A single chamber packed bed microbial fuel cell biosensor for measuring organic content of wastewater

Abstract

This study reports an investigation of the effect of the anode surface area on the performance of a single chamber microbial fuel cell (SCMFC) based biosensor for measuring the organic content of wastewater. A packed bed of graphite granules was used as the anode. The surface area of the anode was changed by altering the granule bed thickness (0.3 cm and 1 cm). The anode surface area was found to play a role in the dynamic response of the system. For a granule bed thickness of 1 cm and with an external resistance of 500 Ω, the response time (defined as the time required to achieve 95% of the steady-state current) was reduced by approximately 65% in comparison to a SCMFC biosensor with a carbon cloth anode.

Key findings

• ▸Changing anode surface area by altering granule bed thickness (0.3 cm and 1 cm) impacts dynamic response.
• ▸A 1 cm granule bed thickness with 500 Ω external resistance reduces response time by approximately 65% compared to a carbon cloth anode.
• ▸Packed bed of graphite granules used as anode improves performance compared to carbon cloth anode.

Keywords

Identifiers

DOI

10.2166/wst.2009.699

Journal

Water Science and Technology

Year

2009