Enhanced Bioelectricity Generation in Two Chambered Microbial Fuel Cell with Salt Bridge in Absence of Mediator

Abstract

Microbial fuel cells (MFCs) harness the catalytic reactions of microorganisms to convert chemical energy into electrical energy offering an appealing solution to the challenges of energy production and wastewater treatment. The objective was to create cost-effective MFCs that harvest electricity from wastewater supplemented with industrial byproducts, eliminating the need for mediators. This study investigated electricity generation in a double-chambered MFC with salt bridge. The anodic chamber contained domestic wastewater blended with molasses or distillery spent wash as nutrient source. Microorganisms efficiently utilized the nutritional substrates in molasses and distillery spent wash to generate bioelectricity. The MFCs achieved maximum bioelectricity outputs of 65.92 mW/m² and 35.42 mW/m² using distillery spent wash and molasses, respectively. Notably, the MFCs exhibited remarkable stability in power generation and yielded sustainable bioelectricity from industrial byproducts.