JAWAHAR NAVODAYA VIDYALAYA

SARAIPALI, MAHASAMUND
(CHHATTISGARH)

Bio-electricity production
by
Microbial Fuel Cell
Presented by
KKpatel

Microbial fuel cell

 Bio-electricity production by
Microbial Fuel Cell
Student :- Tuleshwar Sagar School:-

JNV Saraipali (Mahasamund)

Teacher:- S.K.Pradhan

K.K.Patel

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Introduction:-
IT is evident that humankind is increasingly dependent on
energy with the advancement of science and technology.
The present-day energy scenario in India and around the
globe is precarious, thus driving to the search of alternative
to fossil fuels. Increasing energy consumption creates
unbalanced
energy management and requires power sources
that are able to sustain for longer periods1. Trapping
renewable
energy from waste organic sources is the present
trend of active research. In this direction, bioelectricity
generation through microbial fuel cells (MFCs) using a
variety of substrates, including wastewater is being studied
extensively.

Scientific Principle involved:-

A microbial fuel cell is a device that converts chemical
energy to electrical energy by the catalytic reaction of
microorganisms (Allen and Bennetto, 1993). A typical
microbial fuel cell consists of anode and cathode
compartments separated by a cation specific membrane. In
the anode compartment, fuel is oxidized by microorganisms,
generating electrons and protons. Electrons are transferred
to the cathode compartment through an external electric
circuit, and the protons are transferred to the cathode
compartment through the membrane. Electrons and protons
are consumed in the cathode compartment, combining with
oxygen to form water. In general, there are two types of
microbial fuel cells, mediator and mediator-less microbial
fuel cells. Biological fuel cells take glucose and methanol
from food scraps and convert it into hydrogen and food for
the bacteria.

Mediator Microbial Fuel Cell

Most of the microbial cells are electrochemically inactive.

The electron transfer from microbial cells to the electrode is
facilitated by mediators such as thionine, methyl viologen,
methyl blue, humic acid, neutral red and so on (Delaney et
al., 1984; Lithgow et al., 1986). Most of the mediators
available are expensive and toxic.

Mediator-less Microbial Fuel Cell

Mediator-less microbial fuel cells have been engineered at

the Korea Institute of Science and Technology [1], by a team
led by Kim, Byung Hong[2]. A mediator-less microbial fuel
cell does not require a mediator but uses electrochemically
active bacteria to transfer electrons to the electrode
(electrons are carried directly from the bacterial respiratory
enzyme to the electrode). Among the electrochemically
active bacteria are, Shewanella putrefaciens (Kim et al.,
1999a), Aeromonas hydrophila (Cuong et al., 2003), and
others.

Mediator-less MFCs are a much more recent development

and due to this the factors that affect optimum operation,
such as the bacteria used in the system, the type of ion
membrane, and the system conditions such as temperature,
are not particularly well understood. Bacteria in mediator-
less MFCs typically have electrochemically-active redox
enzymes such as cytochromes on their outer membrane that
can transfer electrons to external materials (Min, et al.,
2005).

General priniciples of microbial fuel cells

A microbial fuel cell (MFC) converts chemical energy,
available in a bio-convertible substrate, directly into
electricity. To achieve this, bacteria are used as a catalyst
to convert substrate into electrons.

Bacteria are very small (size appr. 1 µm) organisms which can convert a
huge variety of organic compounds into CO2, water and energy. The micro-
organsisms use the produced energy to grow and to maintain there
metabolism. However, by using a MFC we can harvest a part of this
microbial energy in the form of electricity.A MFC consists of an anode, a
cathode, a proton or cation exchange membrane and an electrical ciruit.
 A General layout of a MFC in which in the anodic
compartment the bacteria can bring about oxidative
conversions while in the cathodic compartment
chemical and microbial reductive processes can occur

The bacteria live in the anode and convert a substrate such

as glucose, acetate but also waste water into CO2, protons
and electrons. Under aerobic conditions, bacteria use oxygen
or nitrate as a final electron acceptor to produce water.
However, in the anode of a MFC, no oxygen is present and
bacteria need to switch from their natural electron acceptor
to an insoluble acceptor, such as the MFC anode. Due to the
ability of bacteria to transfer electrons to an insoluble
electron acceptor, we can use a MFC to collect the electrons
originating from the microbial metabolism. The electron
transfer can occur either via membrane-associated
components, soluble electron shuttles or nano-wires.

