Miniature BioFuel Cell for Photogeneration of Electricity Based on Cyanobacteria | IEEE Conference Publication | IEEE Xplore

Miniature BioFuel Cell for Photogeneration of Electricity Based on Cyanobacteria


Abstract:

Engineering of environmentally friendly and renewable energy sources is one of the most important problems nowadays. Developing a simple, inexpensive, miniature energy so...Show More

Abstract:

Engineering of environmentally friendly and renewable energy sources is one of the most important problems nowadays. Developing a simple, inexpensive, miniature energy source can significantly reduce environmental issues. In this work, we developed a model of a biofuel cell (BFC) for photogeneration of electricity based on cyanobacteria (blue-green algae) which can perform photosynthesis. As bioanalyzer of the system two types of cyanobacteria strains were used: Anabaena and Synechococcus. The development was focused on design and optimization of nanostructured anodes on which life cells were deposited. Various types of anodes based on glassy carbon, carbon paper cardboard, carbon felt were created and tested. Developed fuel cell efficiency with Synechococcus was 1.3 times higher than that with Anabaena. Maximum efficiency obtained with hybrid carbon anode and Synechococcus was 183 mW/m2. Further studies are carried out in order to increase the efficiency of the bio fuel cells.
Date of Conference: 27-30 January 2020
Date Added to IEEE Xplore: 19 March 2020
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Conference Location: St. Petersburg and Moscow, Russia

I. Introduction

The growth of energy consumption and environmental protection are two main trends that are forcing humanity to seek new sources of energy. Living organisms claim a key role in the replacement of fuel production resources that we currently use: coal, oil and gas. One of the promising sources of electricity can be cyanobacteria (blue-green algae), which can perform photosynthesis and can be used in the so-called biofuel elements (BFC). Moreover, in addition to generating electricity, microorganisms, such as cyanobacteria, can become a means for utilizing carbon dioxide and generating oxygen. Cyanobacteria (cyanoprokaryotes, cyanophytes, blue-green algae) are an ancient large group of microorganisms with a prokaryotic (bacterial) cell structure. A distinctive ability of cyanobacteria is the ability to perform photosynthesis [1]. CO2 is the only carbon source in photoautotrophic organisms, in contrast to the variety of organic compounds used by photoheterotrophs. In oxygen photosynthesis, electrons obtained from the photolysis of water produce oxygen. Cyanobacteria, algae, and plants are three groups of oxygen photoautotrophic organisms [2]. The appearance of oxygen photosynthesis in cyanobacteria led to an increase in oxygen on Earth ~ 2.3 billion years ago, profoundly changing the course of evolution [3].

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