Operational testing of sediment microbial fuel cells in San Diego Bay

In-situ testing has been conducted to evaluate the output power of sediment-based microbial fuel cell prototypes. Prototypes have been developed, by the Naval Research Lab (NRL) and Oregon State University (OSU), to power a hydrophone that is used by the Navy to track pacific green sea turtles in San Diego Bay. The NRL MFC anode consisted of a graphite anode buried in anaerobic sediment. The OSU MFC anode consisted of a carbon fiber anode inside a chamber that created a seal with the sediment. Both systems had a carbon fiber cathode floating in the water column. Each fuel cell trickle charged a rechargeable battery which provided power to the hydrophone. The MFC designed by NRL generated up to 60 mW of power and powered the hydrophone for a three month period of time. A miniature MFC was developed that evaluated the power potential of sediment and determined the optimal deployment sites for MFC systems.