Microbial Fuel Cell that Generates Electricity from Wastewater

[jpak]

http://www.azom.com/details.asp?newsID=6268

In the midst of the worldwide energy crisis, researchers at Washington University in St. Louis have been continuing their work on a microbial fuel cell that generates electricity from wastewater. Advances in the design of this fuel cell in the last year have increased the power output by a factor of 10 and future designs, already in the minds of the researchers, hope to multiple that power output by 10 times again. If that goal can be achieved, the fuel cell could be scaled up for use in food and agricultural industries to generate electrical power - all with the wastewater that today goes right down the drain.

Lars Angenent, Ph.D., assistant professor of chemical engineering, and a member of the University's Environmental Engineering Science Program has devised a continually fed upflow microbial fuel cell (UMFC). In a paper published online in the Environmental Science Technology, Angenent describes how wastewater enters from the bottom of a system and is continuously pumped up through a cylinder filled with granules of activated carbon. Many previous microbial experiments used closed systems with a single batch of nutrient solution, but because this system is continuously fed from a fresh supply of wastewater, Angenent's UMFC has more applications for industry since wastewater is continually outputted during industrial production.

The organic matter in the wastewater provides food for a diverse community of bacteria that have developed a biofilm (a thick-layered colony of bacteria) on a simple electrode in the anode chamber. An inexpensive U-shaped proton exchange membrane inside the anode chamber separates the anode from the cathode.

As the bacteria feed on the organic material in the wastewater they release electrons to the anodic electrode. These electrons then move to the cathodic electrode via a copper wire. The formed protons are transferred through the membrane towards the cathode where they react with electrons and oxygen to form water.

<more>

[SnowGoose]

1. Cool I wonder what they used for bacteria

In this article about report it's vague about exactly which bacteria are in the system.

It also says:
------------------------------------------
Angenent and his doctoral student Jason He are exploring other anode-cathode shapes, surface areas, and distances to both increase power and reduce the resistance in the system so that less power is lost as it runs. Angenent says that for the UMFC to be economical he "needs two more breakthroughs, but know what they are yet."
------------------------------------------

This doesn't sound like they've put a lot of work into selecting the microbial cultures ~ I wonder if a good microbiologist could help them with this. I'll have to read the original reprot in EST.

Thanks for posting.

[Mabus]

7. Don't know if he's using the same concoction

but here's a link to a patent application he's named on titled Upflow microbial fuel cell (UMFC). You might find some information there. You need to click on the "images" button at the top to see the drawings submitted with the patent application.

[unpossibles]

2. really cool n/t

[JohnWxy]

3. really interesting.

[silverweb]

4. It can't be ready for use too soon!

Assuming this thing really works as well at they say, they need to get it into production and wide-scale use ASAP - along with as many other alternative energy sources as possible.

Improvements and refinements and "improved models" will come along later, but we need this in use immediately!

[Occulus]

5. I just love how science fiction becomes science fact

This is an idea that's been seen in various science fiction novels, stories, and films for... well.... a long, long time. I'm glad to see it's being worked on; being able to generate power from waste is a great way to prolong resources, and doing it using biology seems to be an efficient way to do it.

Read the RAMA series by Clarke. Pay special attention to how the octospiders manage their environment, particularly in "Rama Revealed". That's the direction we need to move in; we need to start figuring out how to manipulate/create organisms to work for us, rather than clearing them away because they aren't us.

[EVDebs]

6. Sounds like the Rwandan prison biogas project IMHO

www.wired.com/news/planet/0,2782,68127,00.html