Abstract
Bioelectrochemical systems have been the focus of extensive research due to their unique advantages of converting the chemical energy stored in waste to electricity. To acquire a better understanding and optimize these systems, modelling has been employed. A 2D microbial fuel cell (MFC) model was developed using the finite element software Comsol Multiphysics® (version 5.2), simulating a two-chamber MFC operating in batch mode. By solving mass and charge balance equations along with Monod–Butler–Volmer kinetics, the operation of the MFC was simulated. The model accurately describes voltage output and substrate consumption in the MFC. The computational results were compared with experimental data, thus validating the model. The voltage output and substrate consumption originating from the model were in agreement with the experimental data for two different cases (100 Ω, 1000 Ω external resistances). A polarization curve was extracted from the model by shifting the external resistance gradually, calculating a similar maximum power (47 mW/m2) to the observed experimental one (49 mW/m2). The validated model was used to predict the MFC response to varying initial substrate concentrations (0.125–4 g COD/L) and electrolyte conductivity (0.04–100 S/m) in order to determine the optimum operating conditions.
Highlights
Bioelectrochemical systems (BES) have been the focus of research due to their ability to convert the chemical energy contained in various wastewaters to electricity [1,2]
Electrochemical kinetics along with mass and charge transfer equations were solved in the finite element software (FEM) software Comsol Multiphysics®
The model effectively predicted the value of the maximum voltage output of microbial fuel cell (MFC) operated at Rext 100 Ω and Rext 1000 Ω
Summary
Bioelectrochemical systems (BES) have been the focus of research due to their ability to convert the chemical energy contained in various wastewaters to electricity [1,2]. Different types of BES have been developed, such as microbial fuel cells (MFCs), microbial electrolysis cells (MECs), microbial solar cells (MSCs) [5], microbial electrosynthesis cells [6], microbial desalination cells (MDCs) [7], and enzymatic fuel cells (EFCs) [8] These electrochemical cells have been developed for simultaneous wastewater treatment, current generation, and in the case of MECs production of other substances such as hydrogen [9]. The plethora of bioelectrochemical processes which are catalyzed by microorganisms are exhibited in the multiple BESs that have been developed
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