title: Intermittent load implementation in microbial fuel cells improves power performance.
abstract: This study reports on the response of small-scale MFCs to intermittent loading, in terms of power output over time. The aim was to understand the evolution with time of power output under different duty cycles, in conditions close to practical implementation. Inexpensive ceramic membranes were compared to cation exchange membranes, under continuous flow and with a pre-digester connected. Results show that at the minute-scale, all the duty cycles investigated, produced 78% higher power bursts from the MFCs (500μW) than when under continuous loading (280μW). These results were recorded from MFCs employing ceramic membranes, whereas the difference in performance for MFCs employing commercially available cation-exchange-membranes was insignificant. When normalising to daily energy production, only specific duty cycles produced more power than continuous loading. Furthermore, the introduction of a pre-digester increased the MFC power outputs 10-fold, thus confirming that separating fermentation from electro-active respiration, significantly enhances the system performance.
authors.affiliation: Bristol Robotics Laboratory, Universities of Bristol and of the West of England, T-building, Frenchay Campus, BS16 1QY, United Kingdom; Microbiology Research Laboratory, School of Biological, Biomedical and Analytical Sciences, Faculty of Health and Applied Sciences, Frenchay Campus, University of the West of England, Bristol BS16 1QY, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: X A
authors.initials: XA
authors.lastname: Walter
authors.affiliation: Microbiology Research Laboratory, School of Biological, Biomedical and Analytical Sciences, Faculty of Health and Applied Sciences, Frenchay Campus, University of the West of England, Bristol BS16 1QY, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Greenman
authors.affiliation: Bristol Robotics Laboratory, Universities of Bristol and of the West of England, T-building, Frenchay Campus, BS16 1QY, United Kingdom. Electronic address: Ioannis.Ieropoulos@brl.ac.uk.
authors.forename: I A
authors.initials: IA
authors.lastname: Ieropoulos
mesh_terms: D001674:Bioelectric Energy Sources / Q000382:microbiology*; D002516:Ceramics / Q000737:chemistry*; D017076:Computer-Aided Design; D004566:Electrodes; D004735:Energy Transfer / Q000502:physiology*; D004867:Equipment Design; D019544:Equipment Failure Analysis; D008567:Membranes, Artificial; D012441:Saccharomyces cerevisiae / Q000502:physiology*
chemical_list: D008567:Membranes, Artificial
keywords: Cation exchange membrane; Ceramic microbial fuel cells; Continuous flow; Intermittent loading; Pre-digester