A multi-anode paper-based microbial fuel cell for disposable biosensors

Author

Fraiwan, Arwa ; Seokheun Choi

Author_Institution

Dept. of Electr. & Comput. Eng., State Univ. of New York-Binghamton, Binghamton, NY, USA

fYear

2013

fDate

3-6 Nov. 2013

Firstpage

1

Lastpage

4

Abstract

We report a multi-anode paper-based microbial fuel cell (MFC) capable of generating a power density of 28.4 μW/cm². This MFC features (i) flexible multilayered carbon anodes for bacterial attachment and (ii) paper reservoirs for holding the anolyte and catholyte for an extended period of time. By using the multi-anode MFC, the power and current densities increased by 5x and 3x, respectively, compared to a single anode one. The paper-based MFC is expected to be a simple and easy-to-use power source for single-use diagnostic biosensors because even sewage or soiled water in a puddle can become an excellent source for operating MFCs and harvesting electricity through bacterial metabolism.

Keywords

biomedical equipment; biosensors; electrochemical electrodes; electrolytes; microbial fuel cells; power supplies to apparatus; anolyte; bacterial attachment; bacterial metabolism; catholyte; disposable biosensors; electricity harvesting; flexible multilayered carbon anodes; multianode MFC; multianode paper-based microbial fuel cell; paper reservoirs; power density generation; power source; single-use diagnostic biosensors; Anodes; Biosensors; Cathodes; Density measurement; Fuel cells; Microorganisms; Power system measurements;

fLanguage

English

Publisher

ieee

Conference_Titel

SENSORS, 2013 IEEE

Conference_Location

Baltimore, MD

ISSN

1930-0395

Type

conf

DOI

10.1109/ICSENS.2013.6688609

Filename

6688609