MICRO BIAL FUEL CELL ENERGY OUTP UT INVESTIGATIO N S

Charl es Homoki - karcsi 0 6@ co m c a s t . n e t

Marin e Acade my of Technolo gy and Environ m e n t a l Scienc e (MATES)
Advisors: John Wnek - jwnek@ m ail.ocvt s.o r g
Jason Kelsey jkelsey@ m ail.ocvt s.o r g

MICRO BIAL FUEL CELL ENERGY OUTP UT INVESTIGATIO N S

Sub m i s s i o n for th e 20 1 5 Mo n m o u t h Juni or Sci e n c e Sym p o s i u m

MICRO BIAL FUEL CELL ENERGY OUTPUT INVESTIGATIO N S

MICRO BIAL FUEL CELL ENERGY OUTP UT INVESTIGATIO N S

Abstra c t
Media to r- less
micro bi al
fuel
cells
prod u c e
elect ricity
using
the
che m o s y n t h e t i c proce s s e s of ana e r o bi c bact e ri a which can be found in
detrit u s and othe r types of bent hic mud. The che m o s y n t h e t i c proc e s s
utilizes an oxidation- redu c tio n che mic al reac tio n, so elect r o n s are
tran sfe r r e d , and are cond u c t e d by an elect ro d e as an elect ric curr e n t . The
use of solar pan els to prod u c e elect ricity is one of the more com m o n
alter n a tiv e ene r gy met h o d s . How does the ene r gy efficiency of a micro bi al
fuel cell comp a r e with that of a solar panel? A medi a to r- less micro bi al fuel
cell was built and run for 30 days, and a solar panel was set up in an are a
with an aver a g e amou n t of sunligh t. During those 30 days, Direct Curr e n t
(DC) Voltag e outpu t rea di n g s wer e take n simult a n e o u s ly, thre e times daily
with a digital multim e t e r from the fuel cell and the solar pan el. The surfac e
are a of the elect ro d e in the fuel cell, can also vary, so is surfac e are a of the
elect r o d e of a microbial fuel cell a factor that can affect its voltag e and
resist a n c e outp u t s ? Two media t o r- less micro bi al fuel cells were built and
run for 14 days. One fuel cell had elect ro d e s with surfac e are a s of 25 cm 2
and the othe r with 100 cm 2 . During thos e 14 days, Direct Curr e n t (DC)
Voltag e outpu t rea di n g s and resist a n c e rea di n g s (M ohm) were take n thre e
time daily with a digital multim e t e r at the sam e times during thre e times
each day. The solar pan el had a significa n tly gre a t e r aver a g e volta g e outp u t
in comp a ri s o n , but the microbi al fuel cell prod u c e d elect ricity at a const a n t
rat e. The aver a g e voltag e outp u t s of the two cells were not significa n tly
differe n t , but the aver a g e resist a n c e outpu t s were. The fuel cell with the
larg e r surfac e are a elect r o d e s had a significa n tly highe r aver a g e resist a n c e
outpu t than that of the othe r fuel cell. This study sugg e s t s that alteri n g the
surfac e are a of an elect ro d e can incre a s e the outp u t of a micro bi al fuel cell,
thus the use of microbial fuel cells as an alter n a t e ene r gy sourc e may be a
possibility for the futur e.
Intro d u c t i o n
Altern a tiv e ene r gy is an import a n t part of our society. Nonr e n e w a b l e
fuel sourc e s are dwindling, and innovative ways to provide our world with
ene r gy are being res e a r c h e d and test e d all over the world (Loga n, 2008).
One of the most promi n e n t alter n a t iv e ene r gy sourc e s is the solar cell. Solar
cells harn e s s the pow e r of the sun to cre a t e elect ricity. The issue with solar
cells is that they only function while the sun is out, which is less than 12
hours in the wint e r mont h s in most place s. This draw b a c k on the solar cell

