Tubular microbial fuel cells for efficient electricity generation.

A tubular, single-chambered, continuous microbial fuel cell (MFC) that generates high power outputs using a granular graphite matrix as the anode and a ferricyanide solution as the cathode is described. The maximal power outputs obtained were 90 and 66 W m(-3) net anodic compartment (NAC) (48 and 38 W m(-3) total anodic compartment (TAC)) for feed streams based on acetate and glucose, respectively, and 59 and 48 W m(-3) NAC for digester effluent and domestic wastewater, respectively. For acetate and glucose, the total Coulombic conversion efficiencies were 75 +/- 5% and 59 +/- 4%, respectively, at loading rates of 1.1 kg chemical oxygen demand m(-3) NAC volume day(-1). When wastewater was used, of the organic matter effectively removed (i.e., 22% at a loading of 2 kg organic matter m(-3) NAC day(-1)), up to 96% was converted to electricity on a Coulombic basis. The lower overall efficiency of the wastewater-treating reactors is related to the presence of nonreadily biodegradable organics and the interference of alternative electron acceptors such as sulfate present in the wastewater. To further improve MFCs, focus has to be placed on the enhanced conversion of nonrapidly biodegradable material and the better directing of the anode flow toward the electrode instead of to alternative electron acceptors. Also the use of sustainable, open-air cathodes is a critical issue for practical implementation.

[1]  James Larminie,et al.  Fuel Cell Systems Explained , 2000 .

[2]  W. Verstraete,et al.  Continuous microbial fuel cells convert carbohydrates to electricity. , 2005, Water science and technology : a journal of the International Association on Water Pollution Research.

[3]  W. Verstraete,et al.  A microbial fuel cell capable of converting glucose to electricity at high rate and efficiency , 2004, Biotechnology Letters.

[4]  Hong Liu,et al.  Electricity generation using an air-cathode single chamber microbial fuel cell in the presence and absence of a proton exchange membrane. , 2004, Environmental science & technology.

[5]  D. Park,et al.  Improved fuel cell and electrode designs for producing electricity from microbial degradation. , 2003, Biotechnology and bioengineering.

[6]  Bernhard Schink,et al.  Ferrihydrite-Dependent Growth of Sulfurospirillum deleyianum through Electron Transfer via Sulfur Cycling , 2004, Applied and Environmental Microbiology.

[7]  Zhen He,et al.  Electricity generation from artificial wastewater using an upflow microbial fuel cell. , 2005, Environmental science & technology.

[8]  D. Lowy,et al.  Harnessing microbially generated power on the seafloor , 2002, Nature Biotechnology.

[9]  Bruce E. Logan,et al.  Evaluation of procedures to acclimate a microbial fuel cell for electricity production , 2005, Applied Microbiology and Biotechnology.

[10]  Willy Verstraete,et al.  Microbial fuel cells: performances and perspectives , 2005 .

[11]  W. Verstraete,et al.  Biofuel Cells Select for Microbial Consortia That Self-Mediate Electron Transfer , 2004, Applied and Environmental Microbiology.

[12]  W. Verstraete,et al.  Microbial fuel cells: novel biotechnology for energy generation. , 2005, Trends in biotechnology.

[13]  Hong Liu,et al.  Production of electricity during wastewater treatment using a single chamber microbial fuel cell. , 2004, Environmental science & technology.

[14]  U. Schröder,et al.  A generation of microbial fuel cells with current outputs boosted by more than one order of magnitude. , 2003, Angewandte Chemie.

[15]  Byung Hong Kim,et al.  Construction and operation of a novel mediator- and membrane-less microbial fuel cell , 2004 .

[16]  A. Klapwijk,et al.  Use of the upflow sludge blanket (USB) reactor concept for biological wastewater treatment, especially for anaerobic treatment , 1980 .

[17]  A. E. Greenberg,et al.  Standard methods for the examination of water and wastewater : supplement to the sixteenth edition , 1988 .

[18]  Scott Kennedy,et al.  Wind power planning: assessing long-term costs and benefits , 2005 .

[19]  W. Verstraete,et al.  Microbial phenazine production enhances electron transfer in biofuel cells. , 2005, Environmental science & technology.

[20]  D. R. Bond,et al.  Electricity Production by Geobacter sulfurreducens Attached to Electrodes , 2003, Applied and Environmental Microbiology.

[21]  Kenji Kano,et al.  Photosynthetic bioelectrochemical cell utilizing cyanobacteria and water-generating oxidase , 2001 .

[22]  Hong Liu,et al.  Production of electricity from acetate or butyrate using a single-chamber microbial fuel cell. , 2005, Environmental science & technology.

[23]  Byung Hong Kim,et al.  Enrichment of microbial community generating electricity using a fuel-cell-type electrochemical cell , 2004, Applied Microbiology and Biotechnology.

[24]  Bruce E Logan,et al.  Extracting hydrogen and electricity from renewable resources. , 2004, Environmental science & technology.

[25]  Willy Verstraete,et al.  Removal of carbon and nutrients from domestic wastewater using a low investment, integrated treatment concept. , 2004, Water research.

[26]  Catherine Creuly,et al.  Advanced anaerobic bioconversion of lignocellulosic waste for bioregenerative life support following thermal water treatment and biodegradation by Fibrobacter succinogenes , 2004, Biodegradation.

[27]  M. Madigan,et al.  Brock Biology of Microorganisms , 1996 .

[28]  G. Gil,et al.  Operational parameters affecting the performannce of a mediator-less microbial fuel cell. , 2003, Biosensors & bioelectronics.

[29]  Bruce E Logan,et al.  Cathode performance as a factor in electricity generation in microbial fuel cells. , 2004, Environmental science & technology.

[30]  W. Habermann,et al.  Biological fuel cells with sulphide storage capacity , 1991, Applied Microbiology and Biotechnology.

[31]  Carmen A. Vega,et al.  Mediating effect of ferric chelate compounds in microbial fuel cells with Lactobacillus plantarum, Streptococcus lactis, and Erwinia dissolvens , 1987 .

[32]  A. Andrews.  Environmental Applications , 2003 .