Title :
Micromachined microbial fuel cells
Author :
Chiao, Mu ; Lam, Kien B. ; Lin, Liwei
Author_Institution :
Dept. of Mech. Eng., California Univ., Berkeley, CA, USA
Abstract :
This paper presents a micromachined microbial fuel cell as an energy source for microsystems. A microorganism, saccharomyces cerevisiae, is used to catalyse glucose that is the fuel for the cell and electricity is produced by the overall redox reaction. A two-mask, bulk-micromachining process is used to fabricate the fuel cell and the prototype has an electrode area of 0.51 cm2. Both proton-exchange membrane and electron mediator are used to assist the operation. The bio-electrical responses of the micromachined microbial fuel cell are characterized with an open-circuit potential measured at an average value of 343 mV. The power density is measured as 0.5 μW/cm3 under a 10-ohm load.
Keywords :
bioelectric phenomena; micromachining; proton exchange membrane fuel cells; 10 ohm; 343 mV; bio-electrical responses; electron mediator; micromachined microbial fuel cells; open-circuit potential; proton-exchange membrane; redox reaction; saccharomyces cerevisiae; two-mask bulk-micromachining process; Bioelectric phenomena; Biomembranes; Density measurement; Electrodes; Electrons; Fuel cells; Microorganisms; Power measurement; Prototypes; Sugar;
Conference_Titel :
Micro Electro Mechanical Systems, 2003. MEMS-03 Kyoto. IEEE The Sixteenth Annual International Conference on
Print_ISBN :
0-7803-7744-3
DOI :
10.1109/MEMSYS.2003.1189766