MICRO BIAL FUEL CELL ENERGY OUTP UT INVESTIGATIO N S

is why it is often

couple d

with othe r

alter n a t iv e

ene r gy

sourc e s

like

wind mills. One of the benefits of using micro bi al fuel cells would be that
they are not depe n d e n t on sunligh t, only bact e ri a , which are easily found in
the mud of river b e d s , swa m p s , mar s h e s , etc. (Logan, 2008).
Microbi al fuel cells (MFCs) gene r a t e elect ricity using the synth e si s
and deco m p o si tio n of orga ni c compo u n d s in micro bi al cata b olis m (Hou et
al., 2009). Most MFCs have four main compo n e n t s : an ana e r o bi c anod e
cha m b e r , aerobic catho d e cha m b e r , proton exch a n g e mem b r a n e (PEM), and
elect r o d e s in a circuit (Hou et al., 2009). In the anod e cha m b e r , ana e r o bi c
bact e ri a

bre a k

down food molec ul e s

into proton s, carbo n

dioxide, and

elect r o n s . The bact e ri a use the elect r o n s in the mitocho n d r i o n with the
elect r o n tran s p o r t chain to prod u c e ene r gy for the m s elv e s in the form of
ATP (Loga n, 2008). Since electr o n s are tra n sf e r r e d , they can be disru p t e d
and

redir e c t e d

throu g h

an elect r o d e

("Illumin

- Microbial

Fuel

Cells:

Gene r a t i n g Powe r from Wast e, 2012). Simult a n e o u s ly, proton s that are
prod u c e d thro u g h micro bi al proc e s s e s pass into the catho d e throu g h the
proton

exch a n g e

allows

proto n s

me m b r a n e ,
to flow

into

which filters
the

catho d e .

the anod e
Elect ro n s

mixtu r e
flow

and only

throu g h

the

elect r o d e s into the catho d e wher e they combin e with proto n s and oxyge n
from an aer a t o r to form wate r, thus comple ti n g the circuit (Hou et al.,
2009).
All MFCs use this basic principle of redir e c ti n g elect ro n s freed from
che mic al reac tio n s within elect r o c h e m i c ally active bact e ri a , but ther e are

MICRO BIAL FUEL CELL ENERGY OUTP UT INVESTIGATIO N S

two main fuel type s of MFCs: media t o r, and media t o r- less MFCs (Hou et al.,
2009). Media to r MFCs use a medi a to r to help shuttl e elect r o n s from the cell
to the elect ro d e s (Loga n, 2008). Thes e wer e the earlies t microbi al fuel cells,
and issue s aros e due to the fact that the media t o r s used wer e usually toxic.
The earlies t and most significa n t

bre a k t h r o u g h s

occur r e d

when it was

recog niz e d that media t o r s wer e not nece s s a r y, thus causin g media t o r- less
micro bi al fuel cells to be expe ri m e n t e d with (Loga n, 2008).

Met h o d s
Part One
To build the fuel cell housin g, end caps of a comp r e s s i o n fitting wer e
atta c h e d to the inside edg e s of two acrylic boxes (the anod e and catho d e
cha m b e r s ) with a wate r ti g h t seal. To crea t e the salt bridg e, 100 mL of wate r
was heat e d to a boil and 9.66 g of agar was adde d upon boiling. The mixtur e
was stirr e d until the all of the aga r dissolve d. When the aga r dissolved, the
mixtu r e was take n off the heat sourc e and 2.00 g of table salt was adde d to
the mixtur e and stirr e d until all the salt dissolve d. While the solution was
still war m,

it was pour e d

into a comp r e s s io n

fitting

and

store d

in a

refrige r a t o r . This caus e d the mixtu r e to form a gel after cooling for 24
hours. To build the electr o d e s , two 5 cm x 5 cm squa r e s of carbo n cloth
were cut out and used as a condu c tive surfa c e. Elect ric ally condu c tive
epoxy was used to stick copp e r wire arou n d the outsid e of eac h cloth piece.

