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INTRODUCTION
Increasing concerns about global warming and fossil fuel costs has necessitated the search for alternative sources of energy. The present-day energy scenario in India and around the globe is precarious, thus driving to the search of alternative to fossil fuels. Trapping renewable energy from organic sources is the present trend of active research. In this direction, bioelectricity generation through Photo Fuel Cells (PFCs) using a variety of biocatalyst is being studied extensively. In photo fuel cell the greenhouse gas emission is reduced to zero since the gas emitted is mainly oxygen. In our fuel cell, we use the biocatalyst to split water into hydrogen ions and oxygen. The hydrogen ions generated during this photolysis travels across the proton exchange membrane and the electrons move in the external circuit. The fuel cell contains two sections, in one we have the biocatalyst and in the other section we have a proton acceptor which is reduced to a lower energy state. These two sections are separated by a semi permeable membrane, that is, the proton exchange membrane. Important factor was the scaling up of the fuel cell; the fuel cell can be stacked up in appropriate series and parallel connections to provide the required power rating. Fuel cell power generation systems in operation today achieve 40 % fuel-to-electricity efficiency utilizing hydrocarbon fuels. Since fuel cells operate silently, they reduce noise pollution as well as air pollution and when the fuel cell is sited near the point of use, its waste heat can be captured for beneficial purposes.
2. WORKING PRINCIPLE
Photo fuel cells (PFCs) offer an alternative way to obtain electricity from the hydrolysis and fermentation of algae in only one process unit. PFCs consist of an anode and cathode connected by a load. The anode contains biocatalyst that is used to catalyze the decomposition of the organic matter into electrons and protons. Power is produced through the reduction of oxygen or another chemical at the cathode. Research on photo fuel cells (biofuel cells) has received increased attention as a means to produce green electricity from natural substrates, such as carbohydrates. Interest has focused on three main types: heterotrophic, photoheterotrophic and sediment cells.
Anode reaction: Type of Biocatalys : Chloroplast extract Reaction: Photolysis of water [6] 2H2O + 2 Photons Type of Biocatalyst: Chlorella Reaction: Photolysis of water and Carbon metabolism [6] y(CH2O) + y H2O Cathode reaction: [Fe(CN)6]3 + e 4 e- + 4 H+ + O2 [Fe(CN)6]4 2H2O y CO2 + 4y e- + 4y H+ 2 e- + 2 H+ + O2
TYPES OF BIOCATALYST
CHLOROPLAST Chloroplasts are organelles found in plant cells and eukaryotic algae that conduct photosynthesis. Chloroplasts absorb sunlight and use it in conjunction with water and carbon dioxide to produce sugars. Chloroplasts capture light energy from the sun to conserve free energy in the form of ATP and reduce NADP to NADPH through a complex set of processes called photosynthesis. It is derived from the Greek words chloros which
means green and plast which means form or entity. Chloroplasts are members of a class of organelles known as plastids. CHLORELLA Chlorella is a genus of single-celled green algae, belonging to the phylum Chlorophyta. It is spherical in shape, about 2 to 10m in diameter, and is without flagella. Chlorella Contains the green photosynthetic pigments chlorophyll-a and chlorophyll-b in its chloroplast. Through photosynthesis it multiplies rapidly requiring only carbon dioxide, water, sunlight, and a small amount of minerals to reproduce.
3. Transfer the pellet into a conical flask which contains the medium for Chlorella 4. Expose the conical flask to sunlight for 7-10 days. Medium for Chlorella Potassium nitrate Magnesium sulphate Potassium di-hydrogen Phosphate Water II. FUEL CELL SETUP [1] 1. Cut out the Carbon tissue electrodes according to the fuel cell dimensions (6x5) cmsq. 2. Soak the membrane in the buffer and assemble the fuel cell according to the instructions. Fix the carbon electrodes in the fuel cell and keep the ends protruding out of the cell so that the voltage and current values can be taken. Keep the cation exchange membrane in between the electrode and make sure that the electrodes do no touch the membrane.Tight the screws provided on the fuel cell so that the electrodes and the membrane will be intact inside the fuel cell. Ensure that the whole cell setup us leak proof. - 0.030 M - 0.018 M - 0.012 M - 1 Liter
3. Fill up one chamber of the fuel with the chlorella obtained in the previous procedures. The other chamber is filled with 0.002M Potassium Ferricyanide solution. 4. Expose the chamber containing the chlorella solution to sunlight. Care must be taken to there is no direct exposure to sunlight to avoid membrane damage. 5. Measure the potential difference, current produced at regular intervals.
