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A novel small scale Microbial Fuel Cell design for increased electricity generation and waste water treatment

Papaharalabos, George; Greenman, John; Melhuish, Chris; Ieropoulos, Ioannis

Authors

George Papaharalabos

Chris Melhuish Chris.Melhuish@uwe.ac.uk
Professor of Robotics & Autonomous Systems

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



Abstract

© 2015 Hydrogen Energy Publications, LLC. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. Microbial Fuel Cells (MFCs) are a sustainable energy technology with minimal carbon footprint, which is promising for wastewater remediation and generation of useful amounts of electricity. This study focuses on the architecture and rapid prototyping materials used for building MFCs and their effect on overall performance. Three MFC variants of the same design were constructed using ABS, PC-ISO and RC25 materials and were compared with an established MFC design. MFCs were assessed in terms of power production and COD reduction both individually and when connected electrically in parallel. In all cases the new design showed a better power output and COD removal. The order of performance in terms of power production and COD reduction for individual MFCs was PC-ISO, RC25 and ABS. However when triplets of the same materials were joined electrically together, then the order was different with RC25 outperforming ABS and PC-ISO, which was dependent on the materials' properties. It is concluded that the best performing individual MFC may not necessarily result in the best performing stack.

Journal Article Type Article
Acceptance Date Jan 19, 2015
Publication Date Jan 1, 2015
Journal International Journal of Hydrogen Energy
Print ISSN 0360-3199
Publisher Elsevier
Peer Reviewed Peer Reviewed
Volume 40
Issue 11
Pages 4263-4268
DOI https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijhydene.2015.01.117
Keywords small scale microbial fuel cells, rapid prototype materials, urine, Twist n' Play design, COD removal
Public URL https://uwe-repository.worktribe.com/output/843849
Publisher URL http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ijhydene.2015.01.117