Structure-variable soil microbial fuel cell

Abstract

The invention discloses a structure-variable soil microbial fuel cell. Based on the characteristics of a large amount of bacteria in soil and rich species in soil, soil is used as a source of microorganisms for a microbial fuel cell and electricity is produced by mixing of soil and glucose or other dissolved organic carbon. Compared with pure bacteria or activated sludge, soil can be acquired more easily and has hardly a cost and thus soil is an ideal source of microorganisms for a microbial fuel cell. The structure-variable soil microbial fuel cell can realize the transformation between a single-chamber structure and a double-chamber structure by dismounting and assembling. Two types of the structures are simple and can be transformed conveniently. In transformation, an anode chamber environment is not damaged and requirements of operation under the condition of different electron acceptors are satisfied. When the structure-variable soil microbial fuel cell has a single-chamber structure, oxygen in air is used as an electron acceptor. When the structure-variable soil microbial fuel cell has a double-chamber structure, a potassium ferricyanide solution is used as an electron acceptor. When a carbon source substrate is used up so that electric quantity is reduced, glucose or other dissolved organic carbon solutions can be added into the structure-variable soil microbial fuel cell so that electricity production is recovered.

Description

technical field [0001] The invention belongs to the technical field of green new energy. It relates to a device with a variable configuration, which uses soil as a microbial source and relies on glucose or other soluble organic carbon added from an external source to generate electricity. Background technique [0002] A microbial fuel cell is a device that converts chemical energy stored in organic matter into electrical energy using the catalysis of microorganisms. The device consists of an anode area, a cathode area and an external load. Microorganisms in the anode area decompose organic substrates under anaerobic conditions to maintain electricity production and microbial growth. Organic matter is decomposed at the anode and electrons are generated. Electrons are conducted from the anode to the cathode through an external circuit, and combine with electron acceptors to form an electric current. Microbial fuel cell is a green new energy technology, which has been exten...

AI Technical Summary

Problems solved by technology

The advantage of the single-chamber structure is that the internal resistance is relatively small. The disadvantage is that the anaerobic condition of the anode is not as good as that of the double-chamber structure, and oxygen is usually used as the electron acceptor. The high overpotential of oxygen limits the current; the advantage of the double-chamber structure is that the anode The chamber has a strict anaerobic environment, and potassium ferricyanide with low activation energy is often used as the electron acceptor, which is conducive to increasing the current. The disadvantage is that the existence of the ion exchange membrane increases the internal resistance of the battery, and the potassium ferricyanide solution need to be replaced periodically

Images