The electrons then flow through an electrical circuit with

a load or a resistor to the cathode. The potential
difference (Volt) between the anode and the cathode,
together with the flow of electrons (Ampere) results in the
generation of electrical power (Watt).

The protons flow through the proton or cation exchange

membrane to the cathode.

At the cathode, an electron acceptor is chemically reduced.

Idealy, oxygen is reduced to water. To obtain a sufficient
oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) rate a Platina-catalyst has
to be used. However, many researchers have tried to used
other non-noble metal catalysts.
Generating electricity:-

When micro-organisms consume a substrate such as sugar

in aerobic conditions they produce carbon dioxide and water.
However when oxygen is not present they produce carbon
dioxide, protons and electrons as described below (Bennetto,
1990):

C12H22O11 + 13H2O ---> 12CO2 + 48H+ + 48e-

In first Chamber

Microbial fuel cells use inorganic mediators to tap into the

electron transport chain of cells and steal the electrons that
are produced. The mediator crosses the outer cell lipid
membranes and plasma wall; it then begins to liberate
electrons from the electron transport chain that would
normally be taken up by oxygen or other intermediates. The
now-reduced mediator exits the cell laden with electrons
that it shuttles to an electrode where it deposits them; this
electrode becomes the electro-generic anode (negatively
charged electrode). The release of the electrons means that
the mediator returns to its original oxidised state ready to
repeat the process. It is important to note that this can only
happen under anaerobic conditions, if oxygen is present
then it will collect all the electrons as it has a greater
electronegativity than the mediator.

A number of mediators have been suggested for use in

microbial fuel cells. These include natural red, methylene
blue, thionine or resorfuin ..
This is the principle behind generating a flow of electrons
from most micro-organisms. In order to turn this into a
usable supply of electricity this process has to be
accommodated in a fuel cell.

In order to generate a useful current it is necessary to create

a complete circuit, not just shuttle electrons to a single
point.

The mediator and micro-organism, in this case yeast, are

mixed together in a solution to which is added a suitable
substrate such as glucose. This mixture is placed in a sealed
chamber to stop oxygen entering, thus forcing the micro-
organism to use anaerobic respiration. An electrode is placed
in the solution that will act as the anode as described
previously.

In the second chamber

In the second chamber of the MFC is another solution and

electrode. This electrode, called the cathode is positively
charged and is the equivalent of the oxygen sink at the end
of the electron transport chain, only now it is external to the
biological cell. The solution is an oxidizing agent that picks
up the electrons at the cathode. As with the electron chain in
the yeast cell, this could be a number of molecules such as
oxygen. However, this is not particularly practical as it would
require large volumes of circulating gas. A more convenient
option is to use a solution of a solid oxidizing agent.
Connecting the two electrodes is a wire (or other electrically
conductive path which may include some electrically
powered device such as a light bulb) and completing the
circuit and connecting the two chambers is a salt bridge or
ion-exchange membrane. This last feature allows the protons
produced, as described in Eqt. 1 to pass from the anode
chamber to the cathode chamber.

The reduced mediator carries electrons from the cell to the

electrode. Here the mediator is oxidized as it deposits the
electrons. These then flow across the wire to the second
electrode, which acts as an electron sink. From here they
pass to an oxidising material.

Materials Used for construction

i) Two heavy duty plastic bottles with sealable lids

ii) Short section of plastic pipe (polyethylene or PVC) for salt

bridge
iii) Means to connect pipe to bottles (plastic flanges, end
caps with holes drilled)
iv) Agar Agar
v) Salt (NaCl, KCl, KNO3, etc)
vi) Graphite rod
vii)Bacteria3
viii) Food for the bacteria4
ix) Fish tank air pump with plastic tubing
x) Sealing materials (epoxy)
xi) Copper wire (plastic coated)
xii) Wires with alligator clips
xiii) Multimeter for electrical measurements

Construction & working of Microbial Fuel Cell

1. Collect materials

2. Connect end caps of flanges to bottles

* Epoxy end caps or flanges to sides of plastic bottles.

