Special topic seminar microbial fuel cells

• 1. Contents: 2 Introduction History Literature survey Types of Microbial fuel cells Working Principle Applications References 11/25/2013

2. Introduction Microbial Fuel Cells (MFCs) are an emerging technology that uses bacteria to generate electricity from waste. Microbial Fuel Cells are used to produce electricity while simultaneously cleaning wastewater. With future development, MFCs have the potential to produce hydrogen for fuel cells, desalinate sea water, and provide sustainable energy sources for remote areas. 3 11/25/2013 3. Definition A microbial fuel cell is a device that converts chemical energy in to electrical energy by the catalytic reaction of microorganisms (Bacteria). A simple microbial fuel cell 4 11/25/2013 4. History The idea of obtaining energy from bacteria began in 1911 with M. C. Potter, a professor of botany at the University of Durham . In 1980, M. J. Allen and H. Peter Bennetto from Kings College in London revolutionized the original microbial fuel cell design. In the 1990s, B-H.Kim, a researcher from the Korean Institute of Science and Technology, discovered that certain species of bacteria were electrochemically active and didnt require the use of a mediator molecule to transport electrons to the electrodes. 5 11/25/2013 5. 11/25/20136 Literature Survey Electricity production coupled with Waste Water treatment using MICROBIAL FUEL CELL by Vineetha V, Shibu K. Department of Civil Engineering, College of Engineering, Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala. This paper presents the study on mediator less MFCs for waste water treatment using modified anodes . comparison of electricity generation was carried out with Plain carbon rods and iron coated carbon rods as anodes. 6. 11/25/20137 It was observed that this single chambered mediator less microbial fuel cell was capable of giving higher removal of Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD) and Biological Oxygen Demand (BOD). maximum voltage production was obtained from MFC with heated iron coated carbon as anode. 7. 11/25/20138 Electricity Generation from Petrochemical Wastewater Using a Membrane-Less Single Chamber Microbial Fuel Cell By Seyed Kamran Foad Marashi, Hamid-Reza Kariminia Effects of wastewater concentration as substrate for microbial oxidation, and anode material (stainless steel or carbon brush) were investigated as designing parameters Higher voltage was observed at more concentrated wastewater. Carbon brush anode had 2-folds maximum power density than that of stainless steel anode electrode. 8. 11/25/20139 by Hongwei Gao, Andrew Meehan, and Zbigniew Lewandowski ,Montana State University, Bozeman, USA. New Microbial Fuel Cell Power System for Efficiency Improvement Their paper presents a power management system for energy harvesting with multiple microbial fuel cells (MFCs) The system first connects a capacitor to each MFC in parallel so that the capacitors are charged by the MFCs 9. 11/25/201310 The system allows low voltage low current MFCs to be used to power high voltage high current electronic devices deployed in the water. The system was tested in the lab Then the system disconnects the capacitors from the MFCs, connects all the capacitors in series, and connects all the series-connected capacitors to a boost converter. 10. Types of Microbial fuel cells Mediator microbial fuel cell: The electron transfer from microbial cells to the electrode is facilitated by mediators such as thionine, methyl blue, neutral red and so on. Mediator-free microbial fuel cell: Mediator-free microbial fuel cells do not require a mediator but use electrochemically active bacteria to transfer electrons to the electrode. 11 11/25/2013 11. Some electrochemically active bacteria's are: Shewanella putrefaciens Aeromonas hydrophila Geobacteraceae, etc. 12 11/25/2013 12. Working of microbial fuel cell A schematic of a microbial fuel cell13 11/25/2013 13. The electron transport chain 14 11/25/2013 14. 11/25/201315 Electrical generation process: Anode: C6H12O6+6H2O 6CO2+24H++24e- Cathode: 24H++24e-+6O2 12H20 15. 11/25/201316 Choice of electrode materials: Graphite foil Carbon paper Felt Foam Activated carbon cloth Conductive polymers Metals such as aluminium, nickel or stainless steel. 16. Ways the MFC can improve the world 17 (Applications) 11/25/2013 17. Brewery and food manufacturing wastewater can be treated by microbial fuel cells because their wastewater is rich in organic compounds that can serve as food for the microorganisms. Brewery Wastewater Treatment Breweries are ideal for the implementation of microbial fuel cells, as their wastewater composition is always the same. Fosters, an Australian beer company, has begun testing out an MFC to clean its wastewater while generating electricity and clean water. 