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Performance of microbial fuel cell with volatile fatty acids from food wastes

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Abstract

Food wastes were used as feedstock for the direct production of electricity in a microbial fuel cell (MFC). MFC operations with volatile fatty acids (VFA) produced 533 mV with a maximum power density of 240 mW/m2. Short-chain VFAs, such as acetate, were degraded more rapidly and thus supported higher power generation than longer chain ones. In general, the co-existence of other, different VFAs slowed the removal of each VFA, which indicated that anodic microbes were competing for different substrates. 16S rRNA gene analysis using PCR-DGGE indicated that the MFC operation with VFAs had enriched unique microbial species.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, KAIST, Daejeon, Korea

    Jin-dal-rae Choi & Ho Nam Chang

  2. Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, KAIST, 335 Gwahangno, Yuseong-gu, Daejeon, 305-701, Korea

    Jong-In Han

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  1. Jin-dal-rae Choi
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  2. Ho Nam Chang
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  3. Jong-In Han
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Correspondence to Jong-In Han.

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Choi, Jdr., Chang, H.N. & Han, JI. Performance of microbial fuel cell with volatile fatty acids from food wastes. Biotechnol Lett 33, 705–714 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10529-010-0507-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10529-010-0507-2

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