MICRO BIAL FUEL CELL ENERGY OUTP UT INVESTIGATIO N S

The epoxy was given eight hours to cure and hard e n . To asse m b l e the entire
fuel cell, the comp r e s s io n fitting that make s up the salt bridg e was scre w e d
in place betw e e n the anod e and catho d e cha m b e r s . The anod e was filled
with bent hic mud, and one elect ro d e was burie d in the mud. Benthic mud
sam pl e s use d for both parts of the experi m e n t were obtain e d in the salt
mars h on Bayview Avenue in Bayville, New Jersey (Figu r e s 2 and 3). The
catho d e cha m b e r was filled with a 36.00 M salt solution. The wires from the
elect r o d e s were push e d throu g h the lids of the anod e and catho d e , and a
small aqu a ri u m air pum p was left run ni n g in the catho d e to aer a t e the
solution. The entir e MFC setu p is show n in Figur e 1.
A small solar pan el was set up in an are a with few tre e s and left
sitting in the sun thro u g h o u t the day. The fuel cell and solar pan el wer e left
run ni n g for 30 days, and elect ric al resist a n c e and voltag e rea din g s were
take n daily with a digital multim e t e r at 6:00AM, 3:00P M , and 9:00P M . Since
resist a n c e

is invers ely

propo r tio n a l

to amp e r a g e ,

elect ric al

resist a n c e

rea di n g s wer e take n inste a d due to the low elect ric curr e n t prod u c e d by
each fuel cell.
Part Two
The proce d u r e s

descri b e d

in part one was use d to const r u c t

two

micro bi al fuel cells, but differe n t sized elect ro d e s were used in the two fuel
cells. In one fuel cell, elect ro d e s with surfac e are a s of 25 cm

wer e used,

and surfa c e are a s of 100 cm 2 were use d in the secon d fuel cell. Both fuel
cells wer e also aer a t e d with the sam e air pum p. The fuel cells were left

MICRO BIAL FUEL CELL ENERGY OUTP UT INVESTIGATIO N S

run ni n g for 14 days, and elect ric al resist a n c e and voltag e rea din g s were
take n daily with a digital multim e t e r at 6:00AM, 3:00P M , and 9:00P M .
Statistic al Analysis
To analyze the dat a collect e d in part one, the mea n voltag e outpu t
rea di n g s from the MFC and the solar pan el at each time durin g the day was
take n. A line gra p h of ene r gy outp u t over time for the peak solar pan el
voltag e readi n g s , MFC readi n g s , and the dor m a n t solar panel readin g s was
const r u c t e d to visually show differe n c e s amon g the thre e mea s u r e m e n t s . In
part two, T-tests wer e used to dete r m i n e significa n t differe n c e s betw e e n the
voltag e readi n g s , and the resist a n c e readi n g s of both fuel cells. A P-value of
less tha n 0.05 was used to dete r m i n e significa n c e . Regr e s si o n test s were
also compl e t e d

to dete r m i n e

any corr el a tio n

betw e e n

the voltag e

and

resist a n c e rea di n g s of eac h fuel cell. It was expec t e d that a direc t variatio n
would exist betw e e n the voltag e and resist a n c e in each fuel cell due to the
fact that in physics, voltag e and resist a n c e vary direc tly. Thes e regr e s si o n s
show e d

that

the

digital

multim e t e r

use d

malfunc tion and obtain e d accu r a t e rea di n g s .

