i would like to know the principle of microbial fuel cell? and what types of organism are used in these cells? and also, how much of energy is generated from a typical microbial fuel cell ?
Trying to keep my answer short and focused, I’ll reply to each of the three huge questions you raised. I recommend furthering reading scientific reviews written in this fascinating area. Principle of microbial fuel cells In microbial fuel cells (MFC’s), microorganisms catalyze the anaerobic oxidation of diverse organic substances (such as wastewater pollutants, organic waste, organic matter in soils or sediments). The microorganisms oxidize organic compounds to carbon dioxide, with the electrode serving as the electron acceptor (anode respiration), thus producing electric current. Types of organism Well-known electrochemically active bacteria in MFC’s are iron-reducing bacteria such as Shewanella and Geobacter species (Bond et al., 2002), but molecular fingerprinting of naturally occurring populations persisting in biofilms reveals more diverse bacterial community than these model iron reducers (Logan et al., 2005). Energy generated from MFC’s In present technology, the current production in MFC’s is limited to power small electronic devices for short periods. The highest power densities reported were approximately 50 Watts per cubic meter of fuel cell volume (Cheng et al., 2006). The only MFC application to date is powering monitoring devices in remote locations (Tender et al., 2002). However, MFC’s might be developed for a wider range of applications. Microbial fuel cells are thought to be the future technology for energy-efficient wastewater treatment. Scientist are exploring various configurations of microbial fuel cells: microbial electrolysis cells (for hydrogen production), microbial desalination fuel cells, and benthos/sediment microbial fuel cells. My view is that there must be many other applications that we haven’t thought of just yet.
I actually saw a news story on an Amish kid who was being allowed that year where they can do whatever. He had outfitted his buggy with quite the sound system and had a cell phone. Personally I couldn't go back to living like the Amish after I'd had all that kind of stuff.
Mediator Microbial Fuel Cell
