Study on Generation of Bioelectricity Using Potassium Ferricyanide Electron Acceptor in Microbial Fuel Cell

Akujobi Campbell Onyeka; Anuforo Henry Uzoma; Ogbulie Tochukwu Ekwutosi; Ezeji Ethelbert Uchechukwu

doi:doi:10.11648/j.cbe.20170201.12

| Peer-Reviewed

Study on Generation of Bioelectricity Using Potassium Ferricyanide Electron Acceptor in Microbial Fuel Cell

Akujobi Campbell Onyeka, Anuforo Henry Uzoma, Ogbulie Tochukwu Ekwutosi, Ezeji Ethelbert Uchechukwu

Published in Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering (Volume 2, Issue 1)

Received: 23 December 2016 Accepted: 6 January 2017 Published: 24 January 2017

Views: Downloads:

Download PDF

Share This Article

Twitter
Linked In
Facebook

Abstract

The capability of simultaneously generating bioelectricity and treating piggery wastewater using microbial fuel cell (MFC) with indigenous exoelectrogens was demonstrated. Three units of H – type MFCs were constructed using 0.1M potassium ferricynide (K₃[Fe(CN)₆]) as catholyte and carbon – carbon (CC), carbon – copper (CCu) and copper – copper (CuCu) electrodes of surface area 0.0071m² each. The BOD and COD of the test piggery wastewater were 420mg/L and 1057mg/L respectively. While coulombic efficiency (CE) of the MFCs after 25 days were 76%, 72% and 5.10%, COD removal were 83%, 48% and 49% for CC, CCu and CuCu respectively. Highest voltage recorded were 752.4mV, 1027mV and 625.2mV across CC, CCu and CuCu respectively. Generation of voltage proportionally decreased with decreasing external resistors. Power density which increased with decreasing external resistance across each MFC until 200Ω beyond which decrease became evident, peaked at 60.94mW/m² (92.6mA/m²), 39.94mW/m² (75.0mA/m²) and 14.21mW/m² (44.70mA/m²) across R_ext = 1000Ω for CC, CCu and CuCu respectively. This depicts that carbon used as both cathode and anode produced more bioelectricity than other combinations. Bacteria isolated from the surface of anodes include, Lactobacillus spp., Corynebacterium spp., Streptococcus spp., Proteus mirabilis, Enterobacter spp., Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas spp., Bacillus spp., Aeromonas spp., Micrococus luteus, Corynebacterium spp. and Salmonella spp. Plasmid profile of the bacteria isolates in the original wastewater sample revealed that Lactobacillus spp., Proteus mirabilis, Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas spp., Bacillus spp., and Aeromonas spp had plasmids. These findings show that with better designs and optimization, the performance of the MFCs can be enhanced.

Published in	Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering (Volume 2, Issue 1)
DOI	10.11648/j.cbe.20170201.12
Page(s)	5-13
Creative Commons	This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.
Copyright	Copyright © The Author(s), 2017. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

Coulombic Efficiency, Bioelectricity, Carbon-Carbon, Microbial Fuel Cell, Potassium Ferricyanide

