title: Responses from freshwater sediment during electricity generation using microbial fuel cells.
abstract: In a two-electrode system, freshwater sediment was used as a fuel to examine the relationship between current generation and organic matter consumption with different types of electrode. Sediment microbial fuel cells using porous electrodes showed a superior performance in terms of generating current when compared with the use of non-porous electrodes. The maximum current densities with thicker and thin porous electrodes were 45.4 and 37.6 mA m(-2), respectively, whereas the value with non-porous electrodes was 13.9 mA m(-2). The amount of organic matter removed correlated with the current produced. The redox potential in the anode area under closed-circuit conditions was +246.3 +/- 67.7 mV, while that under open-circuit conditions only reached -143.0 +/- 7.18 mV. This suggests that an application of this system in organic-rich sediment could provide environmental benefits such as decreasing organic matter and prohibiting methane emission in conjunction with electricity production via an anaerobic oxidation process.
authors.affiliation: Center for Environmental Technology Research, Korea Institute of Science and Technology, P.O. Box 131, Cheongryang, Seoul, 130-650, Korea. swhong@kist.re.kr
authors.forename: Seok Won
authors.initials: SW
authors.lastname: Hong
authors.forename: In Seop
authors.initials: IS
authors.lastname: Chang
authors.forename: Yong Su
authors.initials: YS
authors.lastname: Choi
authors.forename: Byung Hong
authors.initials: BH
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: Tai Hak
authors.initials: TH
authors.lastname: Chung