All Outputs (133)

Small-scale microbial fuel cells utilising uric salts (2014)
Journal Article

With exhausting fossil fuels and increasing greenhouse gas emissions, numerous attempts, to overcome future energy challenges, are being pursued. In this study, small-scale microbial fuel cells (MFCs, 0.7mL anodic chamber volume) were built to invest... Read More about Small-scale microbial fuel cells utilising uric salts.

Dynamic polarisation reveals differential steady-state stabilisation and capacitive-like behaviour in microbial fuel cells (2013)
Journal Article

In this paper we present several preliminary results produced with a purposely-designed external-resistor (R ext ) sweeping tool for microbial fuel cells (MFCs). Fast sampling rates show that MFCs exhibit differential steady-state stabilisation behav... Read More about Dynamic polarisation reveals differential steady-state stabilisation and capacitive-like behaviour in microbial fuel cells.

Comparing terracotta and earthenware for multiple functionalities in microbial fuel cells (2013)
Journal Article

The properties of earthenware and terracotta were investigated in terms of structural integrity and ion conductivity, in two microbial fuel cell (MFC) designs. Parameters such as wall thickness (4, 8, 18 mm), porosity and cathode hydration were analy... Read More about Comparing terracotta and earthenware for multiple functionalities in microbial fuel cells.

Biodegradation and proton exchange using natural rubber in microbial fuel cells (2013)
Journal Article

Microbial fuel cells (MFCs) generate electricity from waste but to date the technology's development and scale-up has been held-up by the need to incorporate expensive materials. A costly but vital component is the ion exchange membrane (IEM) which c... Read More about Biodegradation and proton exchange using natural rubber in microbial fuel cells.

The power of glove: Soft microbial fuel cell for low-power electronics (2013)
Journal Article

A novel, soft microbial fuel cell (MFC) has been constructed using the finger-piece of a standard laboratory natural rubber latex glove. The natural rubber serves as structural and proton exchange material whilst untreated carbon veil is used for the... Read More about The power of glove: Soft microbial fuel cell for low-power electronics.

Waste to real energy: The first MFC powered mobile phone (2013)
Journal Article

This communication reports for the first time the charging of a commercially available mobile phone, using Microbial Fuel Cells (MFCs) fed with real neat urine. The membrane-less MFCs were made out of ceramic material and employed plain carbon based... Read More about Waste to real energy: The first MFC powered mobile phone.

Energy production and sanitation improvement using microbial fuel cells (2013)
Journal Article

This study builds on the previous work of urine utilisation and uses small-scale microbial fuel cells (MFCs), working both as individual units in cascade or collectively as a stack, to utilise artificial urine. Artificial urine was prepared at concen... Read More about Energy production and sanitation improvement using microbial fuel cells.

Urine: Waste or resource? The economic and social aspects (2013)
Journal Article

High power generation by a membraneless single chamber microbial fuel cell (SCMFC) using enzymatic bilirubin oxidase (BOx) air-breathing cathode (2013)
Journal Article

In this work, for the first time, we showed the successful utilization of enzymatic-based (bilirubin oxidase, BOx) air-breathing gas-diffusion (ABGD-BOx) cathode in membraneless single chamber microbial fuel cells (SCMFCs). At pH range of 7.2-7.5, th... Read More about High power generation by a membraneless single chamber microbial fuel cell (SCMFC) using enzymatic bilirubin oxidase (BOx) air-breathing cathode.

Oxygenic phototrophic biofilms for improved cathode performance in microbial fuel cells (2013)
Journal Article

The rate of oxygen reduction reaction in the cathodic chambers of microbial fuel cells (MFCs) is a typical limiting aspect of its performance. Recently, research on biocathodes has gained more interest as it allows circumventing the utilisation of ex... Read More about Oxygenic phototrophic biofilms for improved cathode performance in microbial fuel cells.

The first self-sustainable microbial fuel cell stack (2013)
Journal Article

This study reports for the first time on the development of a self-sustainable microbial fuel cell stack capable of self-maintenance (feeding, hydration, sensing & reporting). Furthermore, the stack system is producing excess energy, which can be use... Read More about The first self-sustainable microbial fuel cell stack.

Miniature microbial fuel cells and stacks for urine utilisation (2013)
Journal Article

MFCs are becoming a stronger contender in the area of alternative energy sources and show great promise in utilising a wide variety of organic sources. This paper describes the utilisation of neat undiluted urine as the main feedstock for different t... Read More about Miniature microbial fuel cells and stacks for urine utilisation.

Effects of sulphate addition and sulphide inhibition on microbial fuel cells (2013)
Journal Article

The effects of adding sulphate in: (i) standard activated sludge microbial fuel cells (MFCs) and (ii) larger-scale leachate-treating columns - both as individual units and as a system connected in cascade - are reported. S-replete power output was ∼2... Read More about Effects of sulphate addition and sulphide inhibition on microbial fuel cells.

Bi-directional electrical characterisation of microbial fuel cell (2013)
Journal Article

The electrical performance of microbial fuel cells in steady-state is usually investigated by standard characterisation methods that reveal many important parameters e.g. maximum power. This paper introduces a novel " bi-directional" method to study... Read More about Bi-directional electrical characterisation of microbial fuel cell.

MFC-cascade stacks maximise COD reduction and avoid voltage reversal under adverse conditions (2013)
Journal Article

Six continuous-flow Microbial Fuel Cells (MFCs) configured as a vertical cascade and tested under different electrical connections are presented. When in parallel, stable operation and higher power and current densities than individual MFCs were obse... Read More about MFC-cascade stacks maximise COD reduction and avoid voltage reversal under adverse conditions.

Comparing the short and long term stability of biodegradable, ceramic and cation exchange membranes in microbial fuel cells (2013)
Journal Article

The long and short-term stability of two porous dependent ion exchange materials; starch-based compostable bags (BioBag) and ceramic, were compared to commercially available cation exchange membrane (CEM) in microbial fuel cells. Using bi-directional... Read More about Comparing the short and long term stability of biodegradable, ceramic and cation exchange membranes in microbial fuel cells.

Maximising electricity production by controlling the biofilm specific growth rate in microbial fuel cells (2012)
Journal Article

The aim of this work is to study the relationship between growth rate and electricity production in perfusion-electrode microbial fuel cells (MFCs), across a wide range of flow rates by co-measurement of electrical output and changes in population nu... Read More about Maximising electricity production by controlling the biofilm specific growth rate in microbial fuel cells.

Investigating a cascade of seven hydraulically connected microbial fuel cells (2012)
Journal Article

Seven miniature microbial fuel cells (MFCs) were hydraulically linked in sequence and operated in continuous-flow (cascade). Power output and treatment efficiency were investigated using varying organic loads, flow-rates and electrical configurations... Read More about Investigating a cascade of seven hydraulically connected microbial fuel cells.

Urine utilisation by microbial fuel cells; Energy fuel for the future (2012)
Journal Article

This communication reports for the first time the direct utilisation of urine in MFCs for the production of electricity. Different conversion efficiencies were recorded, depending on the amount treated. Elements such as N, P, K can be locked into new... Read More about Urine utilisation by microbial fuel cells; Energy fuel for the future.

Investigating the effects of fluidic connection between microbial fuel cells (2011)
Journal Article

Microbial fuel cells (MFCs) can 'treat' wastewater but individually are thermodynamically restricted. Scale-up might, therefore, require a plurality of units operating in a stack which could introduce losses simply through fluidic connections. Experi... Read More about Investigating the effects of fluidic connection between microbial fuel cells.