A microbial fuel cell (MFC) or biological fuel cell is a bio-electrochemical
system that drives a current by mimicking bacterial
interactions found in nature. Micro-organisms catabolize
compounds such as glucose
acetate,
butyrate
or wastewater
The electrons
gained from this oxidation are transferred to an anode, where they depart
through an electrical circuit before reaching the cathode.
Here they are transferred to a high potential electron acceptor such as oxygen. As current
now flows over a potential difference, power
is generated directly from biofuel by the catalytic activity of bacteria.
A
microbial fuel cell is a device that converts chemical energy to electrical
energy by the catalytic reaction of microorganisms
. A typical microbial fuel cell consists of anode and cathode
compartments separated by a cation specific membrane. In the anode compartment, fuel is
oxidized by microorganisms, generating electrons
and protons.
Electrons are transferred to the cathode compartment through an external electric
circuit, and the protons are transferred to the cathode compartment through the
membrane. Electrons and protons are consumed in the cathode compartment,
combining with oxygen to form water. In general, there are two types of
microbial fuel cells,
mediator and mediator-less microbial fuel cells. Biological fuel cells take
glucose and methanol
from food scraps and convert it into hydrogen and food for the bacteria.
