Double Chamber Microbial Fuel Cell

Julie Paone

Period 3

http://www.engr.psu.edu/ce/enve/logan/bioenergy/mfc_make_cell.htm

• Alternate energy • Efficiency and economically priced• Wastewater has 9.3 more energy in it than what’s being used to treat it. • Microbial Fuel Cellhttp://www.engr.psu.edu/ce/enve/logan/web_presentations/MFC-MECs-Bruce-Logan-1-2-08.pdf

Need

Knowledge BaseAny organic material can create electricity

• Organic matter useful energy

• Oxidation sends electrons to the anode

• The electrons flow to cathode and join with protons

• Voltage or Hydrogen

Logan, 2009

http://www.engr.psu.edu/ce/enve/logan/publications/2009-Logan-NatRevMicrobiol.pdf

Electrogenesis

• Process of converting food into energy• Respiratory enzymes ATP• Terminal electron acceptor (TEA)• Exogenously

Construction

• Efficiency

• Cost

• Materials

http://www.engr.psu.edu/ce/enve/logan/bioenergy/mfc_make_cell.htm

Literature Review

• A suggested experiment is measuring the power with different amounts of glucose.

• In one equation, 1 molecule of glucose provides a maximum of 24 electrons.

Bennetto, 1990

http://www.engr.psu.edu/ce/enve/logan/bioenergy/mfc_photos.htm

Literature Review

• Green algae can easily produce hydrogen, but can it directly produce electricity.

• Light is their food source and they grow photo synthetically.

• Chlamydomonas reinhardtii

Melis, Berkeley

Literature Review

• Still many improvements needed to enhance the performance.

• The construction is a main part in the efficiency. • The larger the anode and cathode, the greater the

outcome.

Logan, 2007

Literature Review

• Rhodopseudomonas palustris DX-1

• Cell voltage and current were used to calculate the power density (P=I/V).

• Increase in anode surface increased performance.

Xing, 2008

http://www.engr.psu.edu/ce/enve/logan/publications/2008-Xing-etal-ES&T.pdf

Purpose

• To determine whether the amount of food source significantly affects the amount of voltage produced by e. coli and algae in a Microbial Fuel Cell.

• The null hypothesis states that the amount of food source will not significantly affect the voltage produced by bacteria and algae.

• The alternate hypothesis states that the food source has a significant affect on the amount of voltage produced.

Hypothesis

Methodology

Budget

Provided

• Two plastic bottles • Agar (used last year)• E. coli (used last year)• Glucose• Light bulbs• Fish tank air pump with

plastic tubing • Resistors • Copper wire (plastic

coated) • Wires with alligator clips • GLX Pasco Probe

Buy from Outside Stores

• Short plastic pipe (PVC)• Plastic flanges, end caps with

holes drilled• Carbon cloth

(http://www.etek-inc.com/)• Sealing materials (epoxy)

(Home Depot)

Do ability

• Experiment was done last year

• Most materials are familiar

• Background in culturing

• Data collection was previously done

• Materials are accessible

http://ww

w.engr.psu.edu/ce/enve/logan/bioenergy/m

fc_make_cell.htm

Bibliography • Bennetto, H. P., Electricity generation by microorganisms, National Centre for Biotechnology Education. Vol. 1,

No.4, 1990 Pp. 163-168

• Liu, Hong, Grot, Stephen, Logan, Bruce E., Electrochemically Assisted Microbial Production of Hydrogen from Acetate, Environmental Science and Technology, Vol. 39, 2005 Pp. 4317-4320

• Logan, Bruce E. Exoelectrogenic bacteria that power microbial fuel cells. Nature Reviews, Microbiology, Vol. 7, May 2009 Pp. 375-381

• Logan, Bruce E., Call, Douglas, Cheng, Shaoan, Hamelers, Hubertus V. M., Sleutels, Tom H. J. A., Jeremiasse, Adriaan W., Rozendal, Rene A. Microbial Electrolysis Cells for High Yield Hydrogen Gas Production from Organic Matter. Environmental Science and Technology, Vol. 42, No. 23, 2008 Pp. 8630-8640

• Logan, B.E., Microbial Fuel Cells, John Wiley & Sons, Inc., Hobeken, New Jersey, 2008.

 • Macdonald, Averil and Berry, Martyn, Science through Hydrogen: Clean Energy for the Future, Heliocentris

energiesysteme, 2004. Pp. 74, 80

• Melis, Anastasios, Green Alga Hydrogen production: progress, challenges and prospects. International Journal of Hydrogen Energy.

• Xing, Defeng, Zuo, Yi, Cheng, Shaoan, Regan, John M., Logan, Bruce E. Electricity Generation by Rhodopseudomonas palustris DX-1, Environmental Science and Technology Vol. 42, No. 11, 2008 Pp. 4146-4145