Bioelectricity from students’ hostel waste water using microbial fuel cell

Abstract

Microbial fuel was constructed using two liter plastic transparent chambers representing the cathode and anode poles. The electrodes used were carbon and copper which were utilized in producing a carboncarbon and copper-copper fuel cells respectively. A 1% sodium chloride and 2% agar proton exchange membrane was used to connect both chambers of the fuel cells. Waste water generated from students' hostel in Federal University of Technology Owerri [FUTO], Nigeria, was used as the substrate for pitching both fuel cells. An initial voltage of 308 mV and 338 mV were recorded for both fuel cells. The voltage was monitored for 14 days. During this period a maximum of 0.81 V and 0.62 to 0.02 V were recorded for the copper-copper and carbon-carbon fuel cells, respectively. The voltage production resembled typical growth curve with the performance of the copper-copper fuel cell being better than the carbon-carbon fuel cell in consistency. When both fuel cells were connected in series, a combined voltage of 138 mV (1.38 V) was obtained indicating that arranging the cells in series yielded a maximum output. When the microbial biofilm of both electrodes were analyzed, the microbial population included both aerobic and anaerobic bacteria which included the following: Bacillus spp., Corynebacterium spp., Staphylococcus spp., Enterococcus spp. and Micrococcus spp. This research demonstrates that microorganisms have the capacity to produce electricity using domestic wastewater as substrate.

A comparative study on treatment of wastewaters with various biodegradability and various pH values using single‐chamber microbial fuel cells

“…Wastewater has recently been considered to represent a valuable source of energy rather than waste. This consideration has led to changing wastewater handling in an attempt to recover energy from it (Li et al, ; Adeleye and Okorondu, ). Wastewater can be high biodegradable, such as domestic wastewater that contains highly biodegradable organic matter, or can have low biodegradability, such as wastewater generated from several industrial activities (Ahmed et al, ; Safwat and Matta, ).…”

Abattoir Wastewater Treatment and Energy Recovery Using a Ferricyanide-Catholyte Microbial Fuel Cell

“…The maximum OCV generated in this study was low when compared to the report of Momoh and Naeyor [18] but higher than that of Adeleye and Okorondu [16]. This low OCV will translate to low power density [7].…”

“…Later on, the MFC maintained fairly stable reading towards the end of the experiment (19th and 20th day). The flunctuations are caused by the different potentials produced by mixed cultures while utilizing the substrate until a stable community is attained [16,7].…”

“…The microbial fuel cell was constructed according to methods described by Adeleye and Okorondu [16]. Two H shaped (dual chamber) microbial fuel cells (DCMFC) were constructed with four transparent polyacrylic containers (1litre volume each).…”

Application of Different Organic Wastes for Electricity Generation by Means of Double Chambered Microbial Fuel Cell Technology

“…Using modified Adeleye and Okorondu [1] method, a ½ inch PVC pipe was cut 8 cm to make a salt bridge. A ½ inch adopter was used to construct a T-junction salt bridge.…”