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Microbial fuel cells continuously fuelled by untreated fresh algal biomass

Walter, X. A.; Greenman, J.; Taylor, B.; Ieropoulos, I. A.

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Authors

B. Taylor

Yannis Ieropoulos Ioannis2.Ieropoulos@uwe.ac.uk
Professor in Bioenergy & Director of B-B



Abstract

© 2015. Microbial fuel cells (MFCs) are energy transducers that convert organic matter directly into electricity, via the anaerobic respiration of electro-active microorganisms. An avenue of research in this field is to employ algae as the organic carbon fuel source for the MFCs. However, in all studies demonstrating the feasibility of this principle, the algal biomass has always been pre-treated prior to being fed to MFCs, e.g. centrifuged, dried, ground into powder, and/or treated by acid-thermal processes. The alternative presented here, is a flow-through system whereby the MFCs were continuously fed by fresh algal biomass. The system consisted of i) a culture of Synechococcus leopoliensis grown continuously in a photo-chemostat, ii) a pre-digester initiating the digestion of the phototrophs and producing a fuel devoid of oxygen, and iii) a cascade of 9 MFCs, hydraulically and electrically independent. This compartmental system could in theory produce 42W of electrical power per cubic metre of fresh culture (6·10 5 cellsmL -1 ).

Citation

Walter, X. A., Greenman, J., Taylor, B., & Ieropoulos, I. A. (2015). Microbial fuel cells continuously fuelled by untreated fresh algal biomass. Algal Research, 11, 103-107. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.algal.2015.06.003

Journal Article Type Article
Publication Date Jan 1, 2015
Deposit Date Oct 14, 2015
Publicly Available Date Mar 28, 2024
Journal Algal Research
Print ISSN 2211-9264
Publisher Elsevier
Peer Reviewed Peer Reviewed
Volume 11
Pages 103-107
DOI https://doi.org/10.1016/j.algal.2015.06.003
Keywords microbial fuel cell, ceramic membrane, in-line system, pre-digester, carbon-neutral energy
Public URL https://uwe-repository.worktribe.com/output/829541
Publisher URL http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.algal.2015.06.003

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