1 / 15

International Student Science Conference

International Student Science Conference. 2-8 July 2012 Hong Kong. Optimizing the Microbial Fuel Cell as an Alternative Fossil Fuel Source Philip Ong, Alex Cheah, Daniel Chew Anglo-Chinese School (Independent), Singapore. Introduction – The Microbial Fuel Cell.

tommy
Download Presentation

International Student Science Conference

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript

  1. International Student ScienceConference 2-8 July 2012 Hong Kong Optimizing the Microbial Fuel Cell as an Alternative Fossil Fuel Source Philip Ong, Alex Cheah, Daniel Chew Anglo-Chinese School (Independent), Singapore

  2. Introduction – The Microbial Fuel Cell • A bio-electrochemical system that uses bacteria to produce electricity • Converts chemical energy to electrical energy by catalytic reaction of microorganisms • Used to generate electricity for storage

  3. Our Aims • Curbing carbon emissions by offering a cheap, efficient method of obtaining energy • To conserve fossil fuels and oil • To reduce the emissions of environmentally-unfriendly substances into the earth

  4. Our Set-Up • Our experiment involved the use of a soil-based Microbial Fuel Cell (MFC) through the construction of a Winogradsky Column. • Variables: • [Independent]: Salinity as controlled by the amount of NaCl per set-up  • [Dependent]: Current (in miliamperes) • [Controlled]: Temperature, Location, Container Size & Shape, Type of electrode, Amount of soil.

  5. Materials and Apparatus • Materials: • 1. Clay soil used: 50% clay [Al2Si2O5(OH)4]50% soil [SiO2] • (400g per set-up) • 2. Sulfur • (50g per set-up) • 3. Water • 4. Newspaper Shreds • (10g per set-up) • 5. NaCl • Apparatus: • 1. 2 Graphite Electrodes per set-up (as the anode and cathodes) • 2. 2 Crocodile Clips • 3. Multimeter • 4. Stopwatch • 5. Plastic containers

  6. Conversions

  7. Analysis • Increase ionic strength  Decrease resistance • I = 1.6 x 10-5 x Specific Conductance (in µmho/cm) • I = ½ Σ zi2 mi • Provide nutrients • Tonicity: Too much salt causes crenation • Lower oxygen levels

  8. Limitations • Carbon surfaces not pure • Denitrification of nitrogen containing functionalities • Pt electrodes might oxidize separate substrates • Electroactive chemicals naturally present • Contaminants easily absorbed

  9. Conclusion • Optimal range: 4000ppm-7000ppm • Good current output • Renewable energy source • Easily accessible

  10. Further Research • Different genera involved • Optimal soil for involvement in MFC • Using other substitutes for soil eg. Wastewater • Research into MFCs as a method of reducing toxicity of soil • Use of Sulfate Reducing Bacteria • Polysulfides to sulfur • Electrochemically active bacteria

  11. References • Newton. Oxygen Levels in Salt and Fresh Water. http://www.newton.dep.anl.gov/askasci/chem03/chem03339.htm • U.S. Geological Survey. Saline water. http://ga.water.usgs.gov/edu/saline.html • CaCt. Chemical Reactivity: A Study Guide. http://www.science.uwaterloo.ca/~cchieh/cact/applychem/reactivity.html • University of Massachusetts: College of Engineering. Chapter XVIII: Electrochemical methods. http://www.ecs.umass.edu/cee/reckhow/courses/572/572bk18/572BK18.html • Glass Properties. Definitions: Resistance, Specific resistance (resistivity), Conductance, Specific conductance (conductivity). http://glassproperties.com/resistivity/Conductivity_Resistivity.pdf • Xi Wang et al., Impact of salinity on cathode catalyst performance in microbial fuel cells (MFCs). International Journal of Hydrogen Energy [online] 2011, 36, 13900-13906 http://www.engr.psu.edu/ce/enve/logan/publications/2011-Wang-etal-IJHE.pdf • Korneel Rabaey et al., Microbial Fuel Cells for Sulfide Removal. Environ. Sci. Technol. [online] 2006, 40, 5218-5224 http://www.microbialfuelcell.org/Publications/LabMET/Rabaey%20Environ%20Sci%20Techn%2040%205218-5224%20Sulfide%20removal.pdf

More Related