References

[1]	Energy Information Administration (2013). International energy outlook 2013. Retrieved from www.eia.gov/forecasts/ieo/more_highlights.cfm.
[2]	Pranab, K. B and Deka, D. (2010). Electricity generation from biowaste based microbial fuel cells. International Journal of Energy, Information and Communications, 1 (1): 77-92.
[3]	Karmakar, S., Kundu, K. and Kundu, S. (2010). Design and development of microbial fuel cells. Current Research, Technology and Education Topics in Applied Microbiology and Microbial Biotechnology, 1029-1034.
[4]	Oh, S. E. and Logan, B. E. (2005). Hydrogen and electricity production from a food processing wastewater using fermentation and microbial fuel cell technologies. Water Res., 39: 4673–4682.
[5]	Ikotun, O. O., Olafusi, O. S., Quadri, H. A. and Bolarinwa, O. A. (2012). Influence of human activities on the water quality of Ogun river in Nigeria. Civil and Environmental Research, 2 (9): 36-48.
[6]	Singh, S. N., Srivastav, G. and Bhatt, A. (2012). Physicochemical determination of pollutants in wastewater in Dheradun. Current World Environment, 7 (1): 133-138.
[7]	Yee, B. C., Maynard, J. A. and Wood, T. K. (1998). Rhizoremediation of trichloroethylene by a recombinant root-colonizing Pseudomonas fluorecens strain expressing toluene ortho-monoxigenase constitutively. Applied and Environmental Microbiology, 64 (1): 112–118.
[8]	Cheesbrough, M. (2006). Biochemical tests to identify bacteria. In: Cheesbrough M. (ed.) District laboratory practice in tropical countries, Part 2, 2nd Edition. Cambridge University Press, UK. 7: 62–70.
[9]	Jambeck, J. R. and Damiano, L. (2010). Microbial fuel cells in landfill applications. Final report prepared for the Environmental Research and Education Foundation, Alexandria, VA. 1–112.
[10]	Ojo, O. A. and Oso, B. A. (2008). Isolation and characterization of synthetic detergent degraders from wastewater. Afr. J. Biotech., 7 (20): 3753 – 3760.
[11]	Wang, M., Yan, Z., Huang, B., Zhao, J. and Liu, R. (2013). Electricity generation by microbial fuel cells fuelled with Enteromorpha prolifera hydrolysis. Int. J. Electrochem. Sci., 8: 2104–2111.
[12]	Leung, K. and Topp, E. (2001). Bacterial community dynamics in liquid swine manure during storage: molecular analysis using DGGE/PCR of 16S rDNA. FEMS Microbiol. Ecol., 38: 169–177.
[13]	Leser, T. D., Amenuvor, J. Z., Jensen, T. K., Lindecrona, R. H., Boye, M. and Moller, K. (2002). Culture-independent analysis of gut bacteria: the pig gastrointestinal tract microbiota revisited. Appl. Environ. Microbiol., 68: 673–690.
[14]	Nsofor, C. A. and Iroegbu, C. U. (2013). Plasmid profile of antibiotic resistant Escherichia coli isolated from domesticated animals in South-East Nigeria. Global Journl of Cell Biology and Enzymology, 1 (1): 050-056.
[15]	Zhu, J. (2000). A review of microbiology in swine manure odor control. Agriculture, Ecosystems and Environment, 78: 93–106.
[16]	Liu, H. and Logan, B. E. (2004). Electricity generation using an air-cathode single chamber microbial fuel cell in the presence and absence of a proton exchange membrane. Environ. Sci. Technol., 38: 4040-4046.
[17]	Min, B., Cheng, S. and Logan, B. E. (2005). Electricity generation using membrane and salt bridge microbial fuel cells. Water Res., 39: 1675-1686.
[18]	Luo, A., Zhu, J. and Ndegwa, P. M. (2002). Removal of carbon, nitrogen, and phosphorus in pig manure by continuous and intermittent aeration at low redox potentials. Biosyst. Eng., 82: 209–215.
[19]	Pandit, S., Sengupta, A., Kale, S. and Das, D. (2011). Performance of electron acceptors in catholyte of a two-chambered microbial fuel cell using anion exchange membrane. Bioresource Technology, 102: 2736–2744.
[20]	Wei, L., Han, H. and Shen, J. (2012). Effects of cathodic electron acceptors and potassium ferricyanide concentrations on the performance of microbial fuel cell. International Journal of Hydrogen Energy, 30: 1–7.
[21]	Gupta, P., Parkhey, P., Joshi, K., Mahilkar, A., Bhatia, J. K., and Meena, L. N. (2012). Comparative study of microbial fuel cell for electricity generation by enriched exoelectron generating bacteria from environmental samples. Asian Journal of Biotechnology, 4 (3): 137–142.
[22]	Liu, Z., Liu, J., Zhang, S. and Su, Z., (2009). Study of operational performance and electrical response on mediator-less microbial fuel cells fed with carbon - and protein-rich substrates. Biochem. Eng. J., 45: 185–191.
[23]	Khan, M. R., Karim, M. R. and Amin, M. S. A. (2012). Generation of bio-electricity by microbial fuel cells. International Journal of Engineering and Technology, 1 (3): 231-237.
[24]	Zhang, X., He, W., Ren, L., Stager, J., Evans, P. J. and Logan, B. E. (2015). COD removal characteristics in air-cathode microbial fuel cells. Bioresource Technology, 176: 23–31.
[25]	Wang, X., Feng, Y. J. and Lee, H. (2008). Electricity production from beer brewery wastewater using single chamber microbial fuel cell. Water Science and Technology – WST: 1117–1121.
[26]	Kim, G. T., Webster, G., Wimpenny, J. W. T., Kim, B. H., Kim, H. J. and Weightman, A. J. (2006). Bacterial community structure, compartmentalization and activity in a microbial fuel cell. J. Appl. Microbiol., 101: 698–710.
[27]	You, S., Zhao, Q., Zhang, J., Jiang, J. and Zhao, S. (2006). A microbial fuel cell using permanganate as the cathodic electron acceptor. Journal of Power Sources, 162: 1409–1415.
[28]	Rabaey, K., Boon, N., Hofte, M. and Verstraete, W. (2005). Microbial phenazine production enhances electron transfer in biofuel cells. Environ. Sci. Technol., 39: 3401-3408.

