• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.28 no.8
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• pp.1360-1366
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• 2018

The fungi associated with termites secrete enzymes such as laccase (multi-copper oxidase) that can degrade extracellular wood matrix. Laccase uses molecular oxygen as an electron acceptor to catalyze the degradation of organic compounds. Owing to its ability to transfer electrons from the cathodic electrode to molecular oxygen, laccase has the potential to be a biocatalyst on the surface of the cathodic electrode of a microbial fuel cell (MFC). In this study, a two-chamber MFC using the laccase-producing fungus Galactomyces reessii was investigated. The fungus cultured on coconut coir was placed in the cathode chamber, while an anaerobic microbial community was maintained in the anode chamber fed by industrial rubber wastewater and supplemented by sulfate and a pH buffer. The laccase-based biocathode MFC (lbMFC) produced the maximum open circuit voltage of 250 mV, output voltage of 145 mV (with a $1,000{\Omega}$ resistor), power density of $59mW/m^2$, and current density of $278mA/m^2$, and a 70% increase in half-cell potential. This study demonstrated the capability of laccase-producing yeast Galactomyces reessii as a biocatalyst on the cathode of the two-chamber lbMFC.

• Applied Chemistry for Engineering
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• v.20 no.2
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• pp.213-217
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• 2009

Microbial fuel cells (MFCs) have been known as a new alternative energy conversion technology for treating wastewater and producing electricity simultaneously. A MFC converts the chemical energy of the organic compounds to electrical energy through microbial catalysis at the anode under anaerobic conditions. To examine the performance of MFC, in this work, the characteristics of the efficiency of wastewater treatment and generation of electricity was evaluated for sewage. When acetate as a carbon source was added into the sewage, the removal efficiency of COD was increased from 75.7% to 88.2% and the voltage was increased significantly from 0.22 V to 0.4 V. The influence of distance between anode and cathode was examined and the effect of the surface area of anode was investigated under the various external resistances. It was found that the maximum power density was $610mW/m^2$ and power generation was effective when the distance between the electrodes was shorter and the surface area of the anode was smaller.

• Applied Chemistry for Engineering
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• v.23 no.3
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• pp.297-301
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• 2012

Microbial fuel cell (MFC) is the major of bio-electrochemical system which can convert biomass spontaneously into electricity through the metabolic activity of the microorganisms. In this study, we used an activated sludge as a microbial inoculum and then investigated the feasibility of using dairy wastewater as a possible substrate for generating electricity in MFC. To examine the performance of MFC as power generator, the characteristics on cell potentials, power density, cyclic voltammetric analysis and sustainable power estimation were evaluated for dairy wastewater. The maximum power density of $40\;mW/m^2$was achieved when the dairy wastewater containing 2650 mg/L COD was used, leading to the removal of 88% of the COD. The results from this study demonstrate the feasibility of using MFC technology to generate electricity while simultaneously treating dairy wastewater effectively.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.15 no.2
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• pp.438-441
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• 2005

A mediator-less microbial fuel cell (MFC) was used to determine the performance effects of a membrane­electrode assembly (MEA). The MFC with an MEA generated a higher current with an increased coulomb yield when compared to an MFC with a separate cathode. Less oxygen was diffused through an MEA than through a Nafion membrane. The MFC performance was improved with a buffer, although a high-strength buffer reduced the performance.

• KSBB Journal
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• v.26 no.5
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• pp.407-411
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• 2011

Microbial fuel cell (MFC) wes enriched using sludge in wastewater treatment. The microbial community of activated sludge and enriched MFC were analyzed by FISH (fluorescent in situ hybridization) and 16S rDNA sequencing. Bacteroidetes group were pre-dominant in activated sludge by FISH. ${\alpha}$ group, ${\gamma}$ group and Acintobacter group were dominant and they were similar to distribution. The average value of 10 peak of MFC is 0.44C. When MFC wase enriched by sludge, ${\gamma}$-Proteobacteria, Plantomycetes group increased 70% and 60%, respectively. In results of 16S rDNA sequencing, Sphiringomonas sp. was comprised in ${\alpha}$ proteobacteria and Enterobacter sp., Klebsiella sp., Acinetobacter sp., Bacillus sp. were comprised in ${\gamma}$ proteobacteria and Chryseobacterium sp. was comprised in Flavobacteria were isolated from sludge.

