Fabrication of Single Chamber Microbial Fuel Cell (SMFC) Using Soil as a Substrate

• Published in: Pertanika Journal of Science and Technology
• Main Author: Sahari S.K.; Rosli Md.Z.F.; Butit A.M.; Kipli K.; Anyi M.; Awang A.; Sawawi M.; Mahmood M.R.; Hasanah L.; Kram A.R.; Embong Z.; Nahrawi H.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Universiti Putra Malaysia Press 2022
• Online Access: https://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?eid=2-s2.0-85130948948&doi=10.47836%2fpjst.30.2.14&partnerID=40&md5=13605b4b5657a377f8437ec10377238b

This paper presents a Single-chamber Microbial Fuel Cell (SMFC) design by utilizing soil as a substrate with two sets of electrode combinations, which are graphite-activated carbon and copper-zinc of different sizes. It was found that graphite and activated carbon produced greater power density compared to copper and zinc. Moreover, it was observed that the graphite-activated carbon cloth electrode with a bigger surface area of 51cm2 resulted in a higher power density of 904mW/m2. To further improve the voltage production of this model, four SMFCs were stacked in series and connected to a DC-DC boost converter to increase the voltage to 1.482 V for the copper-zinc electrode and 1.722 V for the graphite-activated carbon electrode, respectively, which was sufficient to light up an LED light. © Universiti Putra Malaysia Press.