with

dat a

collection

did not

MICRO BIAL FUEL CELL ENERGY OUTP UT INVESTIGATIO N S

MICRO BIAL FUEL CELL ENERGY OUTP UT INVESTIGATIO N S

Res u l t s
Part 1
The mea n volta g e outpu t s wer e highe s t with about 10.00 volts with
the solar panel at 3:00 PM, and the lowes t mea n voltag e rea di n g s occur r e d
with the solar panel at both 6:00 AM and 9:00 PM with a mea n of 0.00 volts
(Figu r e 4). Comp a r e d over time, the voltag e rea di n g s for the peak solar
panel readin g s varied betw e e n 2 and 20 volts, while the MFCs rea di n g s
staye d const a n t , varying by only 0.07 volts (Figu r e 5).
Part 2
The mea n resist a n c e and voltag e outpu t s from the fuel cell with the
larg e r surfac e are a (fuel cell two) wer e high e r (Figu r e s 6 and 7). Two t-test s
were run betw e e n each set of voltag e outpu t s and resis t a n c e outpu t s . Both
the volta g e outpu t s and resist a n c e outp u t s of both cells were significa n tly
differe n t (P< 0. 0 0 0 1 ). A reg r e s si o n test (n = 4 2) was run to comp a r e

the

MICRO BIAL FUEL CELL ENERGY OUTP UT INVESTIGATIO N S

10

resist a n c e in M ohms and DC voltag e in eac h fuel cell. Both fuel cells had Pvalues of less than 0.000 1, and R squa r e d value s of 0.986 2 for fuel cell one,
and 0.992 7 for fuel cell two. This is show n by two scatt e r plots (Figur e s 8
and 9).

MICRO BIAL FUEL CELL ENERGY OUTP UT INVESTIGATIO N S

11

MICRO BIAL FUEL CELL ENERGY OUTP UT INVESTIGATIO N S

12

Dis c u s s i o n
In the first part of the expe ri m e n t , the solar panels elect ric al outp u t
fluctu a t e d a lot betw e e n the differe n t times of the day bec a u s e ther e is not
sunlight

pres e n t

at all times

of the day, while the MFCs outp u t

was

const a n t . In ter m s of outp u t efficiency, a const a n t ene r gy outp u t from the

MFC make s it a pote n ti al prac tic al ene r gy sourc e (Raba ey et al., 2003). The
const a n t

stop

and

star t

of ene r gy

prod u c tio n

in the

solar

panel

also

decr e a s e s the life of the batt e ry that is cha r g e s (Cha r gi n g Lithiu m- Ion
Batte ri e s , 2015). The micro bi al fuel cell would const a n tly char g e a batt e r y,
thus incre a si n g the prac tic al time it can be used. The cost of the solar pan el
was also lesse r than that of the mat e ri al s nee d to const r u c t the fuel cell.
This is only beca u s e of the small scale expe ri m e n t . On a large r scale, solar
panels cost a lot more. The fuel cell could possibly be the techn ology used in
larg e powe r plant s. This type of desig n could pote n ti ally replac e the nucle a r
powe r plant at Oyste r Cree k, New Jers ey. It would be an environ m e n t a lly

13

MICRO BIAL FUEL CELL ENERGY OUTP UT INVESTIGATIO N S

safe alter n a t iv e that costs a lot less than solar ene r gy, and prod u c e s ene r gy
at every time of the day, rat h e r than only while sunlight is pres e n t .
The MFC with the elect r o d e

with the large r

surfa c e

are a

had a

slightly highe r outp u t, but also a highe r resist a n c e . Both fuel cells could not
powe r a small LED light beca u s e of the extr e m ely high resist a n c e outpu t s .
To fix this

issue,

bett e r

elect ric al

cond u c t o r

could

be

used,

and

modifica tion s to the fuel cells circuit can be mad e. Bette r mat e ri als have
bee n use d for elect ro d e s , like gold, that would incre a s e the outpu t of the
fuel cell (Hou et al., 2009). If the powe r outpu t incre a s e s within the MFCs,
they could be wired toget h e r in a serie s to powe r almost any elect ric al
device. Simple MFCs have bee n cre a t e d

that were powe rful enoug h to

rech a r g e a cell phon e batt e r y, so the MFC has pote n ti al as an alter n a tiv e
powe r sourc e in third world count ri e s , as well as first world count ri e s
("Illumin - Microbial Fuel Cells: Gene r a ti n g Powe r from Wast e," 2012). The
fuel cells tech n olo gy could be use d on a large r scale. Accordin g to Loga n
(2008), While the idea of making elect ricity using MFCs may not be new in
theo ry, cert ai nly as a prac tic al meth o d of ene r gy produ c tio n it is quite new
(p. 6). Microbi al fuel cells could be use d to powe r entire hom e s with a high
enou g h ener gy outp u t. They could also be used in elect ricity gene r a t i n g
station s to gen e r a t e clean ene r gy. Highe r ene r gy outpu t s at a large r scale
mea n s that more powe rf ul device s can function from a microbi al fuel cell.
Con c l u s i o n