• Journal of the Korea Organic Resources Recycling Association
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• v.18 no.1
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• pp.57-65
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• 2010

Two types of microbial fuel cells(MFC) were continuously operated using synthetic wastewater. One was conventional two-chambered MFC using proton exchange membrane(PEM-MFC), the other was upflow type membraneless MFC(ML-MFC). Graphite felt was used as a anode in PEM-MFC. In membraneless MFC, two MFCs were operated using porous RVC(reticulated vitreous carbon) as a anode. Graphite felt was used as a cathode in all experiments. In experiment of PEM-MFC, the COD removal rate based on the surface area of anode was about $3.0g/m^2{\cdot}d$ regardless of organic loading rate. And the coulombic efficiency amounted to 22.4~23.4%. The acetic acid used as a fuel was transferred through PEM from the anodic chamber to cathodic chamber. The COD removal rate in ML-MFC were $9.3{\sim}10.1g/m^2{\cdot}d$, which indicated the characteristics of anode had no significant effects on COD removal. Coulombic efficiency were 3.6~3.7 % in both cases of ML-MFC experiments, which were relatively small. It was also observed that the microbial growth in cathodic chamber had an adverse effects on the electricity generation in membraneless MFC.

• The Journal of Korea Institute of Information, Electronics, and Communication Technology
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• v.7 no.1
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• pp.36-39
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• 2014

MFC(microbial fuel cell) is the device to produce the electricity by using the microbes which are living in the waste water. In this paper, the electric characteristics of the MFC were investigated according to each different structure and electrode materials. The voltage being reversed phenomenon was observed in the MFC which uses the cupper plate as the cathode material. This result comes from the oxidation reaction of the cupper plate electrode in this MFC. And this MFC has lower output voltage than one that has a platinum plate electrode. The smaller gap distance of the cupper plate electrode of the MFC showed the higher output voltage. The larger electrode area of the cupper plate electrode showed that the reaching time of the output voltage to the maximum value was delayed.

• Environmental Engineering Research
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• v.24 no.3
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• pp.443-448
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• 2019

The present study was conducted to compare the voltage generation in two-chamber microbial fuel cells (MFCs) with a biocathode where nitrate and oxygen are used as a terminal electron acceptors (TEA) and to investigate the nitrogen removal and the electrochemical characteristics depending on the separators of the MFCs for denitrification. The maximum power density in a biocathode MFC using an anion exchange membrane (AEM) was approximately 40% lower with the use of nitrate as a TEA than when using oxygen. The MFC for denitrification using an AEM allows acetate ($CH_3COO^-$) as a substrate and nitrate ($NO_3{^-}$) as a TEA to be transported to the opposite sides of the chamber through the AEM. Therefore, heterotrophic denitrification and electrochemical denitrification occurred simultaneously at the anode and the cathode, resulting in a higher COD and nitrate removal rate and a lower maximum power density. The MFC for the denitrification using a cation exchange membrane (CEM) does not allow the transport of acetate and nitrate. Therefore, as oxidation of organics and electrochemical denitrification occurred at the anode and at the cathode, respectively, the MFC using a CEM showed a higher coulomb efficiency, a lower COD and nitrate removal rate in comparison with the MFC using an AEM.

• Journal of Korean Society of Environmental Engineers
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• v.39 no.8
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• pp.489-493
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• 2017

Microbial fuel cells (MFC) are bio-electrochemical processes that can convert various organic materials present in wastewater into electrical energy. For scaling-up and practical application of MFC, it is necessary to investigate the effect of anode size, electrode distance, and total area of anode on substrate degradation. Spaced electrode assembly (SPA) type microbial fuel cell with multiple anodes treating domestic wastewater was used for simulation. According to computer simulation results, the shorter the distance between electrodes than the size of single electrode, the faster the substrate degradation rate. Particularly, when the total area of the anode is large, the substrate decomposition is the fastest. In this study, it was found that the size of the anode and the distance between the electrodes as well as the cathode electrode, which is known as the rate-limiting step in the design of the microbial fuel cell process, are also important factors influencing the substrate degradation rate.

• Journal of the Korean Electrochemical Society
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• v.14 no.2
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• pp.71-76
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• 2011

Fe-tetramethoxyphenylporphyrin on carbon black (Fe-TMPP/C) is examined and compared with carbon (C) and Pt-coated carbon (Pt/C) for oxygen reduction reaction in a two chambered microbial fuel cell (MFC). The Fe-TMPP/C is prepared by heat treatment and characterized using SEM, TEM, and XPS. The electrochemical properties of catalysts are characterized by voltammerty and single cell measurements. It is found that the power generation in the MFC with Fe-TMPP/C as the cathode is higher than that with Pt/C. The maximum power of the Fe-TMPP/C is 0.12 mW compared with 0.10 mW (Pt/C) and 0.02 mW (C). This high output with the Fe-TMPP/C indicates that MFCs are promising in further practical applications with low cost macrocycles catalysts.