Application of a direct current circuit to pick up and to store bioelectricity produced by microbial fuel cells

Daniel Gonzalo Arboleda Avilés,Omar Fernando Sánchez Olmedo,Raúl Alfonso Bahamonde Soria,Daniel Alexander Arboleda Briones,Oscar Fernando Núñez Barrionuevo,Billy Daniel Chinchin Piñan

doi:10.15446/rev.colomb.quim.v48n3.77011

Daniel Gonzalo Arboleda Avilés, Omar Fernando Sánchez Olmedo + Show 4 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.15446/rev.colomb.quim.v48n3.77011

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Abstract

Every year the demand for energy worldwide is increasing. There are some alternatives to reduce these problems, such as clean energy or renewable energy. A particular alternative is the microbial fuel cells. These cells are biochemical reactors that convert chemical energy into electricity. The present research evaluated the dairy serum to produce bioelectricity from micro fuel cells (MFC) that were constructed with low-cost materials and with isolated bacteria in anaerobic sediments, located in Ecuadorian national territory, producing maximum voltages of 0.830 V in the circuit and a maximum power density of 30mW / m2. This low voltage was worked with 50 mL MFCs and with an output voltage of 300 mV. Under these conditions, a FLYBACK lift circuit isolated by the transformer was designed. This new circuit could increase the voltage from 30 mV to enough voltage to light a 2.5 V LED. Therefore, the energy produced by the MFC can be directly used to light a LED and to charge capacitors. This study shows that these MFCs, together with the designed circuit, could be used potentially to generate clean energy.

Highlights

The microbial fuel cells (MFCs) are an emerging technology that could contribute to the solution of several environmental problems such as the availability of uncontaminated water and the production of clean energy as part of renewable energies [1]
As can be seen in figure 6, the open-circuit voltage delivered by the MFCs-MEM is bordering the 800 mV and voltage keeps relatively stable for a period of 48 h, at which time the MFC has degraded the 35.23% organic matter and total organic carbon (TOC) decrease of 30.67%
This research showed a new system of energy collection from the generation of MFC, based on DC-DC converters

Summary

Introduction

The microbial fuel cells (MFCs) are an emerging technology that could contribute to the solution of several environmental problems such as the availability of uncontaminated water and the production of clean energy as part of renewable energies [1]. The Ecuadorian dairy industry is one of the economic sectors that generate the highest income in the country with a constant growth in the last 10 years. This increase in production volumes (5.6 million liters per day) is linked to an increase for waste produced, reaching about 19.2 million liters of wastewater daily nationally from the manufacture of cheese [4]. The main components of this wastewater are sugars, proteins, and emulsified fats that can be harnessed by the bacteria in their metabolism [6]

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