Improvement of the Power Density of Microbial Fuel Cells
School Name
Center For Advanced Technical Studies
Grade Level
10th Grade
Presentation Topic
Environmental Science
Presentation Type
Non-Mentored
Abstract
Water and energy are two of the most precious resources to today's societies. Microbial fuel cells (MFCs) could secure energy neutral clean water by filtering waste water and using sludge collected to power the filtration, thus creating energy neutral clean water filtration. To accomplish this, the technology behind MFCs require optimization. The first of these variables to be optimized is temperature. It is hypothesized the metabolism of a MFCs will be higher at higher temperatures. In order to measure the metabolism of a MFC, the voltage produced by the microbes must be recorded. To accurately compare MFC performance at different temperatures, six identical MFCs were constructed, three were left unheated at about 71° F for 48 hours and the other three were placed on a heated blanket that warms them to about 93.7° F for 48 hours. As expected, the heated MFCs performed better with the average maximum value being 0.62v compared to the 0.263v. This shows that MFCs function better in warmer environments, this is because the microbes metabolism is sped up at the higher temperature which would mean they produce more electrons and in turn higher voltages. These results prove the hypothesis that the metabolism of a MFC is higher at higher temperatures.
Recommended Citation
Brewer, Isaac, "Improvement of the Power Density of Microbial Fuel Cells" (2020). South Carolina Junior Academy of Science. 288.
https://scholarexchange.furman.edu/scjas/2020/all/288
Location
Furman Hall 229
Start Date
3-28-2020 9:00 AM
Presentation Format
Oral Only
Group Project
No
Improvement of the Power Density of Microbial Fuel Cells
Furman Hall 229
Water and energy are two of the most precious resources to today's societies. Microbial fuel cells (MFCs) could secure energy neutral clean water by filtering waste water and using sludge collected to power the filtration, thus creating energy neutral clean water filtration. To accomplish this, the technology behind MFCs require optimization. The first of these variables to be optimized is temperature. It is hypothesized the metabolism of a MFCs will be higher at higher temperatures. In order to measure the metabolism of a MFC, the voltage produced by the microbes must be recorded. To accurately compare MFC performance at different temperatures, six identical MFCs were constructed, three were left unheated at about 71° F for 48 hours and the other three were placed on a heated blanket that warms them to about 93.7° F for 48 hours. As expected, the heated MFCs performed better with the average maximum value being 0.62v compared to the 0.263v. This shows that MFCs function better in warmer environments, this is because the microbes metabolism is sped up at the higher temperature which would mean they produce more electrons and in turn higher voltages. These results prove the hypothesis that the metabolism of a MFC is higher at higher temperatures.
