Experimental Study and Numerical Calculations to Increase the Electricity Generation of Microbial Fuel Cells (MFCs): A Comparison for Creating Voltages using Various Bacteria from Waste Materials

OpenAlex · English

MFC is a significant devices that enable the generation of electricity through anaerobic fermentation of waste materials using microbes as bio-catalysts. Since this work focuses on the electricity production of microbial fuel cells (MFCs) of various bacteria from waste materials, we studied the efficiency of industrial waste materials and soil composition containing several bacteria, including E. coli, Shewanella putrefaciens, Geobacter sulfurreducens, and Lactobacillus, that are able to create large amounts of suitable electrical power through the MFC. We followed two main approaches in this work: first, testing the efficiency of MFCs, such as the percentage of organic matter in each sample; and second, evaluating the electrical capacity of MFCs due to thermal limits. To study the process performance, the effects of temperature, structures, dimensions, and the distance between the cathodic and anodic chambers on the electrical power were investigated, and the amperage and voltage outputs from electrochemical and microbial cells were recorded. Additionally, in this work, we modeled a steady state using mathematical simulation based on mass, charge, and energy balances for MFCs. The data obtained from the numerical calculation matched our experimental results exactly. Finally, in contrast to most MFC work, which has long-term targets for renewable energy from wastewater, this study can be used immediately in practice. This work also confirms that the electricity production of MFCs can be increased by selecting appropriate conditions for sample type, temperature, and chamber size.