Title: Bioelectricity production from food waste leachate using double chamber microbial fuel cell: effect of electrolyte ph level, electrodes sizing, and positioning

Authors: Aziah Khamis; Nur Allyssa Mohd Zulfakar

Addresses: Faculty of Electrical Engineering, Universiti Teknikal Malaysia Melaka, Melaka, Malaysia ' Faculty of Electrical Engineering, Universiti Teknikal Malaysia Melaka, Melaka, Malaysia

Abstract: The world is facing a crisis of insufficient energy to support human life, as the world's energy demand overgrows in parallel with the world's population rate and will continue to increase in the future. The usage of the microbial fuel cell (MFC) as a renewable energy tool is a collective solution to this crisis. This project aims to find a new renewable source of energy as well as to prove and demonstrate the generation of electricity from food waste using MFC. Several manipulated variables were selected to test the maximum power density produced using double chamber MFC such as the different type of food waste, the different pH value for the food waste, the different sizes of the electrode, and the different electrode positioning in the chamber. The experimental results indicate that the best performance of MFC can be attained using fruits that quickly release sugar with a more acidic pH level. The MFC should be prepared using small size electrodes with spaces that were arranged in a vertical position. Therefore, it is proved that energy can be harvest from food waste by using MFC.

Keywords: bioelectricity; microbial fuel cell; MFC; waste-to-energy; food waste; double chamber; electrodes sizing and positioning; pH level.

DOI: 10.1504/IJEWM.2024.137947

International Journal of Environment and Waste Management, 2024 Vol.33 No.4, pp.465 - 478

Accepted: 17 Jul 2021
Published online: 12 Apr 2024 *

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