Evaluation of the energy potential of cow dung in microbial fuel cell for micro-power applications in Nigeria

Abstract

In this study, three mediatorless chamber microbial fuel cells were built and experiments were carried out using a mixture of cow dung and water. The volume of the mixture in each cell was 5309440mm3 and the ratio of the surface area of aluminum anode electrode to graphite rod cathode electrode was 2:1. The maximum open circuit voltage and current obtained was 0.73V and 10.87mA respectively. Maximum total voltage and current obtained for the period of 28 days under investigation was 14.4V and 168.1mA. The average total voltage and voltage drop during the period under investigation were 14.59V and 0.4V respectively. The average power rating per day produced from the each cell was 143.47mAH. This study has shown that cow dung is a potential substrate for energy generation using a single chamber Microbial Fuel Cell (MFC).