Abstract
Microbial fuel cells (MFCs) are an environment-friendly technology, which addresses two of the most important environmental issues worldwide: fossil fuel depletion and water scarcity. Modelling is a useful tool that allows us to understand the behaviour of MFCs and predict their performance, yet the number of MFC models that could accurately inform a scale-up process, is low. In this work, a three-factor three-level Box–Behnken design is used to evaluate the influence of different operating parameters on the performance of air-breathing ceramic-based MFCs fed with human urine. The statistical analysis of the 45 tests run shows that both anode area and external resistance have more influence on the power output than membrane thickness, in the range studied. The theoretical optimal conditions were found at a membrane thickness of 1.55 mm, an external resistance of 895.59 Ω and an anode area of 165.72 cm2, corresponding to a maximum absolute power generation of 467.63 μW. The accuracy of the second order model obtained is 88.6%. Thus, the three-factor three-level Box–Behnken-based model designed is an effective tool which provides key information for the optimisation of the energy harvesting from MFC technology and saves time in terms of experimental work.
Highlights
Global warming along with depletion of fossil fuels are two of the most serious environmental issues for humankind
The maximum absolute power output in steady state (471.46 μW) is reached when Microbial fuel cells (MFCs) work with an anode area of 182.25 cm2, a membrane thickness of 1 mm and an external load of 710 Ω
The aim of this work was to use a response surface analysis methodology in order to design a series of experiments for optimising the performance of cubical ceramic-based MFCs fed with urine
Summary
Global warming along with depletion of fossil fuels are two of the most serious environmental issues for humankind. MFCs are devices that benefit from microbial metabolism to turn the chemical energy stored in different kinds of organic substrates into electricity [1,2,3]. An MFC consists of an anodic chamber where bacteria oxidise the organic matter contained in a specific substrate producing electrons, protons, low amount of carbon dioxide and smaller molecules. The redox reactions are completed by the reduction of an oxidant on the cathode, generally oxygen due to its abundance and high reduction potential. Noble metals, such as platinum, are commonly used for the oxygen reduction, M.J. Salar-García et al
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