Cite This Article

Plain Text BibTeX RIS

APA Style

Akujobi Campbell Onyeka, Anuforo Henry Uzoma, Ogbulie Tochukwu Ekwutosi, Ezeji Ethelbert Uchechukwu. (2017). Study on Generation of Bioelectricity Using Potassium Ferricyanide Electron Acceptor in Microbial Fuel Cell. Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, 2(1), 5-13. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.cbe.20170201.12

Copy | Download

ACS Style

Akujobi Campbell Onyeka; Anuforo Henry Uzoma; Ogbulie Tochukwu Ekwutosi; Ezeji Ethelbert Uchechukwu. Study on Generation of Bioelectricity Using Potassium Ferricyanide Electron Acceptor in Microbial Fuel Cell. Chem. Biomol. Eng. 2017, 2(1), 5-13. doi: 10.11648/j.cbe.20170201.12

Copy | Download

AMA Style

Akujobi Campbell Onyeka, Anuforo Henry Uzoma, Ogbulie Tochukwu Ekwutosi, Ezeji Ethelbert Uchechukwu. Study on Generation of Bioelectricity Using Potassium Ferricyanide Electron Acceptor in Microbial Fuel Cell. Chem Biomol Eng. 2017;2(1):5-13. doi: 10.11648/j.cbe.20170201.12

Copy | Download

@article{10.11648/j.cbe.20170201.12,
  author = {Akujobi Campbell Onyeka and Anuforo Henry Uzoma and Ogbulie Tochukwu Ekwutosi and Ezeji Ethelbert Uchechukwu},
  title = {Study on Generation of Bioelectricity Using Potassium Ferricyanide Electron Acceptor in Microbial Fuel Cell},
  journal = {Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering},
  volume = {2},
  number = {1},
  pages = {5-13},
  doi = {10.11648/j.cbe.20170201.12},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.cbe.20170201.12},
  eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.cbe.20170201.12},
  abstract = {The capability of simultaneously generating bioelectricity and treating piggery wastewater using microbial fuel cell (MFC) with indigenous exoelectrogens was demonstrated. Three units of H – type MFCs were constructed using 0.1M potassium ferricynide (K3[Fe(CN)6]) as catholyte and carbon – carbon (CC), carbon – copper (CCu) and copper – copper (CuCu) electrodes of surface area 0.0071m2 each. The BOD and COD of the test piggery wastewater were 420mg/L and 1057mg/L respectively. While coulombic efficiency (CE) of the MFCs after 25 days were 76%, 72% and 5.10%, COD removal were 83%, 48% and 49% for CC, CCu and CuCu respectively. Highest voltage recorded were 752.4mV, 1027mV and 625.2mV across CC, CCu and CuCu respectively. Generation of voltage proportionally decreased with decreasing external resistors. Power density which increased with decreasing external resistance across each MFC until 200Ω beyond which decrease became evident, peaked at 60.94mW/m2 (92.6mA/m2), 39.94mW/m2 (75.0mA/m2) and 14.21mW/m2 (44.70mA/m2) across Rext = 1000Ω for CC, CCu and CuCu respectively. This depicts that carbon used as both cathode and anode produced more bioelectricity than other combinations. Bacteria isolated from the surface of anodes include, Lactobacillus spp., Corynebacterium spp., Streptococcus spp., Proteus mirabilis, Enterobacter spp., Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas spp., Bacillus spp., Aeromonas spp., Micrococus luteus, Corynebacterium spp. and Salmonella spp. Plasmid profile of the bacteria isolates in the original wastewater sample revealed that Lactobacillus spp., Proteus mirabilis, Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas spp., Bacillus spp., and Aeromonas spp had plasmids. These findings show that with better designs and optimization, the performance of the MFCs can be enhanced.},
 year = {2017}
}