14

MICRO BIAL FUEL CELL ENERGY OUTP UT INVESTIGATIO N S

Overall, the MFC prod u c e d a significa n tly lesse r amou n t of elect ricity
than the solar pan el did. The solar panel prod u c e d a lot more ene r gy, but
only durin g

the

day.

The

fuel cells ener gy

prod u c tio n

was

const a n t

thro u g h o u t the day, thus makin g it more efficien t than the solar pan el. The
MFC with the elect ro d e s

with the large r

surfac e

are a s

had

a highe r

resist a n c e and voltag e outpu t. The mea n voltag e outpu t was statistic ally
highe r in fuel cell two, but not by much. The fuel cells mea n voltag e s only
differe d by about 0.06 volts. Since the fuel cell two (100 cm 2 ) had a high e r
mea n resist a n c e than fuel cell one (25 cm 2 ), it would be more prac tic al to
use a smalle r surfac e are a elect ro d e when prod u ci n g ene r gy with an MFC.

Ack n o w l e d g e m e n t s
I would like to acknowl e d g e ,

first and fore m o s t ,

my pare n t s

for

suppo r t whe n supplie s were nee d e d , and for tra n s p o r t a t i o n. I would also
like to thank Dr. John Wnek, and Mr. Jason Kelsey for helping me along the
way with my projec t.

Ref e r e n c e s
Bruce Logan Res ear c h - Microbial Fuel Cells. Retriev e d from
http://w w w. e n g r . p s u . e d u / c e / e n v e /lo g a n / bio e n e r g y/ m fc_m a k e_c ell.ht m
Chargin g Lithiu m- Ion Batteri e s (2015). Retriev e d from
http://ba t t e r y u niv e r si ty.co m/l e a r n / a r ti cl e/c h a r g i n g_lithi u m_ion_ba t t e r i
es

MICRO BIAL FUEL CELL ENERGY OUTP UT INVESTIGATIO N S

15

Hou H, Li L, Cho Y, de Figueir e d o P, Han A (2009) Microfabricat e d

Microbial Fuel Cell Arrays Rev eal Electroc h e m i c ally Active Microb e s .
PLoS ONE 4(8): e657 0. doi:10.1 3 7 1 /jou r n a l. p o n e . 0 0 0 6 5 7 0
Illumin - Microbial Fuel Cells: Generatin g Power from Was t e (2012).
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Logan, Bruce E. (2008) Microbial Fuel Cells . Retriev e d from
http://book s. go o gl e .c o m / b o o k s ?
hl= e n &l r = & i d = c X n c 2 w m r E 9 g C & oi = f n d & p g = P R 7 & d q = m i c r o b i al + f u
el + c ells& ot s = C lR1NGk8 F & s i g = 4 w v H S 9 4 zj s 0v w W g_5Q H h t al F 9 H 0 # v = o n e p a g e & q & f =
false
Raba ey, K., Lissen s , G., Siciliano, S., & Verstr a e t e , W. (2003). A micro bi al
fuel cell capa bl e of conver ti n g glucos e to elect ricity at high rate and
efficiency. Biotec h n olo g y Lette r s, 25 (18), 1531- 1535. Retriev e d from
http://link.s p ri n g e r . c o m / a r t i cle/ 1 0. 1 0 2 3 /A:1 0 2 5 4 8 4 0 0 9 3 6 7 #
Was t e Not - NA S A Scie nc e . Retriev e d from
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