Energy harvest with mangrove benthic microbial fuel cells
| Autor: | Florent Robert, Olivier Ondel, Christophe Roos, Paule Salvin |
|---|---|
| Rok vydání: | 2014 |
| Předmět: |
Engineering
Microbial fuel cell Renewable Energy Sustainability and the Environment business.industry Environmental engineering Energy Engineering and Power Technology 02 engineering and technology 010501 environmental sciences 021001 nanoscience & nanotechnology 7. Clean energy 01 natural sciences Power (physics) Substrate (building) Fuel Technology Nuclear Energy and Engineering Benthic zone Electricity 0210 nano-technology business Energy harvesting 0105 earth and related environmental sciences Power density Voltage |
| Zdroj: | International Journal of Energy Research. 39:543-556 |
| ISSN: | 0363-907X |
| DOI: | 10.1002/er.3270 |
| Popis: | Benthic microbial fuel cells (BMFCs) are continuous electricity generators using electroactive microorganisms and organic matter from aquatic environment, respectively, as catalysts and substrate. In this paper, first a low-cost PVC-made structure is constructed to harvest electricity from mangrove environment located in French Guiana. An in situ BMFC has given power density of 30 mW/m2 of the anodic surface area. This performance has been confirmed by experience in laboratory where inter-electrode distance and electrode surface area appeared to be power increasing factors. However, the output power of one BMFC is not used to supply real devices such as autonomous sensors. Second, to meet this expectation, in parallel and in series associations were considered. These associations were made in order to increase the output voltage and consequently the power, to reach levels that can supply small sensors (about 3 V). Finally, to improve the performance of the series association and to avoid the voltage reversal phenomenon, a voltage balancing circuit was simulated and added to the series connections. With balancing method, the cell voltage of BMFCs can be equalized, and the performances can be improved. This allows an optimal energy harvesting and a better global efficiency of the set. |
| Databáze: | OpenAIRE |
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