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michka:research:microbial_fuel_cells [2014-07-11 10:30] – michka | michka:research:microbial_fuel_cells [2018-04-26 12:44] (current) – [Experiments] michka | ||
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- | ====Microbial Fuel Cells==== | + | ====Quick & Dirty Microbial Fuel Cells==== |
- | (see also [[: | + | A Microbial Fuel Cell (MFC) is a renewable electricity source based on soil microbial life. Anaerobic bacteria (living without oxygen) are produce electrons we can harness to feed our electrical circuits. It is a low-power energy source, working fine for lighting, or communication circuits sending data at low frequency. |
- | ====From Litterature==== | + | MFCs are the object of advanced studies in many laboratories across the world. My objective is to design a MFC which can be build by anyone without specific prior knowledge out of abundant waste or bio- materials found in his/her close environment. The power is this quick & dirty MFC should be able to power a low-power LED. |
- | ===Two containers + Air Pump Design=== | + | I am currently playing with parameters: sample source, design geometry, electrode materials, nature of the proton exchange membrane (PEM), water source... To understand better the drivers of electrical power delivered by these Quick & Dirty MFCs. |
- | [[http:// | + | So far, the peak power I measured was 0.5 mW [[michka:research: |
- | An airpump feeds clean water with oxygen for the reduction reaction: protons coming from sludge by the salt bridge, together with electrons coming from sludge by the wires, recombine with oxygen to make water. The airpump allows high current to be produced. | + | (see also [[:fuel_cell]] for futher info...) |
- | Performances: | + | These preliminary experiments layed the ground for the "Power of the mud" project created |
- | ===One container Design=== | + | ====Litterature==== |
- | [[http:// | + | I started this research by looking for existing quick & dirty designs online. I found two main categories |
- | ====Experiments==== | + | The **[[http:// |
- | ===One Container Design=== | + | An airpump feeds clean water with oxygen for the reduction reaction: protons coming from sludge by the salt bridge, together with electrons coming from sludge by the wires, recombine with oxygen to make water. The airpump allows high current to be produced. |
- | Wiring as electrode. | + | Performances: |
- | ==Results== | ||
- | Voltage changes with oxygenation. | + | The **[[http:// |
- | ===One Container in Crate Design=== | ||
- | ==Why ?== | + | I also found a [[http:// |
- | Augemented cathode surface area & reduced water layer width for oxygen access. | + | ====Experiments==== |
- | ===Crate Paper Design=== | + | * [[michka: |
+ | * [[michka: | ||
+ | * [[michka: | ||
+ | * [[http:// | ||
+ | * [[michka: | ||
+ | * [[michka: | ||
+ | * [[michka: | ||
+ | * [[michka: | ||
- | * Flattened aluminium can as electrode. | + | ====Design Improvements Ideas==== |
- | * Thick paper sheet as PEM. | + | |
- | ==Why?== | + | ===Electrical integration=== |
- | * Reduced PEM width. | + | * Try to integrate the MFC with a [[https:// |
- | * Augmented electrode (both) surface area. | + | |
- | ==Results== | + | ===Sludge=== |
- | | + | |
+ | * See [[michka: | ||
+ | * Does it also work with usual soil ? | ||
+ | * A brief experiment | ||
+ | * How can we keep feeding the sludge, to make the fuel cell operation continuous ? | ||
+ | * Reverse the design, to allow waste to be piled up on top of a nutrients pile for the MFC, and be slowly degraded. | ||
- | ===Two Containers Design=== | + | ===Electrodes=== |
- | Hard-drive metal box as electrode material. | + | * Does the efficiency drops if we use flat electrodes |
- | + | | |
- | ===Other results=== | + | |
- | + | ||
- | * Two multimeter | + | |
- | | + | |
- | * If water is not clean, voltage increases up to 100 mV. | + | |
- | * Two multimeter | + | |
- | + | ||
- | ====Design Improvements Ideas==== | + | |
===Airpump=== | ===Airpump=== | ||
- | * Is the air pump giving more than what it pumps in terms of energy | + | * Is the electric |
+ | * Most probably not. | ||
* Could we make a mechanical airpump coupled with a windmill ? | * Could we make a mechanical airpump coupled with a windmill ? | ||
+ | * Probably. But how useful would this be ? We should maybe focus on gathering the energy of the windmill. | ||
* Could we improve the cathode design to remove the airpump ? | * Could we improve the cathode design to remove the airpump ? | ||
- | ===Sludge=== | + | ====Related==== |
- | | + | |
- | | + | |
- | + | * [[http:// | |
- | ===Electrodes=== | + | * Zebra battery |
- | + | | |
- | | + |