Electricity Production by Microbial Fuel Cell Using Cheese Whey Wastewater of the Dairy Industry in Rajshahi, Bangladesh

Abstract

Microbial fuel cell is an alternative technology for energy generation aiming to recover chemical energy from biodegradable wastewater to and convert it to electricity. In this study, a small laboratory-scale microbial fuel cell was evaluated to generate electricity using cheese whey wastewater as the sole nutrient source. The open-circuit potential and the stable voltage output with 1000 Ω external resistance of the fuel cell using only cheese whey wastewater as anolyte were 0.925 V and 0.379 V, respectively. The power density achieved by the cell was 7.18 mW m–2, with a maximum current density of 35.75 mA m–2. The series connection of seven fuel cells produced the open-circuit potential of 7 V that could run a 4 V LED light strip for more than 3 hours. Cheese whey-microbial fuel cell can be considered as a cost-effective renewable energy source for the operation of low energy demanding devices in the future.