Anaerobic sludge from cow manure as bacterial inoculum for microbial fuel cell
Fauzi Abdilah (a*), Ardiyan Harimawan (b), Hary Devianto (b)
a) Department of Chemical Engineering, Politeknik Negeri Bandung, Jalan Gegerkalong Hilir Ds Ciwaruga, Bandung 40012, Indonesia
b) Department of Chemical Engineering, Institut Teknologi Bandung, Jalan Ganesha 10, Bandung 40132, Indonesia
Abstract
Microbial fuel cell (MFC) is a promising technology that can be used to directly convert organic matter into electrical energy with the aid of microorganisms. This experiment studied the electricity-generating potency of a double chamber MFC using palm oil mill effluent (POME) as substrate and mixed culture originating from cow manure as inoculum. A non-catalyst graphite sheet was used as the electrode with a proton exchange membrane as the separator. In this work, we report that mixed culture bacteria from cow manure can be used as potential inoculum for microbial fuel cell generating maximum open circuit voltage, power density and current density of 853 mV, 655.98 mW/m2 and 1387.09 mA/m2, respectively. Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) was done to investigate the electrochemical activities in the MFC. The biofilm formation on the anode surface was visualized using scanning electron microscopy (SEM).
Keywords: microbial fuel cell, palm oil mill effluent, cow manure, inoculum, graphite sheet
Topic: Chemical Engineering