Current and voltage data logging from microbial fuel cells using arduino based sensors

Abstract

In the anaerobic oxidation of organic substrates, exo-electrogenic bacteria are utilized in microbial fuel cells to generate current. Voltage and current are the primary output of the microbial fuel cells. In the present study, automatic current and voltage data logging into an excel sheet using PLX DAQ application is described. The current and voltage are generated from double chamber microbial fuel cells loaded with cow dung and tomato wastes. The chambers are linked with a NaCl salt bridge. An Arduino board micro-controller is programmed to read analog pins sensor data. The data is read from an H-shaped MFC using a 25V voltage sensor and ACS712 current sensors. The Arduino UNO voltage measurement device was evaluated, and the results showed no major differences between the Arduino and multimeter potentials. Using general statistics and hypothesis tests on averages, it was shown that the potentials measured with Arduino and the multimeter Escort was equivalent. Replace the multimeter with Arduino UNO, and you’ll save money in the process. Compared to a commercial multimeter, the cost of an Arduino UNO is less than a tenth of that amount. Additionally, the Arduino UNO has up to five channels (allowing for the simultaneous monitoring of up to five cells), whereas the Escort multimeter just has one.