The Effect of Illumination, Electrode Distance, and Illumination Periods on the Performance of Phototrophic Sediment Microbial Fuel Cells (PSMFCs)
Downloads
Microbial fuel cells (MFCs) can potentially be used to overcome issues with battery powered light buoys and their frequent maintenance. In this study, a phototrophic sediment microbial fuel cell (PSMFC) was chosen, as the microalgae provide oxygen to be reduced on the cathode and to release the necessary nutrients for the bacteria on the anode. To achieve this, we studied the effect of illumination, the period of the illumination, and the distance between 9-cm2 stainless steel mesh electrodes on the performance of the MFC. The illuminated cells were able to produce higher OCP (max. 205.2 mV) and higher power density (max. 0.68 mW/m2). However, the highest current was achieved during the unilluminated variation (max. 5.3 μA unilluminated and 3.3 μA illuminated). Prolonged illumination produced a higher OCP, current, and power density. A longer electrode distance produced a higher OCP, power density, and current. SEM analysis showed that biofilm formation tended to be scattered at lower electrode distance and more clumped (filling the anode area) at higher electrode distance. Through FTIR analysis, it was found that all MFC variations had the same organic matter, but a more concentrated organic content was found in the MFC at longer electrode distances.
Nag, O.S., Countries with the Longest Coastline, https://www.worldatlas.com/articles/countries-with-the-most-coastline.html, 2018. (21 May 2019)
Indonesian Ministry of Transportation, Ministerial Regulation of Indonesian Ministry of Transportation Number 25 Year 2011, Indonesian Ministry of Transportation, 2011.
Ieropoulos, I., Winfield, J., Gajda, I., Walter, A., Papaharalabos, G., Jimenez, I.M., Pasternak, G., You, J., Tremouli, A., Stinchcombe, A., Forbes, S. & Greenman, J., The Practical Implementation of Microbial Fuel Cell Technology, Microbial Electrochemical and Fuel Cells: Fundamentals and Applications, Scott, K. & Yu, E.H., eds., Woodhead Publishing Series in Energy, pp. 357-380, 2016.
Santoro, C., Arbizzani, C., Erable, B. & Ieropoulos, I., Microbial Fuel Cells: From Fundamentals to Applications. A Review, Journal of Power Sources, 356, pp. 225-244, Jul. 2017.
Timmers, R.A., Strik, D.P.B.T.B., Hamelers, H.V.M. & Buisman, C.J.N, Long-term Performance of a Plant Microbial Fuel Cell with Spartina anglica, Applied Microbiology and Biotechnology, 86(3), pp. 973-981, Feb. 2010.
He, Z., Kan, J., Mansfeld, F., Angenent, L.T. & Nealson, K.H., Self-Sustained Phototrophic Microbial Fuel Cells Based on the Synergistic Cooperation Between Photosynthetic Microorganisms and Heterotrophic Bacteria, Environmental Science and Technology, 43(5), pp. 1648-1654, Feb. 2009.
Kothapalli, A.L., Sediment Microbial Fuel Cell as Sustainable Power Resource, Master’s Thesis, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, Milwaukee, 2013.
Nitisoravut, R. & Regmi, R, Plant Microbial Fuel Cells: A Promising Biosystems Engineering, Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, 76, pp. 81-89, Sep. 2017.
Moghazy, R.M., Activated Biomass of the Green Microalga Chlamydomonas Variabilis as an Efficient Biosorbent to Remove Methylene Blue Dye from Aqueous Solutions, Water SA, 45(1), 20-28, Jan. 2019.
Scott, K., An Introduction to Microbial Fuel Cells, Microbial Electrochemical and Fuel Cells: Fundamentals and Applications, Scott, K. & Yu, E.H., eds., Woodhead Publishing Series in Energy, pp. 3-27, 2016.
Rago, L., Cristiani, P., Villa, F., Zecchin, S., Colombo, A., Cavalca, L. & Schievano, A., Influences of Dissolved Oxygen Concentration on Biocathodic Microbial Communities in Microbial Fuel Cells, Bioelectrochemistry, 116, pp. 39-51, Aug. 2017.
Ye, Q., Zhao, T.S., Yang, H. & Prabhuram, J., Electrochemical Reactions in a DMFC under Open-circuit Conditions, Electrochemical and Solid-State Letters, 8(1), pp. A52-A54, 2005.
Chen, S., Patil, S.A. & Schröder, U., Substrate Crossover Effect and Performance Regeneration of the Biofouled Rotating Air-Cathode in Microbial Fuel Cell, Frontiers in Energy Research, 6, 85, Sep. 2018.
Ter Heijne, A., Schaetzle, O., Gimenez, S., Fabregat-Santiago, F., Bisquert, J., Strik, D.P.B.T.B., Frédéric Barrière, F., Buisman, C.J.N. & Hamelers, H.V.M, Identifying Charge and Mass Transfer Resistances of an Oxygen Reducing Biocathode, Energy & Environmental Science, 4(12) pp. 5035-5043, Oct. 2011.
He, Z., Shao, H. & Angenent, L.T., Increased Power Production from a Sediment Microbial Fuel Cell with a Rotating Cathode, Biosensors and Bioelectronics, 22(12), pp. 3252-3255, Jun. 2007.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
