Effects of applied voltages and dissolved oxygen on sustained power generation by microbial fuel cells

Oxygen intrusion into the anode chamber through proton exchange membrane can result in positive redox conditions in fed-batch, two chamber MFCs at the end of a cycle when the substrate is depleted. A slight increase in dissolved oxygen to 0.3 mg/L during MFC operation was not found to adversely affe...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Water science and technology 2009-01, Vol.60 (5), p.1311-1317
Main Authors: Oh, S E, Kim, J R, Joo, J-H, Logan, B E
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Acetates
Acetic acid
Anodes
Bacteria
Batch culture
Biochemical fuel cells
Bioelectric Energy Sources - microbiology
Biofilms
Charge reversal
Dissolved oxygen
Electric potential
Electric power generation
Electricity
Electrodes
Intrusion
Lag phase
Microorganisms
Oxidoreductions
Oxygen
Oxygen - chemistry
Purging
Solubility
Time Factors
Voltage
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Summary:Oxygen intrusion into the anode chamber through proton exchange membrane can result in positive redox conditions in fed-batch, two chamber MFCs at the end of a cycle when the substrate is depleted. A slight increase in dissolved oxygen to 0.3 mg/L during MFC operation was not found to adversely affect power generation over subsequent cycles if sufficient substrate (acetate) was provided. Purging the anode chamber with air or pure oxygen for up to 10 days and 10 hrs also did not affect power generation, as power rapidly returned to previous levels when the chamber was sparged with nitrogen gas. When MFCs are connected in series, voltage reversal can occur resulting in a positive voltage applied to the anode biofilm. To investigate if this adversely affected the bacteria, voltages of 1, 2, 3, 4, and 9 V, were applied for 1 hr to the MFC before reconnecting it back to a fixed external load (1,000 Omega). A voltage of
ISSN:0273-1223
1996-9732
DOI:10.2166/wst.2009.444