Copy | Download

TY  - JOUR
T1  - Study on Generation of Bioelectricity Using Potassium Ferricyanide Electron Acceptor in Microbial Fuel Cell
AU  - Akujobi Campbell Onyeka
AU  - Anuforo Henry Uzoma
AU  - Ogbulie Tochukwu Ekwutosi
AU  - Ezeji Ethelbert Uchechukwu
Y1  - 2017/01/24
PY  - 2017
N1  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.cbe.20170201.12
DO  - 10.11648/j.cbe.20170201.12
T2  - Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering
JF  - Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering
JO  - Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering
SP  - 5
EP  - 13
PB  - Science Publishing Group
SN  - 2578-8884
UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.cbe.20170201.12
AB  - The capability of simultaneously generating bioelectricity and treating piggery wastewater using microbial fuel cell (MFC) with indigenous exoelectrogens was demonstrated. Three units of H – type MFCs were constructed using 0.1M potassium ferricynide (K3[Fe(CN)6]) as catholyte and carbon – carbon (CC), carbon – copper (CCu) and copper – copper (CuCu) electrodes of surface area 0.0071m2 each. The BOD and COD of the test piggery wastewater were 420mg/L and 1057mg/L respectively. While coulombic efficiency (CE) of the MFCs after 25 days were 76%, 72% and 5.10%, COD removal were 83%, 48% and 49% for CC, CCu and CuCu respectively. Highest voltage recorded were 752.4mV, 1027mV and 625.2mV across CC, CCu and CuCu respectively. Generation of voltage proportionally decreased with decreasing external resistors. Power density which increased with decreasing external resistance across each MFC until 200Ω beyond which decrease became evident, peaked at 60.94mW/m2 (92.6mA/m2), 39.94mW/m2 (75.0mA/m2) and 14.21mW/m2 (44.70mA/m2) across Rext = 1000Ω for CC, CCu and CuCu respectively. This depicts that carbon used as both cathode and anode produced more bioelectricity than other combinations. Bacteria isolated from the surface of anodes include, Lactobacillus spp., Corynebacterium spp., Streptococcus spp., Proteus mirabilis, Enterobacter spp., Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas spp., Bacillus spp., Aeromonas spp., Micrococus luteus, Corynebacterium spp. and Salmonella spp. Plasmid profile of the bacteria isolates in the original wastewater sample revealed that Lactobacillus spp., Proteus mirabilis, Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas spp., Bacillus spp., and Aeromonas spp had plasmids. These findings show that with better designs and optimization, the performance of the MFCs can be enhanced.
VL  - 2
IS  - 1
ER  -

Copy | Download

Author Information

Akujobi Campbell Onyeka

Department of Microbiology, Federal University of Technology, Owerri, Nigeria
Anuforo Henry Uzoma

Department of Biology, Federal University of Technology, Owerri, Nigeria
Ogbulie Tochukwu Ekwutosi

Department of Biotechnology, Federal University of Technology, Owerri, Nigeria
Ezeji Ethelbert Uchechukwu

Department of Biotechnology, Federal University of Technology, Owerri, Nigeria

Download PDF

Sections

Plain Text BibTeX RIS

APA Style

Akujobi Campbell Onyeka, Anuforo Henry Uzoma, Ogbulie Tochukwu Ekwutosi, Ezeji Ethelbert Uchechukwu. (2017). Study on Generation of Bioelectricity Using Potassium Ferricyanide Electron Acceptor in Microbial Fuel Cell. Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, 2(1), 5-13. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.cbe.20170201.12

Copy | Download

ACS Style

Akujobi Campbell Onyeka; Anuforo Henry Uzoma; Ogbulie Tochukwu Ekwutosi; Ezeji Ethelbert Uchechukwu. Study on Generation of Bioelectricity Using Potassium Ferricyanide Electron Acceptor in Microbial Fuel Cell. Chem. Biomol. Eng. 2017, 2(1), 5-13. doi: 10.11648/j.cbe.20170201.12

Copy | Download

AMA Style

Akujobi Campbell Onyeka, Anuforo Henry Uzoma, Ogbulie Tochukwu Ekwutosi, Ezeji Ethelbert Uchechukwu. Study on Generation of Bioelectricity Using Potassium Ferricyanide Electron Acceptor in Microbial Fuel Cell. Chem Biomol Eng. 2017;2(1):5-13. doi: 10.11648/j.cbe.20170201.12

