Fabrication and Operation of a Novel Membrane-less Microbial Fuel Cell as a Bioelectricity Generator

Nowadays, traditional sources of energy are near exhaustion and alternative sources of energy are considered. One of the newest resources of energy is microbial fuel cell (MFC). MFC is a bioreactor that converts chemical energy in bonds of organic substrate to bioelectricity. The active biocatalysts such as microorganisms or enzymes, in the anode compartment, utilize substrate for growth maintenance; as a result electrons are supplied. Electrons and protons are produced by oxidation of substrate where electrons move from external resistance to the cathode surface while protons move across membrane to the cathode surface as well. Electrons and protons, with solution oxygen, combine to form water. In this study, this process is achieved by a new membrane-less MFC (MLMFC) which is low in cost when compared to other dual chamber MFCs. Maximum power produced by MLMFC was 40.43 mW/m2 while COD removal was 66%. Open circuit voltage of 790 mV has been achieved after 96 h of operation. This study presents a new configuration of MLMFC as an electron generator. The key factor of this configuration is: low cost of design and lack of membrane bio fouling that is common in H-type configuration