A microbial fuel cell (MFC) or biological fuel cell is a bio-electrochemical system that drives a current by using bacteria, and mimicking bacterial interactions found in nature. (2)
This assignment focuses on creating a microbiological fuel cell to create and obtain low voltage electricity by using six different sugars (Glucose, Fructose, Sucrose, Maltose, Galactose) and dry yeast as the micro-organism instead of bacteria.
To generate electrical energy through oxidation of biodegradable organic matter the microbiological cell uses a biochemical oxidation process. This happens in the presence of a biocatalyst. There are many advantages in using microbiological fuel cells. For example the most significant advantage is that they use organic materials to produce electricity. Another advantage is that highly regulated distributions are not required like the ones required by the hydrogen fuel cells. The microbiological cells also have higher conversion efficiency than the enzymatic cells and around 90% of the electrons are harvested by them from the bacterial electron transport system (3).
This topic has aroused my interest as now around the world, using fossil fuels to produce electricity is depleted and other alternatives are considered,which would create lower amount of greenhouse gases, and also because microbial fuel cells represent a clean and renewable energy source.I was also fascinated when we did chapter 9 of our syllabus which is oxidation and reduction I was so enthusiastic to see if there is another way of producing low voltage electricity without using electrodes and their salts/electrolytes. My aim in this experiment is to discover“How different types of sugar (Glucose,Fructose,Sucrose,Maltose and Galactose) used in a mi...
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... Control Variables.
Dependent Variable:
• Voltage
Independent Variables:
• Types of sugar
Control Variables:
• Concentration of the solution that was made.
• Temperature of solutions: Methylene blue, sugar, yeast, potassium hexacyanoferrate (III).
• Amount of Sugar, yeast, methylene blue, potassiumhexacyanoferrate (III), and buffer solution.
• The length of the wire.
• Setting up the fuel cell without yeast / sugar to check if it still gives any voltage.
• Time
The list of Apparatuses and materials used and how to setup them can be found in appendices. (Appendix 2)
Since I am making a 0.1 Mconcentration, I will need 0.001 moles of each sugar.
Therefore, the Number of moles × molecular mass = mass of the sugars in grams in 10 mL of distilled water (with uncertaintyof ±0.2 mL on the graduated cylinder)
Shown below are the values obtained after the calculations:
Investigating the Effect of Sucrose Concentration on the Conversion into Glucose and Fructose by Invertase
The Effects of Concentration of Sugar on the Respiration Rate of Yeast Investigating the effect of concentration of sugar on the respiration rate of yeast We did an investigation to find how different concentrations of sugar effect the respiration rate of yeast and which type of concentration works best. Respiration is not breathing in and out; it is the breakdown of glucose to make energy using oxygen. Every living cell in every living organism uses respiration to make energy all the time. Plants respire (as well as photosynthesise) to release energy for growth, active uptake, etc…. They can also respire anaerobically (without oxygen) to produce ethanol and carbon dioxide as by-products.
The purpose of this investigation is to test the effects of multiple sugar substances on the respiration of yeast. Most people think of yeast when they think of what makes bread rise, cheese, alcoholic beverages, or other food products. Another type of yeast can also cause yeast infections, an infection of the skin. Yeasts (Saccharomyces) are tiny, microscopic organisms with a thin membrane and are usually oval or circular-shaped. They are a type of single-celled fungi of the class Ascomycetes, capable of processing sugar into alcohol and carbon dioxide (CO2 ) ; this process is known as fermentation. Fermentation and the products are the main focus points for this experiment being that cellular respiration of yeasts happens via the process of fermentation, which creates by-products of alcohol and CO2. The level of CO2 produced by the yeasts will show how effective each sugar substance is in providing cellular energy for the yeasts.
Fuel cells could create new markets for steel, electronics, electrical and control industries and other equipment suppliers. They could provide tens of thousands of high-quality jobs and reduce trade deficits.
