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michka:research:microbial_fuel_cells [2014-07-03 09:02] – created michka | michka:research:microbial_fuel_cells [2018-04-26 12:44] (current) – [Experiments] michka | ||
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- | ====Microbial Fuel Cells==== | + | ====Quick & Dirty Microbial Fuel Cells==== |
- | ====Two containers + Air Pump Design==== | + | A Microbial Fuel Cell (MFC) is a renewable electricity source based on soil microbial life. Anaerobic bacteria (living without oxygen) are produce electrons we can harness to feed our electrical circuits. It is a low-power energy source, working fine for lighting, or communication circuits sending data at low frequency. |
- | [[http:// | + | MFCs are the object of advanced studies in many laboratories across the world. My objective is to design a MFC which can be build by anyone without specific prior knowledge out of abundant waste or bio- materials found in his/her close environment. The power is this quick & dirty MFC should be able to power a low-power LED. |
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+ | I am currently playing with parameters: sample source, design geometry, electrode materials, nature of the proton exchange membrane (PEM), water source... To understand better the drivers of electrical power delivered by these Quick & Dirty MFCs. | ||
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+ | So far, the peak power I measured was 0.5 mW [[michka: | ||
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+ | (see also [[: | ||
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+ | These preliminary experiments layed the ground for the "Power of the mud" project created with robotic artist [[http:// | ||
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+ | ====Litterature==== | ||
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+ | I started this research by looking for existing quick & dirty designs online. I found two main categories of designs | ||
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+ | The **[[http:// | ||
An airpump feeds clean water with oxygen for the reduction reaction: protons coming from sludge by the salt bridge, together with electrons coming from sludge by the wires, recombine with oxygen to make water. The airpump allows high current to be produced. | An airpump feeds clean water with oxygen for the reduction reaction: protons coming from sludge by the salt bridge, together with electrons coming from sludge by the wires, recombine with oxygen to make water. The airpump allows high current to be produced. | ||
- | Performances: | + | Performances: |
- | ====One container Design==== | ||
- | [[http:// | + | The **[[http:// |
- | ====Design Improvements==== | ||
- | ===Airpump=== | + | I also found a [[http:// |
- | * Is the air pump giving more than what it pumps in terms of energy ? | + | ====Experiments==== |
- | | + | |
- | | + | * [[michka: |
+ | * [[michka: | ||
+ | * [[michka: | ||
+ | * [[http:// | ||
+ | | ||
+ | | ||
+ | * [[michka: | ||
+ | * [[michka: | ||
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+ | ====Design Improvements Ideas==== | ||
+ | |||
+ | ===Electrical integration=== | ||
+ | |||
+ | * Try to integrate | ||
===Sludge=== | ===Sludge=== | ||
- | * Could we use compost tea as a sludge source ? Does it also work with usual soil ? | + | * Could we use compost tea as a sludge source ? |
+ | * See [[michka: | ||
+ | | ||
+ | * A brief experiment in [[michka: | ||
* How can we keep feeding the sludge, to make the fuel cell operation continuous ? | * How can we keep feeding the sludge, to make the fuel cell operation continuous ? | ||
+ | * Reverse the design, to allow waste to be piled up on top of a nutrients pile for the MFC, and be slowly degraded. | ||
===Electrodes=== | ===Electrodes=== | ||
* Does the efficiency drops if we use flat electrodes from dead batteries ? | * Does the efficiency drops if we use flat electrodes from dead batteries ? | ||
+ | * Actually, the [[michka: | ||
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+ | ===Airpump=== | ||
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+ | * Is the electric air pump giving more energy than what it pumps ? | ||
+ | * Most probably not. | ||
+ | * Could we make a mechanical airpump coupled with a windmill ? | ||
+ | * Probably. But how useful would this be ? We should maybe focus on gathering the energy of the windmill. | ||
+ | * Could we improve the cathode design to remove the airpump ? | ||
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+ | ====Related==== | ||
+ | |||
+ | * Other battery designs: | ||
+ | * Molten salt batteries | ||
+ | * [[http:// | ||
+ | * Zebra battery | ||
+ | * Rhubarb battery |