized microfluidic device was successfully used to harvest energy in microwatts from formic acid, microbes and glucose, without any metallic catalyst. The developed microfluidic fuel cells can maintain stable open-circuit voltage, which can be used for energizing various low-power portable devices or applications.

Experimental Investigation on the Performance of a Formic Acid Electrolyte-Direct Methanol Fuel Cell

2013 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
David Ouellette ◽  
Cynthia Ann Cruickshank ◽  
Edgar Matida
Keyword(s):  
Fuel Cell ◽  
Formic Acid ◽  
Power Output ◽  
Direct Methanol Fuel Cell ◽  
Operating Conditions ◽  
Portable Devices ◽  
Acid Electrolyte ◽  
Optimal Operating ◽  
Direct Methanol ◽  
Methanol Fuel Cell

The performance of a new methanol fuel cell that utilizes a liquid formic acid electrolyte, named the formic acid electrolyte-direct methanol fuel cell (FAE-DMFC) is experimentally investigated. This fuel cell type has the capability of recycling/washing away methanol, without the need of methanol-electrolyte separation. Three fuel cell configurations were examined: a flowing electrolyte and two circulating electrolyte configurations. From these three configurations, the flowing electrolyte and the circulating electrolyte, with the electrolyte outlet routed to the anode inlet, provided the most stable power output, where minimal decay in performance and less than 3% and 5.6% variation in power output were observed in the respective configurations. The flowing electrolyte configuration also yielded the greatest power output by as much as 34%. Furthermore, for the flowing electrolyte configuration, several key operating conditions were experimentally tested to determine the optimal operating points. It was found that an inlet concentration of 2.2 M methanol and 6.5 M formic acid, as along with a cell temperature of 52.8 °C provided the best performance. Since this fuel cell has a low optimal operating temperature, this fuel cell has potential applications for handheld portable devices.

scholarly journals Comparative Study on the Effects of Three Membrane Modification Methods on the Performance of Microbial Fuel Cell

Energies ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 13 (6) ◽  
pp. 1383 ◽  
Author(s):  
Liping Fan ◽  
Junyi Shi ◽  
Tian Gao
Keyword(s):  
Power Generation ◽  
Fuel Cells ◽  
Fuel Cell ◽  
Microbial Fuel Cell ◽  
Water Purification ◽  
Microbial Fuel Cells ◽  
Proton Exchange Membrane ◽  
Proton Exchange ◽  
Generation Capacity ◽  
Exchange Membrane

Proton exchange membrane is an important factor affecting the power generation capacity and water purification effect of microbial fuel cells. The performance of microbial fuel cells can be improved by modifying the proton exchange membrane by some suitable method. Microbial fuel cells with membranes modified by SiO2/PVDF (polyvinylidene difluoride), sulfonated PVDF and polymerized MMA (methyl methacrylate) electrolyte were tested and their power generation capacity and water purification effect were compared. The experimental results show that the three membrane modification methods can improve the power generation capacity and water purification effect of microbial fuel cells to some extent. Among them, the microbial fuel cell with the polymerized MMA modified membrane showed the best performance, in which the output voltage was 39.52 mV, and the electricity production current density was 18.82 mA/m2, which was 2224% higher than that of microbial fuel cell with the conventional Nafion membrane; and the COD (chemical oxygen demand) removal rate was 54.8%, which was 72.9% higher than that of microbial fuel cell with the conventional Nafion membrane. Modifying the membrane with the polymerized MMA is a very effective way to improve the performance of microbial fuel cells.

Tools and Techniques for Modeling SOFC Fuel Cell Performance

2002 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alton J. Reich ◽  
Rupak Das ◽  
J. Vernon Cole ◽  
Sandip Mazumder
Keyword(s):  
Power Generation ◽  
Fuel Cells ◽  
Fuel Cell ◽  
Research And Development ◽  
Cell Performance ◽  
Development Effort ◽  
Fuel Cell Performance ◽  
Fixed Power ◽  
Tools And Techniques

Fuel cells have been utilized in certain specialized applications since the 1960’s, however the technology has recently been the focus of a broad research and development effort. The next 10 years will likely produce practical, affordable fuel cells that are applied in fixed power generation, automotive, and even powered bicycle applications. As the fuel cell becomes less of a research curiosity and more of an engineered commodity item, designers need tools to study and optimize the behavior of fuel cells. This paper discusses some of the questions that simulation can help fuel cell designers address.

Photocatalytic Fuel Cell Using TiO2/ZnO/Zn Photoanode for Greywater and Bacteria Abatements with Power Generation Concomitantly

2019 ◽  
Vol 821 ◽  
pp. 366-371
Author(s):  
Sze Mun Lam ◽  
Joo Kheng Ooi ◽  
Ming Wei Kee ◽  
Jin Chung Sin
Keyword(s):  
Power Generation ◽  
Fuel Cell ◽  
Uv Light ◽  
Antibacterial Properties ◽  
Water Source ◽  
Clean Energy ◽  
Chemical Oxidation ◽  
Open Circuit ◽  
Photocatalytic Fuel Cell ◽  
Electrical Generation

Recycling of optional water source especially greywater and energy recovery from effluent is garnering impetus owing to clean water scarcity and energy crisis. In current work, photocatalytic fuel cell (PFC) utilizing a TiO2/ZnO/Zn photoanode and a CuO/Cu photocathode was developed for efficient greywater treatment and power generation. The photoelectrodes were measured by field-emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM), energy dispersive X-ray (EDX) and photoluminescence (PL) measurements. Using 2 layers of TiO2/ZnO on Zn film, chemical oxidation demand (COD) removal efficiency had achieved 73% in the UV light-activated PFC system. The electrical generation was concomitantly found, in which the open-circuit voltage (Voc), short-current density (Jsc) and maximum power density (Pmax) were 634 mV, 0.1612 mA cm-2 and 0.0257 mW cm-2, respectively. The PFC has also revealed high antibacterial activity towards and Escherichia coli (E. coli), highlighting its potential photocatalytic and antibacterial properties for greywater reused and clean energy production.

Glucose Oxidation by Nano-Fibrous Anodes in a Fuel Cell

2008 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pinchas Schechner ◽  
Eugenia Bubis ◽  
Hana Faiger ◽  
Eyal Zussman ◽  
Ehud Kroll
Keyword(s):  
Fuel Cells ◽  
Fuel Cell ◽  
Power Density ◽  
Peak Power ◽  
Open Circuit Voltage ◽  
Volume Ratio ◽  
Open Circuit ◽  
High Area ◽  
Micrometer Size ◽  
Oxidation Of Glucose

This work adds more experimental evidence regarding the feasibility of using glucose to fuel fuel-cells with anodes that have a high area-to-volume ratio. Electrospinning was used to fabricate sub-micrometer size fibrous electrocatalytic anode membranes for the oxidation of glucose in an alkaline fuel cell (AFC). The fibers of the membranes were made of polyacrylonitrile (PAN) and coated with silver by electroless plating. The anodes were tested while installed in a membranless fuel cell. The results presented include the open circuit voltage, OCV, the polarization curve, the power density as a function of the current density, and the peak power density, PPD. The measurements were performed with constant concentrations of glucose, 0.8 M, and KOH electrolyte solution, 1M. The performance of the anodes was found to improve as the diameter of the silver-plated fibers decreased. The highest PPD of 0.28 mW/cm2 was obtained with an anode made of plated fibers having a mean fiber diameter of 130 nanometers. We conclude from the results that saccharides in general, and glucose in particular, can serve as fuels for fuel cells, and that silver-plated polymeric electrospun electrodes have advantages due to their large surface area.

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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