In the search engine “Google dictionary” the author announces, “Fuel cell: a cell producing an electric current directly from a chemical reaction.” Fuel cells were thought of in 1839 by Sir William Grove who was known as “Father of the Fuel Cell.” In the article “History of
Bacterial cells, like plant cells, are surrounded by a cell wall. However, bacterial cell walls are made up of polysaccharide chains linked to amino acids, while plant cell walls are made up of cellulose, which contains no amino acids. Many bacteria secrete a slimy capsule around the outside of the cell wall. The capsule provides additional protection for the cell. Many of the bacteria that cause diseases in animals are surrounded by a capsule. The capsule prevents the white blood cells and antibodies from destroying the invading bacterium. Inside the capsule and the cell wall is the cell membrane. In aerobic bacteria, the reactions of cellular respiration take place on fingerlike infoldings of the cell membrane. Ribosomes are scattered throughout the cytoplasm, and the DNA is generally found in the center of the cell. Many bacilli and spirilla have flagella, which are used for locomotion in water. A few types of bacteria that lack flagella move by gliding on a surface. However, the mechanism of this gliding motion is unknown. Most bacteria are aerobic, they require free oxygen to carry on cellular respiration. Some bacteria, called facultatibe anaerobes can live in either the presence or absence of free oxygen. They obtain energy either by aerobic respiration when oxygen is present or by fermentation when oxygen is absent. Still other bacteria cannot live in the presence of oxygen. These are called obligate anaerobes. Such bacteria obtain energy only fermentation. Through fermentation, different groups of bacteria produce a wide variety of organic compounds. Besides ethyl alcohol and lactic acid, bacterial fermentation can produce acetic acid, acetone, butyl alcohol, glycol, butyric acid, propionic acid, and methane, the main component of natural gas. Most bacteria are heterotrophic bacteria are either saprophytes or parasites. Saprophytes feed on the remains of dead plants and animals, and ordinarily do not cause disease. They release digestive enzymes onto the organic matter. The enzymes breakdown the large food molecules into smaller molecules, which are absorbed by the bacterial cells. Parasites live on or in living organisms, and may cause disease. A few types of bacteria are Autotrophic, they can synthesize the organic nutrients they require from inorganic substances. Autotrophic bacteria are either photosynthetic or Chemosynthetic. The photosynthetic bacteria contain chlorophyll that are different from the plant chlorophyll. In bacterial photosynthesis, hydrogen is obtained by the splitting of compounds other than water.
No. of moles of KHP = Mass of KHP used / Molar mass = 0.41 g
Overall, the advantages of lithium-ion batteries outweigh the disadvantages, thus making it a great candida...
Energy, especially from fossil fuels, is a key ingredient for all sectors of a modern economy and plays a fundamental role in improving the quality of life in less developed economies. In 2007, India is ranked fifth in the world in terms of energy demand; accounting for 3.6% of total energy consumed, and is expected to grow at 4.8% in the future. India imports 70% of the oil it uses, and the country has been hit hard by the increasing price of oil, uncertainty and environmental hazards that are concerned with the consumption of fossil fuels. In such context, bio energy constitutes a suitable alternative source of energy for India, as large amounts of raw material are available to be harnessed.
The fuel cell manufactured by Ballard Power Systems is fuel cell that requires hydrogen and oxygen to create electricity. The fuel cell itself consists of two flow field plates, and two thin sheets of catalysts with a Polymer Electrolyte Membrane or Proton Exchange Membrane (PEM) in between (see Figure 1). The hydrogen is fed in through one plate and oxygen collected from the air in another – on either side of the membrane. Of the two electrodes on is the anode and the other is the cathode. The hydrogen reaches the ano...
A fuel cell is a device that converts the chemical energy from a fuel into electricity through a chemical reaction of positively charged hydrogen ions with oxygen or another oxidizing agent. Fuel cells are different from batteries in that they require a continuous source of fuel and oxygen or air to sustain the chemical reaction, whereas in a battery the chemicals present in the battery react with each other to generate an electromotive (emf). Fuel cells can produce electricity continuously for as long as these inputs are supplied.
By taking a Carbon Dioxide, rich substance and mixing it with a yeast, solution fermentation will occur, and then it could be determined if it is a good energy-producer. In this study glacatose, sucrose, glycine, glucose, and water were used to indicate how fast fermentation occurred. The overall result shows that monosaccharides in particular galactose and glucose were the best energy source for a cell.
Hydrogen fuel cells are an alternative source of energy. Unlike fossil fuels, hydrogen fuel cells have no direct negative effects on the environment. A hydrogen fuel cell works by combining hydrogen molecules with oxygen molecules to produce water and energy. A catalyst, like platinum, splits the hydrogen molecules into protons and neutrons to combine with the oxygen. The hydrogen molecules are fed through an anode, while the oxygen molecules are fed through a cathode. The molecules combine in a central chamber to form water. The water is released from the top of the chamber, and the energy is released from the bottom.
Bushby, Lisa. "Hydrogen Fuel Cells." : Energy of the Future (EnvironmentalChemistry.com). N.p., 22 Aug. 2006. Web. 04 Sept. 2013.
...croorganisms present in wastewater as the anodic solution obtained from different sources made me to understand that microbes present in domestic as well as industrial waste can even be proved beneficial if they are tapped for electricity generation. Such results were based on the preliminary experiments which need further research in the field . I did it on laboratory level and at the end could generate enough electrical energy to light a bulb or to run a calculator for a few hours to a day.