So far, the Penn State experiments have produced between 10 and 50 milliWatts of power per square meter of electrode surface or about 5 percent of the amount needed to run one mini-Christmas tree light, while removing up to 78 percent of organic matter as measured by biochemical oxygen demand (BOD).

Dr. Bruce E. Logan, the Kappe professor of environmental engineering and director of the project, says, "MFCs may represent a completely new approach to wastewater treatment. If power generation in these systems can be increased, MFC technology may provide a new method to offset wastewater treatment plant operating costs, making advanced wastewater treatment more affordable for both developing and industrialized nations."

The project is described in a paper, "Production of Electricity During Wastewater Treatment Using a Single Chamber Microbial Fuel Cell," released on-line and scheduled for a future issue of Environmental Science and Technology. The authors are Dr. Hong Liu, postdoctoral researcher in environmental engineering; Ramanathan Ramnarayanan, doctoral candidate in materials; and Logan.

Other researchers have shown that MFCs can be used to produce electricity from water containing pure chemicals including glucose, acetate or lactate. The Penn State researchers are the only ones, so far, to show that MFCs can produce electricity directly from wastewater skimmed from the settling pond of a treatment plant.

Microbial fuel cells work through the action of bacteria which can pass electrons to an anode, the negative electrode of a fuel cell. The electrons flow from the anode through a wire, producing a current, to a cathode, the positive electrode of a fuel cell, where they combine with hydrogen ions (protons) and oxygen to f
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Contact: Barbara Hale
aem1@psu.edu
814-865-9481
Penn State
23-Feb-2004