Current (mA)
Time (min) From the graph it can be clearly seen that the rate of current generation decreases with increase in time. The presence of an electron transporter (methylene blue) in case of chloroplast extract causes slight increase in current values. The following can be explained by the ability of the electron transporter to transport electrons from chloroplast surface to
the electrodes. It should also be noted that the working efficiency of chloroplast is restricted to a particular set of wavelength of light which is not the case for chlorella as the chloroplast in chlorella are protected by cell wall and cell membranes, thereby preserving the catalytic efficiency of chloroplast in chlorella. The efficiency of chlorella in generating electricity decreases due to the settling of chlorella in the anode chamber. And this can be countered by use of appropriate buffer solutions and solution stabilizers.
V olt ag e (V )
Time (min)
The theoretical voltage generated by the PFCs is about 1.1 V. the maximum voltage obtained by chloroplast extract and chlorella converges to about 0.6 V. It can also be seen that the power generated by chlorella in the anode chamber is greater than the power generated by chloroplast extract. This is due to by the coupling of photolysis and carbon metabolism.
The voltage generated in presence of electron transporter is additive due to the presence of the electron transporter. It has also been noted that the area of the light window increases the rate of photolysis thereby increasing the overall power output. Increase in area of the electrode also increases the power due to greater probability of electron capture.
WORK
Area of light window It has been observed that the area of the light window increase current values, as the proton flux increases. This can be explained as light falls on chlorella/ chloroplast thereby photolysis of water occurs. Surface area of the electrodes. Life span of biocatalysts. The life span of the catalysts play an important role, it has to be noted that chlorella being a living microbe has the ability to reproduce, when in comparison to chloroplast the present acts as a multi subunit enzyme assembly. Wavelength of light used. Chloroplast tends to become inactive in presence of white light hence showing their narrow band wavelength for the activity of enzyme assembly. Chlorella works effectively in white conditions as the chloroplast in chlorella are protected by cell wall, cell membrane before the light reaching chloroplasts enzyme assembly.
Scale-Up:
When cells are connected in series, theoretically the voltage will be increased to the sum of the cells connected. Practically we can obtain nearby values when connected in series.
FUTURE WORK
CONTINUOUS FLOW MIXED PHOTOBIOREACTOR A photo bioreactor can be used for the continuous production of electric current at a higher rate. It produces biomass material using a continuous flow of liquid growth media. And keep all the cells in suspension.(Clauwaert, P., Boon, N., Van der ha,2007)
Continuous Flow Mixed Photobioreactor A photo bioreactor (PBR) is a bioreactor which incorporates some type of light source. Virtually any translucent container could be called a PBR; however the term is more commonly used to define a closed system, as opposed to an open tank or pond[8]. Photo bioreactors are used These to grow small use phototrophic organisms light such as cyanobacteria, algae. organisms through photosynthesis as
their energy source and do not require sugars or lipids as energy source. Consequently, risk of contamination with other organisms like bacteria or fungi is lower in photo bioreactors when compared to bioreactors for heterotrophic organisms.
Novel Circulating Loop Photo bioreactor An increase in light intensity has proven to increase the growth rate of C. vulgaris. Also, the best concentration for growth of C. vulgaris has been found to be 5% CO2. A combination of the best CO2 concentration at a higher light intensity and additional 8 hour dark phase could further enhance growth rates. Hence we can use this for large power requirements [9].
6. APPLICATIONS
Today we face an extreme energy crisis and in such a situation it is obvious that an alternate source of energy such as microbial fuel cells would help ease the dependence on fossil fuels. These are also very small and compatible and therefore represent the ideal source of energy for small units such as laptops, computers, home appliances, photo detectors, etc. By proper scale up and design these microbial fuel cells can be employed in much larger operations also.
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7. CONCLUSION
It can be concluded that chlorella has higher performance compared to chloroplast extract. The presence of two side by side reaction taking place in chlorella adds to better performance. Chlorella can be widely used all through the visible spectrum. Better performance can be obtained by maintaining chlorella in suspension or immobilizing it on a conducting electrode. The disadvantage of using chlorella can also be countered by use of appropriate buffer solution and keeping the chlorella in suspension. By the experiment conducted we can conclude that, when the cell is exposed to sunlight, the current and voltage production increases drastically. This is due to the high intensity of sunlight (4500lux) compared to tube light (800 lux) so the reaction rate is high, thus current production is more. Hence we can conclude the more intensity, the higher the rate of reaction. While conducting the experiment, we came to another conclusion that when the surface area of electrode is increased there is an increase in current production rate. This is due to more available area for the electron transfer. More number of electrons gets transported, hence increasing the current production.
