Sustainable electricity generation by biodegradation of low-cost lemon peel biomass in a dual chamber microbial fuel cell

• Bioelectricity is generated by biodegradation of lemon peel waste (LPW) in MFC.
• A stable voltage of 0.58 ± 0.02 V is achieved at LPW concentration of 0.5–1.5 g l−1.
• Ultrasonication enhances cumulative power by increasing the degradation kinetics.
• Effective temperature determined for additional cumulative power is 30–35 °C.

Microbial fuel cells (MFCs) are envisaged as an emerging cost effective technology for organic waste treatment and simultaneous bioelectricity generation. In this work, the potential use of lemon peel waste for bioenergy generation was investigated in a dual chamber MFC. A stable voltage generation of 0.58 ± 0.02 V (500 Ω external resistor) at peel waste concentrations of 0.5–1.5 g l−1 was achieved. A maximum power density of 371 ± 30 mW m−2, corresponding to a current density of 994 ± 41 mA m−2, was obtained at an initial peel waste concentration of 1.0 g l−1. Performance characteristics in terms of coulombic efficiency and internal resistance obtained by the MFC at this initial concentration were 32.3% and 143 Ω, respectively. The effect of sonication time, temperature, and external resistance were also studied to determine the maximum level of cumulative power generation. These preliminary results clearly indicate that the carbon source present in lemon peel waste can be utilized by exoelectrogens present in the anodic chamber, and that it ultimately releases electrons, which results in the generation of cell voltage.

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