Let there be light!!

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MICROBIAL FUEL CELL

Waste water treament and electricity generation

DEFINITION: WHAT IS A MICROBIAL FUEL CELL??

Battery

Conversion of chemical energy into

Electrical energy

Use microorganisms as a catalyst

The microorganisms that have the ability to produce electricity are called :

Cellular respiration

Final e- acceptor: electrodes in a cell rather than nitrates

sulphates iron and oxygen.

electrogenics

MICROELECTRICITY

Electrolytic cell

WHAT IS THE SOURCE OF INSPIRATION

Cellular respiration b.Cellular respiration

3 main components

How does it work?

• Bacteria form a community on anode called BIOFILM.• Biofilm produce a matrix that stick to the anode.• Sticky matrix consists of extracellular proteins, sugars, and bacterial cells. tiny conductive nanowires that may help facilitate electron conduction.

ISSUE:HOW TO STICK BACTERIA TO ANODE?

A N O D E and c a t h o d e

conductive

Chemically stable

biocompatible

Non corrosive

Stainless steel mesh

Graphite plates

Glassy carbons

platinum

TYPES OF MFC

1. ANY MICROBE CAN PRODUCE ELECTRICITY WITH AN ELECTRON SHUTTLE

(INEFFICIENT)2.MEDIATORS ARE MOSTLY PHENOLICS

WHICH ARE EXPENSIVE & TOXIC

1.NO ADDITIONAL ELECTRON SHUTTLE IS NEEDED

2.FEW KNOWN MICROBES HAVE THIS ABILITY

3.SHEWANELLA AND IRON REDUCERS DO!

• Geobacteraceae,• Desulfuromonas,• Alcaligenes faecalis, • Enterococcus faecium, • Pseudomonas aeruginosa,• Bacteroides and• Aeromonas species were detected

in the before-mentioned studies• Azoarcus and Azospirillum)

ISSUE:WHICH MICROORGANISM TO BE USED?

APPLICATIONS AND USES

• scale up

• scale down

mfc

Waste disposal

Water treatment

biosensors

teaching

Medical devices

Remote power supplies

ADVANTAGES• LOW COST LOW MAINTENANCE

ZERO POLLUTION SUSTAINABLE

POWER

• VASTLY AVAILABLE USE WIDE RANGE OF

fuels

WASTEWATER TREATMENT

• We don’t spend a lot of time pondering wastewater treament unless we absolutely have to!!

• 2 billion people are without access to adequate sanitation or safe drinking water.

• These challenges demand for innovative solution

• This is where microbial fuel cell comes in…

Various mfc designs in use• The designs can be divided in two types: • 1) Research type MFCs:

Continuous mfc

• Scale up is still a big challenge

• High cost of cation exchange membranes

• Potential for biofouling

• High internal resistance the power generation and limit the practical applications of mfc’c

NEGATIVE SIDE OF THE PICTURE

CONCLUSION• With the world’s attention focused on

global warming and depleting Natural

resources, demand for green energy

booming!!• Mfc is an excellent source of bioenergy,that is

energy from micro organisms.• It is a promising solution for energy crisis because it

is cheaper, cleaner and sustainable and can use variety of substrate/waste as a fuel

• Since It is a novel technology,it still needs a lot of working and recognition to be applied on large scale all over the world.