18 11/25/2013 18. A microbial fuel cell in a brewery used for wastewater treatment Each long tube is one large Microbial Fuel Cell. Twelve MFCs are placed in parallel to clean the large volume of wastewater. Wastewater flows in at the top, is cleaned by bacteria, and comes out the bottom as purified water. 19 11/25/2013 19. Sewage Treatment Sewage wastewater can also be converted via microbial fuel cells to decompose the waste organic material contained within it. Research has shown that MFCs can reduce the amount of organic material present in sewage wastewater up to 80%. The process is very similar to brewery wastewater treatment, with the difference being that the water must first be pre-treated to remove toxins and other non-biodegradable materials. 20 11/25/2013 20. Desalination Desalination of sea water and brackish water for use as drinking water has always presented significant problems because of the amount of energy required to remove the dissolved salts from the water. By using an adapted microbial fuel cell, this process could proceed with no external electrical energy input. 21 11/25/2013 21. By adding a third chamber in between the two electrodes of a standard MFC and filling it with sea water, the cells positive and negative electrodes attract the positive and negative salt ions in the water and, using semi-permeable membranes, filters out the salt from the sea water. A desalination microbial fuel cell 22 11/25/2013 22. Hydrogen Production The standard MFC is converted to hydrogen production by keeping both chambers anaerobic and supplementing the MFC with electricity. Hydrogen bubbles form at the cathode and are collected for use as fuel source. This method of producing hydrogen is very efficient because more than 90% of the protons and electrons generated by the bacteria at the anode are turned into hydrogen gas . 23 11/25/2013 23. Remote Sensors By placing the anode in the anaerobic sediment of a river or ocean and placing the cathode in the aerobic water right above the sediment, a current is generated. Anaerobic bacteria that naturally grow in the sediment produce the small current that can be used to charge a capacitor to store energy for whenever the sensor needs it. Microbial fuel cell integrated into riverbed24 11/25/2013 24. Cleansing Polluted Lakes and Rivers The anode is submerged in the water where organic pollutants feed the bacteria while the cathode floats on top of the water. The organic pollutants are decomposed to carbon dioxide and water, cleansing the polluted lake or stream. A robot powered by an integrated microbial fuel cell25 11/25/2013 25. Remote Power Source The materials required to construct the simple MFC are soil, manure, copper wire, buckets, and graphite cloth. The electrical current produced by a simple homemade MFC is enough to recharge a cell phone battery. A cheap microbial fuel cell made by the Lebone group 26 11/25/2013 26. Conclusion The many applications of MFCs will help to reduce the use of fossil fuels. Widespread use of MFCs in these areas can take our waste products and transform them into energy . 27 11/25/2013 Microbial Fuel Cells (MFCs) use bacteria to convert organic waste material into electrical energy. 27. References 28 11/25/2013 [1] Emmanuel P. Leana and Sandhya Babel, 2011 IEEE First Conference on Clean Energy and Technology CET Electricity Generation from Anaerobic Sludge and Cassava Wastewater Subjected to Pre-treatment Methods Using Microbial Fuel Cell. [2] Vineetha V, Shibu K. Department of Civil Engineering, College of Engineering, Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala Electricity production coupled with Waste water treatment using microbial fuel cell 28. 29 11/25/2013 [3] Seyed Kamran Foad Marashi, Hamid-Reza Kariminia Department of Chemical and Petroleum Engineering Sharif University of Technology Tehran, Iran Electricity Generation from Petrochemical Wastewater Using a Membrane-Less Single Chamber Microbial Fuel Cell [4] Hongwei Gao, Andrew Meehan, and Zbigniew Lewandowski Montana State University, Bozeman, USA New Microbial Fuel Cell Power System for Efficiency Improvement 29. 11/25/201330 Websites: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microbial_fuel_cell http://www.microbialfuelcell.org/www/ http://illumin.usc.edu/printer/134/microbial-fuel-cells- generating-power-from-waste/ 30. 31 11/25/2013