* After epoxy has hardened, drill or cut holes through plastic
bottles to allow for contact between liquid and the salt
bridge.

3. Assemble Salt Bridge

* Dissolve agar into boiling water (at concentration of

100g/L).
* Add salt to the agar/water mixture while the mixture is still
hot.
* Seal one end of plastic pipe.
* Pour agar/salt mixture into plastic pipe while it is still warm
and before it begins to thicken.
* Allow the agar/salt mixture to cool and solidify.

4. Assemble electrodes

* Connect copper wire to piece of carbon cloth.

* Use epoxy to fasten the wire to the carbon cloth and to
help protect from corrosion.
* Test electrodes with multimeter - there should be a small
amount of resistance between a point on the carbon cloth
and the end of the wire opposite the cloth.
* For anode, pass wire through a hole in the bottle lid and
seal with epoxy. Cathode chamber does not necessarily need
a lid.

5. Assemble MFC
* Connect salt bridge between the two plastic bottles and
use epoxy to seal.

Running of MFC
1. Add inoculum (wastewater, anaerobic benthic sediments)
to anode chamber

2. Add conductive solution (saltwater) to cathode chamber

3. Insert anode (connected to lid) into anode bottle. Add

cathode to cathode bottle. Begin bubbling air in cathode
bottle with fish pump.
4. Connect external circuit through a resistor, and start
measuring voltage.

Conclusion
This study documented the feasibility of bioelectricity
generation from anaerobic wastewater treatment using a
MFC fabricated with low-cost anode materials (non-coated
plain graphite electrodes), without any toxic mediators
(aerated cathode and mediator less anode). Acidophilic
(anode pH of 5.5) conditions maintained during the
experiments
using anaerobic mixed consortia also helped in
bioelectricity generation along with effective substrate
removal. The procedurewas cost-effective and
environmentally sound and sustainable due to utilization of
wastewater as substrate.
Further, power was generated in situ along with wastewater
treatment, utilizing low-cost and non-coated electrodes
and mediatorless anode. This process could be
effectively integrated to wastewater treatment plant,
wherein renewable energy could be generated from
wastewater in addition to treatment. The dual activity
could significantly reduce the cost associated with the

current wastewater treatment methods.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
I am thankful first respected S.K.Pradhan sir who
inspired me to make Microbial Fuel Cell , Which I
really enjoyed doing .Thanks are also due to
respected,Anima Baxla Madam, V.K.Patel Sir who
created interest in me & constantly encouraged me
to do this project
I am most thankful to our Principal madam
Manju Sharma , I wouldn’t have been able to
complete the project without their valuable
guidance .
Mention must be made of my friend Surendra
who tirelessly helped me in completing the work.

Prepared
by
Kk patel
 Refrences :-

Webcites:-
i) www.psu.edu
ii) www.engr.psu.edu
iii) www.microbialfuelcell.org
iv) www.live.psu.edu/story/18683
Books: i) Current Science,vol.92no. 12
ii) Logan, B.E. feature article
iii) power sources 2006
iv) Bioresour.Technol.2007 ,98,2879-2885

Guided Teacher
Principal
 1. S.K.Pradhan (Smt. Manju Sharma)
2. V.K.Patel

Other information about mfc

New fuel cell uses germs to generate electricity

The new "microbial fuel cell," an early prototype, cannot

generate enough power to run an appliance, but it can
operate virtually indefinitely without interruption, and is far
more efficient than anything like it ever built.

"We are not going to be adding to the power grid at any

significant rate soon, but with an electric lawn mower, you
could use the leaves and clippings to power up the battery
for next week."

The bacteria in the battery generate electrical current when

they feed on sugars, which are found virtually everywhere in
nature. The technology could create electricity from a wide
variety of materials, from human sewage to compost.

As it has become clear that the world will need energy

alternatives, we have turned to the idea of finding new ways
of releasing the enormous amount of energy trapped in
plants and other organic matter. This is the idea behind
ethanol, a fuel made from corn. But instead of using organic
matter to make a fuel.
The battery relies on a colony of tiny bacteria, called
Rhodoferax ferrireducens, first brought up from underground
by a research drill in Oyster Bay, Va. The bacterium is
unusual because it is able to completely break down sugars
without using oxygen. In its natural environment, the
bacterium breaks down sugars for energy and deposits
electrons on iron as a byproduct.

