Influence of Substrate Proximate Properties on Voltage Production in Microbial Fuel Cells

Abstract

In the current study, we investigate the influence of proximate properties of five different fruits on voltage and current generated from a double chamber microbial fuel cell. Fruits comprising of avocado, tomato, banana, watermelon and mango were analyzed for proximate properties using standard methods. Rumen fluid was used as the inoculum in fabricated H-shaped double chamber fuel cells with graphite rods electrodes at room temperature. The voltage and current generated were monitored daily for 30 days using a DT9205A digital multi-meter. The average moisture content for the fruits samples ranged from 82.86% - 95.16% while the crude fat was in the range of 0.12% - 0.33% with avocado having fat levels at 9.03%. Carbohydrates level was the highest in banana at 19.24% and the lowest in tomato waste at 2.93%. Tomato waste produced the highest voltage of 0.702 V on day 20 while lower voltage was noted in watermelon fruit wastes at 0.019 V. The voltage and current increased linearly with time for all the fruit wastes. These results indicate that substrate proximate properties influence the voltage and current generated in microbial fuel cell. In addition, moisture content and carbohydrates level were the major factors that influence microbial fuel cells performance.