Application of a direct current circuit to pick up and to store bioelectricity produced by microbial fuel cells

• Main Authors: Daniel Gonzalo Arboleda Avilés, Oscar Fernando Núñez Barrionuevo, Omar Fernando Sánchez Olmedo, Billy Daniel Chinchin Piñan, Daniel Alexander Arboleda Briones, Raúl Alfonso Bahamonde Soria
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Universidad Nacional de Colombia 2019-09-01
• Series: Revista Colombiana de Química
• Subjects: mfc; cod; toc; voltage; fly back; boost converte; dc–dc converters
• Online Access: https://revistas.unal.edu.co/index.php/rcolquim/article/view/77011

Every year the demand for energy worldwide is increasing. There are some alternatives to reduce these problems, such as clean energy or renewable energy. A particular alternative is the microbial fuel cells. These cells are biochemical reactors that convert chemical energy into electricity. The present research evaluated the dairy serum to produce bioelectricity from micro fuel cells (MFC) that were constructed with low-cost materials and with isolated bacteria in anaerobic sediments, located in Ecuadorian national territory, producing maximum voltages of 0.830 V in the circuit and a maximum power density of 30mW / m2. This low voltage was worked with 50 mL MFCs and with an output voltage of 300 mV. Under these conditions, a FLYBACK lift circuit isolated by the transformer was designed. This new circuit could increase the voltage from 30 mV to enough voltage to light a 2.5 V LED. Therefore, the energy produced by the MFC can be directly used to light a LED and to charge capacitors. This study shows that these MFCs, together with the designed circuit, could be used potentially to generate clean energy.