Production of Electricity and Bioethanol with Microbial Fuel Cell (MFC) Technology on Molasses Substrate

Abstract

Microbial Fuel Cell (MFC) is a device that converts chemical energy to electrical energy through microbial metabolism. This research aimed to investigate the effect of electrolyte solution on electricity production and determine the bioethanol content using Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry (GC-MS) and refractometer through the fermentation process Saccharomyces cerevisiae in molasses substrate. The research applies a double chamber consisting of an anode and cathode chambers connected through a proton exchange membrane (PEM). This research showed that the addition of 0.2 M KMnO4 electrolyte solution generated a maximum current of 1.20 mA and a voltage of 480 mV with a power density of 2935 mW/cm2. It resulted in a higher power density value than the addition of 0.2 M K3(Fe(CN)6 electrolyte solution, which only generated a maximum current of 1.65 mA and a voltage of 320 mV with a power density of 2690 mW/cm2. The results of the GC-MS analysis showed the presence of bioethanol, and the resulting bioethanol levels were 28.44%. The MFC system with molasses substrate has the potential to generate electricity and produce bioethanol at the same time.