Energy production and sanitation improvement using microbial fuel cells
Energy production and sanitation improvement using microbial fuel cells
This study builds on the previous work of urine utilisation and uses small-scale microbial fuel cells (MFCs), working both as individual units in cascade or collectively as a stack, to utilise artificial urine. Artificial urine was prepared at concentrations typically found in real human urine with peptone employed as a surrogate proteinacious component. MFCs were constructed from Nanocure® polymer using rapid prototype technology. The anode and cathode electrodes were made of 15 cm2 carbon veil, folded down to fit in the 1 mL chambers. Eight MFCs were inoculated using activated anaerobic sludge; after 17 days of fed batch mode they were switched to continuous flow, initially at 0.09 mL/h and subsequently at 0.43 mL/h, resulting in HRT of 12.69 minutes/MFC. MFCs showed stable performance following the maturing period and produced, under polarisation experiments, peak power levels of 117 μW, corresponding to 962.94 W/m3. Continuous flow experiments data showed higher power production, increasing with the concentration of the carbon/energy source within artificial urine. The work demonstrates that artificial urine of varying composition can be successfully utilised for the production of energy and concomitant cleanup of organic waste. Finally, in line with the practical implementation and robotics work in our group, the small-scale MFCs were configured into a stack and directly energised electronic devices.
microbial fuel cells, practical application, sanitation, urine, waste utilisation
383-391
Ieropoulos, I.
6c580270-3e08-430a-9f49-7fbe869daf13
Greenman, J.
eb3d9b82-7cac-4442-9301-f34884ae4a16
Lewis, D.
7048bb53-cd51-4882-a6c7-dfac763e7d5b
Knoop, O.
166dbd57-4c96-4e1c-b82a-94eeae3d8d9e
27 April 2013
Ieropoulos, I.
6c580270-3e08-430a-9f49-7fbe869daf13
Greenman, J.
eb3d9b82-7cac-4442-9301-f34884ae4a16
Lewis, D.
7048bb53-cd51-4882-a6c7-dfac763e7d5b
Knoop, O.
166dbd57-4c96-4e1c-b82a-94eeae3d8d9e
Ieropoulos, I., Greenman, J., Lewis, D. and Knoop, O.
(2013)
Energy production and sanitation improvement using microbial fuel cells.
Journal of Water Sanitation and Hygiene for Development, 3 (3), .
(doi:10.2166/washdev.2013.117).
Abstract
This study builds on the previous work of urine utilisation and uses small-scale microbial fuel cells (MFCs), working both as individual units in cascade or collectively as a stack, to utilise artificial urine. Artificial urine was prepared at concentrations typically found in real human urine with peptone employed as a surrogate proteinacious component. MFCs were constructed from Nanocure® polymer using rapid prototype technology. The anode and cathode electrodes were made of 15 cm2 carbon veil, folded down to fit in the 1 mL chambers. Eight MFCs were inoculated using activated anaerobic sludge; after 17 days of fed batch mode they were switched to continuous flow, initially at 0.09 mL/h and subsequently at 0.43 mL/h, resulting in HRT of 12.69 minutes/MFC. MFCs showed stable performance following the maturing period and produced, under polarisation experiments, peak power levels of 117 μW, corresponding to 962.94 W/m3. Continuous flow experiments data showed higher power production, increasing with the concentration of the carbon/energy source within artificial urine. The work demonstrates that artificial urine of varying composition can be successfully utilised for the production of energy and concomitant cleanup of organic waste. Finally, in line with the practical implementation and robotics work in our group, the small-scale MFCs were configured into a stack and directly energised electronic devices.
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Published date: 27 April 2013
Keywords:
microbial fuel cells, practical application, sanitation, urine, waste utilisation
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Local EPrints ID: 454631
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/454631
ISSN: 2043-9083
PURE UUID: 80b1f874-99f1-4f57-a681-4c21dbaabf68
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Date deposited: 17 Feb 2022 17:40
Last modified: 17 Mar 2024 04:10
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Author:
J. Greenman
Author:
D. Lewis
Author:
O. Knoop
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