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Microbial Fuel Cells: Power & Waste Management

1) Microbial fuel cells use bacteria and mimic natural bacterial interactions to generate electricity from organic and inorganic matter. 2) Early microbial fuel cells used mediator chemicals to transfer electrons from bacteria to anodes, but newer unmediated designs use bacteria with electrochemically active proteins that directly transfer electrons. 3) Inside microbial fuel cells, bacteria in the anaerobic chamber break down pollutants and transfer electrons through their outer membranes to the anode, while in the aerobic chamber oxygen is reduced, producing clean water and electricity.

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Priyanshi Mishra
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104 views19 pages

Microbial Fuel Cells: Power & Waste Management

1) Microbial fuel cells use bacteria and mimic natural bacterial interactions to generate electricity from organic and inorganic matter. 2) Early microbial fuel cells used mediator chemicals to transfer electrons from bacteria to anodes, but newer unmediated designs use bacteria with electrochemically active proteins that directly transfer electrons. 3) Inside microbial fuel cells, bacteria in the anaerobic chamber break down pollutants and transfer electrons through their outer membranes to the anode, while in the aerobic chamber oxygen is reduced, producing clean water and electricity.

Uploaded by

Priyanshi Mishra
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PPTX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd

CHANGING SCENARIO OF MICROBES IN NEW ERA

MICROBIAL FUEL CELL


A N I M M I N E N T R E S O U R C E O F P OW E R
G E N E R AT I O N & W A S T E W AT E R M A N A G E M E N T

BY –
K A R T I K E Y G A U R & S W AT I G U P TA
[Link]. LIFE SCIENCE (SEM VI)
D E E N D AYA L U PA D H YAYA C O L L E G E ,
UNIVERSITY OF DELHI
WHAT IT TAKES TO LIGHT A BULB?
THE TIME EFFECT
THE TIME EFFECT
In 1911, Dr. M.C. Potter
managed to generate
electricity
from Saccharomyces
cerevisiae
In 1931, Branet Cohen
created microbial half fuel
cells that, when connected
in series, were capable of
producing over 35 volts with
only a current of 2 milliamps.
FUEL CELL
A fuel cell is a device that converts chemical potential energy (energy stored in molecular bonds) into
electrical energy. A PEM (Proton Exchange Membrane) cell uses hydrogen gas (H2) and oxygen gas (O2) as
fuel. The products of the reaction in the cell are water, electricity, and heat.
MICROBIAL FUEL CELL (MFC)
A Microbial Fuel Cell is a bioelectrochemical system that drives an electric current by using
bacteria and mimicking bacterial interactions found in nature.

They are of two types –

1) Mediated MFC – Earliest MFCs that used a Mediator Chemicals such as Methyl Blue, Humic
Acid, Thionine, etc. to transfer electrons from the bacteria to the Anode. (Downside – Most of
these chemicals are toxic and expensive)

2) Unmediated/ Mediator Free MFC – Emerged in the late 20th Century in which the bacteria
typically have electrochemically active Redox proteins such as Cytochromes on outer
membrane that can transfer electrons directly to the Anode via Pili
WHAT ACTUALLY HAPPENS INSIDE A
MFC?
Some Bacteria
used for MFC–
 Escherichia coli
 Geobacter
sulphurreducens 1
(Firmicutes)
 Deltaproteo bacterium
 Shewanella 2
putrefaciens

Anaerobic Aerobic
Chamber Chamber

BIOFILM PEM
O O
Working
e-
e-
e-
H+
Electricity is produced
O O
of MFC
O C O O
H+ H H
O
OH
H+ H
O C O H H
O C O O O O
H+ H H
O O
H+ C O H H
H+O C O
O O
O
HO H
H+
O C O H H
O C O O
H+
O C O H OH
H H O O
O
H+ C O O
O
H+ C O H H

Bacteria break down organic Clean Water as a


Fluid Waste
byproduct
pollutants
ACTUAL MFC PROTOTYPE

Single Chamber Double Chamber


If MFCs are so
beneficial, then why
aren’t we using it in our
Sewage Treatment
Plants?
Present Efficiency of MFCs

Ref.-[Link]
RECENT ADVANCES
CURRENT SHORTCOMINGS
• It is relatively a new technology and has not been widely researched, until the
past few decades.
• At this moment, the biggest concern is trying to obtain appreciable current
levels which could actually generate enough power to drive vehicles and heavy
machineries .
• Till now, Current Levels are around 14 mA which means they can be used to
power very basic components only.
CONCLUSION
• Scaling up the energy generation by the use of Superconductor material in
electrode, so as to prevent the escape of electrons in the solution.
• Biotechnology can be incorporated to enhance the number of Pili on the
Bacterial surface so as to improve the natural nanowiring i.e. the attachment to
the anode.
• As research is going on in many Indian Institutes like IISc, IISER and IITs we are
unfolding new and promising potentials of the Microbial Fuel Cell.
THANK YOU

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