Effect of Supporting Carbon Fiber Anode by Activated Coconut Carbon in the Microbial Fuel Cell Fed by Molasses Decoction from Yeast Production

Paweł P. Włodarczyk () and Barbara Włodarczyk ()
Additional contact information
Paweł P. Włodarczyk: Institute of Environmental Engineering and Biotechnology, University of Opole, ul. Kominka 6a, 45-032 Opole, Poland
Barbara Włodarczyk: Institute of Environmental Engineering and Biotechnology, University of Opole, ul. Kominka 6a, 45-032 Opole, Poland

Energies, 2024, vol. 17, issue 15, 1-13

Abstract: A microbial fuel cell (MFC) is a bioelectrochemical system that generates electrical energy using electroactive micro-organisms. These micro-organisms convert chemical energy found in substances like wastewater into electrical energy while simultaneously treating the wastewater. Thus, MFCs serve a dual purpose, generating energy and enhancing wastewater treatment processes. Due to the high construction costs of MFCs, there is an ongoing search for alternative solutions to improve their efficiency and reduce production costs. This study aimed to improvement of MFC operation and minimize MFC costs by using anode material derived from by-products. Therefore, the proton exchange membrane (PEM) was abandoned, and a stainless steel cathode and a carbon anode were used. To improve the cell’s efficiency, a carbon fiber anode supplemented with activated coconut carbon (ACCcfA) was utilized. Micro-organisms were provided with molasses decoction (a by-product of yeast production) to supply the necessary nutrients for optimal functioning. For comparison, an anode made solely of carbon fibers (CFA) and an anode composed of activated carbon grains without carbon fibers (ACCgA) were also tested. The results indicated that the ACCcfA system achieved the highest cell voltage, power density, and COD reduction efficiency (compared to the CFA and ACCgA electrodes). Additionally, the study demonstrated that incorporating activated coconut carbon significantly enhances the performance of the MFC when powered by a by-product of yeast production.

Keywords: bioelectricity; bioenergy; microbial fuel cell (MFC); carbon anode; by-product; environmental engineering; renewable energy source (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q Q0 Q4 Q40 Q41 Q42 Q43 Q47 Q48 Q49 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2024
References: View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/17/15/3607/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/17/15/3607/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jeners:v:17:y:2024:i:15:p:3607-:d:1440760

Access Statistics for this article

Energies is currently edited by Ms. Agatha Cao

More articles in Energies from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().