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Open AccessArticle
Defying Gravity to Enhance Power Output and Conversion Efficiency in a Vertically Oriented Four-Electrode Microfluidic Microbial Fuel Cell
by
Linlin Liu
Linlin Liu
Linlin Liu received her master's degree in physical electronics from Hebei University in 2015 and is [...]
Linlin Liu received her master's degree in physical electronics from Hebei University in 2015 and is now pursuing a Ph.D. in the chemistry department. She worked as a managing editor for MDPI (2015–2019). In 2020, she moved to Laval University. She also works as a research assistant at the same institute. Her research topics mainly include electrochemistry, microbial fuel cells, microfluidics, microfabrication, and FTIR spectroscopy.
1,
Haleh Baghernavehsi
Haleh Baghernavehsi
Haleh Baghernavehsi received her master’s degree in chemical engineering from Tehran University in [...]
Haleh Baghernavehsi received her master’s degree in chemical engineering from Tehran University in 2023 and is now pursuing a Ph.D. in the chemistry department. In 2023, she moved to Laval University, where she also works as a research assistant. Her research focuses on electrochemistry, microbial fuel cells, microfluidics, microfabrication, thermal regenerative ammonia batteries, and simulation.
1 and
Jesse Greener
Jesse Greener
Jesse Greener received his B.Sc. in physics at the University of Waterloo and his Ph.D at the of in [...]
Jesse Greener received his B.Sc. in physics at the University of Waterloo and his Ph.D at the University of Western Ontario in physics and chemistry in 2004. Since 2012, he has been a professor of Chemistry at the Université Laval, where he leads a group in microfluidics and analytical chemistry for biosystem development. He has been a full professor since 2021. He is a member of the RSC Lab on a Chip advisory board, where he is always on the lookout for new contributions to the journal.
1,2,*
1
Département de Chimie, Université Laval, Québec, QC G1V 0A6, Canada
2
CHU de Québec, Centre de Recherche du CHU de Québec, Université Laval, Québec, QC G1L 3L5, Canada
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Micromachines 2024, 15(8), 961; https://doi.org/10.3390/mi15080961 (registering DOI)
Submission received: 3 July 2024
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Revised: 22 July 2024
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Accepted: 24 July 2024
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Published: 27 July 2024
Abstract
High power output and high conversion efficiency are crucial parameters for microbial fuel cells (MFCs). In our previous work, we worked with microfluidic MFCs to study fundamentals related to the power density of the MFCs, but nutrient consumption was limited to one side of the microchannel (the electrode layer) due to diffusion limitations. In this work, long-term experiments were conducted on a new four-electrode microfluidic MFC design, which grew Geobacter sulfurreducens biofilms on upward- and downward-facing electrodes in the microchannel. To our knowledge, this is the first study comparing electroactive biofilm (EAB) growth experiencing the influence of opposing gravitational fields. It was discovered that inoculation and growth of the EAB did not proceed as fast at the downward-facing anode, which we hypothesize to be due to gravity effects that negatively impacted bacterial settling on that surface. Rotating the device during the growth phase resulted in uniform and strong outputs from both sides, yielding individual power densities of 4.03 and 4.13 W m−2, which increased to nearly double when the top- and bottom-side electrodes were operated in parallel as a single four-electrode MFC. Similarly, acetate consumption could be doubled with the four electrodes operated in parallel.
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MDPI and ACS Style
Liu, L.; Baghernavehsi, H.; Greener, J.
Defying Gravity to Enhance Power Output and Conversion Efficiency in a Vertically Oriented Four-Electrode Microfluidic Microbial Fuel Cell. Micromachines 2024, 15, 961.
https://doi.org/10.3390/mi15080961
AMA Style
Liu L, Baghernavehsi H, Greener J.
Defying Gravity to Enhance Power Output and Conversion Efficiency in a Vertically Oriented Four-Electrode Microfluidic Microbial Fuel Cell. Micromachines. 2024; 15(8):961.
https://doi.org/10.3390/mi15080961
Chicago/Turabian Style
Liu, Linlin, Haleh Baghernavehsi, and Jesse Greener.
2024. "Defying Gravity to Enhance Power Output and Conversion Efficiency in a Vertically Oriented Four-Electrode Microfluidic Microbial Fuel Cell" Micromachines 15, no. 8: 961.
https://doi.org/10.3390/mi15080961
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