We placed these bacteria in a closed glass container with a

sugar solution and a graphite electrode. As the bacteria ate
the sugar, they took up residence on the electrode and
began depositing electrons on it.

When we connected a wire between the electrode and a

separate electrode exposed to the air, a current started to

flow.

We have built similar devices but they have been far less
efficient at converting the sugar to electricity. Of all the
electrons that could theoretically be moved by the process,
the battery captured more than 80 percent, compared with
less than 1 percent for a previous battery, according to the
paper.

It is interested in the device because it could be used to run

low-power antennas in remote locations without the need for
replacing batteries. The electrode could be placed at the
bottom of a pile of waste, along with a colony of the
bacteria, which would thrive in the sugar-rich, oxygen-poor
environment.

The biggest problem right now is the amount of power

generated. The test battery generates just enough energy to
power a calculator or a single Christmas tree light,. Simply
changing the electrode, so that more of the microbes can
touch it, can increase the amount of power it generates.

We have exploring the idea of genetically engineering the

microbe so that the colony delivers even more electrons to
the electrode, boosting the power.

We hopes the technology could be used to generate

electricity from sewage or other waste.

There is a scene in `Back to the Future' where they throw

a banana in the car and off it goes, We are not at that stage
yet, but this is a big step from what these fuel cells were
able to do before."

Uses

Power generation

Microbial fuel cells have a number of potential uses. The first

and most obvious is harvesting the electricity produced for a
power source. Virtually any organic material could be used
to ‘feed’ the fuel cell. MFCs could be installed to waste water
treatment plants. The bacteria would consume waste
material from the water and produce supplementary power
for the plant. The gains to be made from doing this are that
MFCs are a very clean and efficient method of energy
production. A fuel cell’s emissions are well below regulations
(Choi, et al., 2000). MFCs also use energy much more
efficiently than standard combustion engines which are
limited by the Carnot Cycle. In theory an MFC is capable of
energy efficiency far beyond 50% (Yue & Lowther, 1986).
However MFCs do not have to be used on a large scale, as
the electrodes in some cases need only be 7 μm thick by 2
cm long (Chen, et al., 2001). The advantages to using an
MFC in this situation as opposed to a normal battery is that it
uses a renewable form of energy and would not need to be
recharged like a standard battery would. In addition to this
they could operate well in mild conditions, 20°C to 40°C and
also at pH of around 7 (Bullen, et al., 2005). Although more
powerful than metal catalysts, they are currently too
unstable for long term medical applications such as in
pacemakers (Biotech/Life Sciences Portal).

