Article ID | Journal | Published Year | Pages | File Type |
---|---|---|---|---|
6602985 | Electrochimica Acta | 2018 | 8 Pages |
Abstract
This work focuses on scaling-up of the microbial fuel cells technology according to the principle of miniaturization and multiplication. Seven stacks of 16 mini-MFCs (electrodic area of 0.866â¯cm2) were built up leading to a big module of 112â¯MFCs. The electrical connection among the MFCs in the stacks and among the stacks into the modules was optimized in order to implement this technology. Results show that 1â¯MFC generates 1.22â¯mW while the optimization of the electric connection in order to achieve the maximum power results in 6.62â¯mW compared to the theoretical 182â¯mW, indicating the existence of large energy losses in the system. However, to light a LED there is not a threshold power but there are input voltage (2.6â¯V) and input current (0.020â¯mA) requirements. For this reason, another optimization of the electrical configuration was carried out to satisfy the threshold values of voltage and current and a strip of 220 LEDs was illuminated for several days. Furthermore, robustness of the MFC technology was confirmed after operating simultaneously 112â¯MFCs with reproducible performance for 30 days.
Related Topics
Physical Sciences and Engineering
Chemical Engineering
Chemical Engineering (General)
Authors
S. Mateo, A. Cantone, P. Cañizares, F.J. Fernández-Morales, O. Scialdone, M.A. Rodrigo,