Influence of electrode distance on electrical energy production of microbial fuel cell using tapioca wastewater

Abstract

The microbial fuel cell (MFC) is an alternative technology that can be used to simultaneously solve problems related to wastewater production and energy demand. This study investigates the influence of electrode distance on power density in a microbial fuel cell using tapioca wastewater. A graphite sheet without metal catalyst was used for both electrodes, separated by a Nafion membrane. Four variations of electrode distance were used. The MFC with the longest electrode distance achieved the highest equilibrium OCV (676 mV), while the MFC with the shortest electrode distance achieved the highest power density (7.74 mW/m2). Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) measurement suggested that the charge transfer resistance was dominant in all MFC configurations. The wastewater COD removal was in the range of 35-46%, which is in accordance with the power density of MFCs.