Effect of organic substrate type in electricity production from microbial fuel cell (MFC) inoculated by Staphylococcus saprophyticus ICBB 9554

Abstract

Microbial Fuel Cells (MFCs) are bioelectrochemical devices that can directly transform the chemical energy from organic matter into electrical energy using microbial metabolic activity, so microbes play an essential role. This study explores some organic substrate alternative cost-effective for Staphylococcus saprophyticus ICBB 9554 as an exoelectrogen for electricity production in MFCs. The organic substrates that were chosen were sugar, molasses, and palm sugar. The best performance in electricity production was in molasses which showed output voltage, electrical current, and power density of 789 mV, 0.48 mA, and 68 mW/m2, respectively. The COD removal, Coulombic efficiency, and bacterial density in molasses also the highest that was about 68.18 0.00%, 45.80 2.17%, and 1.09 108 cfu/ml, respectively. Molasses is a potentially cost-effective alternative organic substrate for MFCs inoculated by Staphylococcus saprophyticus ICBB 9554.