Copy | Download

@article{10.11648/j.cbe.20170201.12,
  author = {Akujobi Campbell Onyeka and Anuforo Henry Uzoma and Ogbulie Tochukwu Ekwutosi and Ezeji Ethelbert Uchechukwu},
  title = {Study on Generation of Bioelectricity Using Potassium Ferricyanide Electron Acceptor in Microbial Fuel Cell},
  journal = {Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering},
  volume = {2},
  number = {1},
  pages = {5-13},
  doi = {10.11648/j.cbe.20170201.12},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.cbe.20170201.12},
  eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.cbe.20170201.12},
  abstract = {The capability of simultaneously generating bioelectricity and treating piggery wastewater using microbial fuel cell (MFC) with indigenous exoelectrogens was demonstrated. Three units of H – type MFCs were constructed using 0.1M potassium ferricynide (K3[Fe(CN)6]) as catholyte and carbon – carbon (CC), carbon – copper (CCu) and copper – copper (CuCu) electrodes of surface area 0.0071m2 each. The BOD and COD of the test piggery wastewater were 420mg/L and 1057mg/L respectively. While coulombic efficiency (CE) of the MFCs after 25 days were 76%, 72% and 5.10%, COD removal were 83%, 48% and 49% for CC, CCu and CuCu respectively. Highest voltage recorded were 752.4mV, 1027mV and 625.2mV across CC, CCu and CuCu respectively. Generation of voltage proportionally decreased with decreasing external resistors. Power density which increased with decreasing external resistance across each MFC until 200Ω beyond which decrease became evident, peaked at 60.94mW/m2 (92.6mA/m2), 39.94mW/m2 (75.0mA/m2) and 14.21mW/m2 (44.70mA/m2) across Rext = 1000Ω for CC, CCu and CuCu respectively. This depicts that carbon used as both cathode and anode produced more bioelectricity than other combinations. Bacteria isolated from the surface of anodes include, Lactobacillus spp., Corynebacterium spp., Streptococcus spp., Proteus mirabilis, Enterobacter spp., Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas spp., Bacillus spp., Aeromonas spp., Micrococus luteus, Corynebacterium spp. and Salmonella spp. Plasmid profile of the bacteria isolates in the original wastewater sample revealed that Lactobacillus spp., Proteus mirabilis, Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas spp., Bacillus spp., and Aeromonas spp had plasmids. These findings show that with better designs and optimization, the performance of the MFCs can be enhanced.},
 year = {2017}
}

Copy | Download

TY  - JOUR
T1  - Study on Generation of Bioelectricity Using Potassium Ferricyanide Electron Acceptor in Microbial Fuel Cell
AU  - Akujobi Campbell Onyeka
AU  - Anuforo Henry Uzoma
AU  - Ogbulie Tochukwu Ekwutosi
AU  - Ezeji Ethelbert Uchechukwu
Y1  - 2017/01/24
PY  - 2017
N1  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.cbe.20170201.12
DO  - 10.11648/j.cbe.20170201.12
T2  - Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering
JF  - Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering
JO  - Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering
SP  - 5
EP  - 13
PB  - Science Publishing Group
SN  - 2578-8884
UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.cbe.20170201.12
AB  - The capability of simultaneously generating bioelectricity and treating piggery wastewater using microbial fuel cell (MFC) with indigenous exoelectrogens was demonstrated. Three units of H – type MFCs were constructed using 0.1M potassium ferricynide (K3[Fe(CN)6]) as catholyte and carbon – carbon (CC), carbon – copper (CCu) and copper – copper (CuCu) electrodes of surface area 0.0071m2 each. The BOD and COD of the test piggery wastewater were 420mg/L and 1057mg/L respectively. While coulombic efficiency (CE) of the MFCs after 25 days were 76%, 72% and 5.10%, COD removal were 83%, 48% and 49% for CC, CCu and CuCu respectively. Highest voltage recorded were 752.4mV, 1027mV and 625.2mV across CC, CCu and CuCu respectively. Generation of voltage proportionally decreased with decreasing external resistors. Power density which increased with decreasing external resistance across each MFC until 200Ω beyond which decrease became evident, peaked at 60.94mW/m2 (92.6mA/m2), 39.94mW/m2 (75.0mA/m2) and 14.21mW/m2 (44.70mA/m2) across Rext = 1000Ω for CC, CCu and CuCu respectively. This depicts that carbon used as both cathode and anode produced more bioelectricity than other combinations. Bacteria isolated from the surface of anodes include, Lactobacillus spp., Corynebacterium spp., Streptococcus spp., Proteus mirabilis, Enterobacter spp., Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas spp., Bacillus spp., Aeromonas spp., Micrococus luteus, Corynebacterium spp. and Salmonella spp. Plasmid profile of the bacteria isolates in the original wastewater sample revealed that Lactobacillus spp., Proteus mirabilis, Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas spp., Bacillus spp., and Aeromonas spp had plasmids. These findings show that with better designs and optimization, the performance of the MFCs can be enhanced.
VL  - 2
IS  - 1
ER  -

Copy | Download