Further uses

Since the current generated from a microbial fuel cell is

directly proportional to the strength of wastewater used as
the fuel, an MFC can be used to measure the strength of
wastewater (Kim, et al., 2003). The strength of wastewater is
commonly evaluated as biochemical oxygen demand (BOD)
values. BOD values are determined incubating samples for 5
days with proper source of microbes, usually activate sludge
collected from sewage works. When BOD values are used as
a real time control parameter, 5 days' incubation is too long.
An MFC-type BOD sensor can be used to measure real time
BOD values. Oxygen and nitrate are preferred electron
acceptors over the electrode reducing current generation
from an MFC. An MFC-type BOD sensors underestimate BOD
values in the presence of these electron acceptors. This can
be avoided by inhibiting aerobic and nitrate respirations in
the MFC using terminal oxydase inhibitors such as cyanide
and azide [Chang, I. S., Moon, H., Jang, J. K. and Kim, B. H.
(2005) Improvement of a microbial fuel cell performance as
a BOD sensor using respiratory inhibitors. Biosensors and
Bioelectronics 20, 1856-1859.] This type of BOD sensor is
commercially available
IT is evident that humankind is increasingly
dependent on
energy with the advancement of science and
technology.
The present-day energy scenario in India and
around the
globe is precarious, thus driving to the search
of alternative
to fossil fuels. Increasing energy consumption
creates unbalanced
energy management and requires power
sources
that are able to sustain for longer periods1.
Trapping renewable
energy from waste organic sources is the
present
trend of active research2–7. In this direction,
bioelectricity
generation through microbial fuel cells (MFCs)
using a
variety of substrates, including wastewater is
being studied
extensively2,5–17.
It is well known that microorganisms can
produce fuels
such as ethanol, methane and hydrogen from
organic matter.
More recently, it has been reported that
microorganisms
can also convert organic matter into electricity
using MFCs2–7.
MFC is a biochemically catalysed system, which
generates
electricity by oxidizing biodegradable organic
matter in the
presence of either fermentative bacteria or
enzymes2–7,18–20.
The biocatalyst present in the anode chamber
of MFC
generates electrons (e–) and protons (H+)
through anaerobic
respiration of organic substrates. Electron
transfer occurs
through the electrode (anode) integrated with
an external
circuit to the cathode. Protons diffuse through
the proton
exchange membrane (which separates the
cathode and anode
chamber) into the cathode chamber, where
they combine
with the electron acceptor. The potential
difference between
the respiratory system and electron acceptor
generates the
current and voltage needed to generate
electricity2. Harvesting
electricity from organic wastes through MFC is
an
attractive source of energy as organic waste is
‘carbonneutral’
and oxidation of organic matter only releases
recently
fixed carbon back into the atmosphere4.
According
to Lovley4, MFC could fill a niche that is
significantly
different from that of the better known abiotic
hydrogenand
methanol-driven fuel cells. Abiotic fuel cells
require
high temperatures and expensive catalysts
which are toxic,
to promote oxidation of the electron donors21.
Naturally
occurring microorganisms catalyse the
oxidation of fuels
in MFC at room temperature and could
potentially be designed to function at any
temperature at which microbial life is
possible4,6. MFC can be considered as a
promising alternative for the harnessing of
electrical energy from
various substrates using different cell
configurations, and
electron transfer mechanisms9,17,20,22–25.
Presently, research on MFCs using wastewater
as substrate
is in the initial stages of laboratory evaluation
around
the world. The reported work so far is mainly
based on using the monoculture at laboratory
level12,20,21,26. A few studieswere reported
on using wastewater as substrate for
production of electricity2–17,25. Substantial
technical and engineering challenges still
remain to achieve sustainable electricity
production at full scale. The function and
efficiency of MFCs with respect to power
generation are generally dependent on factors
such as nature of carbon source used7,20, fuel-
cell configuration (single/multiple chamber),
dimensions and volume26,27, nature and type
of electrode15,19, electron acceptors
(mediators) present in the cathode
chamber15,28, electrolytes used22, operating
temperature24, nature of inoculum
(biocatalyst) used in the anode chamber15,28,
and nature of the proton exchange
membrane25. The basic aim of the present
study is to design MFCs employing low-cost
materials without using toxic mediators, which
will have the possibility to be implemented in
the wastewater treatment plants in the
economical perspective. The designed MFC
(graphite electrode without any coating)
employing aerated cathode and mediatorless
anode was evaluated at acidophilic conditions
using anaerobic mixed consortia to enumerate
the influence of substrate/organic loading rate
(OLR) on the performance
of the MFC in terms of bioelectricity generation
from anaerobic wastewater treatment.

Conclusion
This study documented the feasibility of
bioelectricity
generation from anaerobic wastewater
treatment using a
MFC fabricated with low-cost anode materials
(non-coated
plain graphite electrodes), without any toxic
mediators
(aerated cathode and mediatorless anode).
Acidophilic
(anode pH of 5.5) conditions maintained during
the experiments
using anaerobic mixed consortia also helped in
bioelectricity generation along with effective
substrate
removal. The substrate loading rate showed
significant
influence on the overall performance of MFC
with respect
to power generation and substrate removal.
COD removal
efficiency observed in the anode chamber
enumerated the
functioning of MFC as alternative wastewater
treatment
unit in addition to renewable energy
generation. The procedurewas cost-effective
and environmentally sound and sustainable
due to utilization of wastewater as substrate.
Further, power was generated in situ along
with wastewater treatment, utilizing low-cost
and non-coated electrodes and mediatorless
anode. This process could be
effectively integrated to wastewater treatment
plant,
wherein renewable energy could be generated
from
wastewater in addition to treatment. The dual
activity
could significantly reduce the cost associated
with the
current wastewater treatment methods.

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=========== presented by KKPATEL(tgt
science)