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8. REFERENCE
1) Allen, R.M., Bennetto, H.P., 1993. Microbial fuel cells: electricity production from carbohydrates. Appl. Biochem. Biotechnol. 39/40, 2749. 2) Becker, W. (2004). Microalgae in human and animal nutrition. In: Richmond, editor. Handbook of microalgal culture: biotechnology and applied phycology. Blackwell Publishers (312-346). 3) de-Bashan LE, Hernandez J-P, Morey T, Bashan Y. 2004. Microalgae growthpromoting bacteria as helpers for microalgae: A novel approach for removing ammonium and phosphorus from municipal wastewater. Water Res 38(2):466474. 4) Delsaney, G.M., Bennetto, H.P., Mason, J.R., Roller, H.D.,Stirling, J.L., and Thurston, C.F. 1984. Electron-transfer coupling in microbial fuel cells: 2. Performance of fuel cells containing selected micoorganism-mediator-substrate combinations. J Chem. Tech. Biotechnol., 34B: 1327 5) Fogg, G. E. (1994). The metabolism of algae. New York: John Wiley & sons, Inc 6) Hartman E. 2008. A promising oil alternative: Algae energy. The Washington Post. p. N06. 7) HE Hui1, FENG Ya-li, LI Hao-ran, LI Ding-jie. Construction of a Microbial Fuel Cell Using Chlorella vulgaris The Chinese Journal of Process Engineering Vol.9 No.1 Feb. 2009 8) Kleinheinz, G. T., & Keffer, J. E. (2002). Use of Chlorella vulgaris for carbon dioxide mitigation in a photobioreactor. Journal of Industrial Microbiology and Biotechnology, 275-280
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9) Hideo Ochiai, Hitoshi Shibata, Yoshihiro Sawa, Takashi Katoh Living Electrode as a long-lived photoconverter for biophotolysis of water Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA (Biochemistry) [May 1980; Vol 77 No. 5; 2442-2444]
TECHNICAL WRITING
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UNSTEADY STATE HEAT TRANSFER IN EXTERNALLY HEATED MAGNESIO THERMIC REDUCTION REACTOR: AN OVERVIEW
By Prof. Abanti Sahoo Presented in the Department of Chemical Engineering, NIT Rourkela, Odisha, India. Dated 3rd June, 2011. The seminar was on studying heat and temperature profile of reactor used for carrying out the magnesio thermic reduction process for the production of uranium which involves reduction of uranium tetra fluoride with magnesium in a sealed reactor. The process is highly exothermic and generates very high temperature in the core region. Simulations are carried out using a computational fluid dynamics (CFD) and heat transfer solver to study the temperature profiles inside the reactor including its lining. The results are studied for both preheating and reaction stage.
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ANALYSIS OF BED VOIDAGE CHARACTERISTIC OF A GASLIQUID-SOLID FLUIDIZED BED BY CFD SIMULATION AND EXPERIMENT
By Prof. Hara Mohan Jena Presented in the Department of Chemical Engineering, NIT Rourkela, Odisha, India. Dated 15th September, 2011. Three phase fluidized beds are used extensively in the refining, petrochemical, pharmaceutical, biotechnology, food and environmental industries. Some of these processes use solids whose densities are only slightly higher than the density of water. Because of the good heat and mass transfer characteristics, three-phase fluidized beds or slurry bubble columns have gained considerable importance in their application in physical, chemical, petrochemical, electrochemical and biochemical processes. An overview of the methodology used in CFD to solve problems relating mass, momentum and heat transfer. Also comparative study of various CFD related software .The details about problem description and approach used in FLEUNT to get the solution. A comparison of CFD results with experimental was done which show good agreement with less than 15% error.
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BIOCHIP
By A.L.G.N.Aditya, M.S.Vamsi Krishna, K.Sindhu Presented in National Student Convention, NIT ROURKELA,Odisha,India Dated-3rd september The seminar bring in light to evolution of computation from dry lab to wet lab that are capable of solving modern day mathematical problems and of data storage. The silicon processors in are gradually reaching saturation so naturally some suitable alternative has to be found to cope up with generation and time along with the problem. Conventional silicon-based computers have an Upper limit in terms of speed; they have been searching for alternative media with which to solve computational problems the search has led them to DNA. In order to do computations, you only need two things: a means of sorting information and means of manipulating information. In this article we analyzed about the structure of DNA, means of manipulating and sorting, computer construction, DNA chips as memory units and implemented to use DNA molecules for memory. This mainly explains Von Neumann structures and Hamilton path problem to describe the method of analyzing them.
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