Waste Management 33 (2013) 2465–2469

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Waste Management
journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/wasman

Microbial fuel cell (MFC) for bioelectricity generation from organic

wastes
M. Azizul Moqsud a,⇑, Kiyoshi Omine b, Noriyuki Yasufuku c, Masayuki Hyodo a, Yukio Nakata a
a
Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Yamaguchi University, Japan
b
Department of Civil Engineering, Nagasaki University, Japan
c
Department of Civil and Structural Engineering, Kyushu University, Fukuoka, Japan

a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t

Article history: Microbial fuel cells (MFCs) have gained a lot of attention recently as a mode of converting organic matter
Received 1 April 2013 into electricity. In this study, a compost-based microbial fuel cell that generates bioelectricity by biodeg-
Accepted 24 July 2013 radation of organic matter is developed. Grass cuttings, along with leaf mold, rice bran, oil cake (from
Available online 17 August 2013
mustard plants) and chicken droppings (waste from chickens) were used as organic waste. The electric
properties of the MFC under anaerobic fermentation condition were investigated along with the influence
Keywords: of different types of membranes, the mixing of fly ash, and different types of electrode materials. It is
Microbial fuel cell
observed that the maximum voltage was increased by mixing fly ash. Cellophane showed the highest
Organic waste
Grass cuttings
value of voltage (around 350 mV). Bamboo charcoal is good for anode material; however carbon fiber
Compost is better for the cathode material in terms of optimization of power generated. This developed MFC is
Bioelectricity and voltage a simple cell to generate electricity from organic waste.
Ó 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

1. Introduction
Microbial fuel cells (MFCs) are bio-electrochemical transducers
that convert microbial reducing power (generated by the metabo-
lism of microorganisms) into electrical energy (Allen and Bennetto,
1993; Bennetto, 1984; Habermann and Pommer, 1991; Logan et al.,
2006). They are an alternative to conventional methods of generat-
ing electricity for small scale applications. Energy in any form plays
the most important role in the modern world. Also, reduction and
recycling of waste are very serious problems all over the world due
to the limitation of final disposal sites and decreasing environmen-
tal loads (Khalid et al., 2011). From the characteristic analysis of
the solid waste of many developing countries it is found that the
major portion (more than 80%) of the total solid waste comprises
of organic waste, which does not usually get much attention for
recycling or resource recovery (Moqsud et al., 2008). The annual
organic waste generated from the food industries and kitchen
waste in Japan is about 20 million tons per year (Koike et al.,
2009). Most of this waste is directly incinerated with other com-
bustible waste, and the residual ash is disposed of in landfills.
However, incineration of this water-containing waste is energy-
consuming.
There has already been some research of microbial fuel cells
(MFCs) to generate electricity from organic wastes or wastewaters
⇑ Corresponding author.
E-mail address: moqsud@gmail.com (M.A. Moqsud).
(Daniel et al., 2009; Khalid et al., 2011; Jiang et al., 2010; Logan,
2007; Luste and Loustarinen, 2011; Spiegel and Preston, 2003).
Researchers have also used MFCs to recover electricity from marine
sediments (Reimers et al., 2001) and rice paddy fields (Kaku et al.,
2008). MFC in hybrid composting method by reusing kitchen waste
as a raw material has also been proposed (Moqsud and Omine,
2010).
The objective of this study is to develop a microbial fuel cell that
generates electricity through the biodegradation of organic waste,
and to investigate influencing factors such as membranes in MFC,
admixtures and electrode materials. Fly ash which contains various
nutritive substances was chosen as admixture with the organic
waste. Various electrical properties and the performance of the
MFC were also determined.
2. Process of electrogenesis from microbial fuel cell
Microbial fuel cell (MFC) technologies represent the newest ap-
proach for generating electricity from biomass using microorgan-
isms. A typical microbial fuel cell consists of anode and cathode
compartments separated by a cation specific membrane. A sche-
matic representation of a microbial fuel cell is illustrated in
Fig. 1. In the anode compartment, organic matter is oxidized by
microorganisms, generating electrons and protons. When microor-
ganisms consume a substrate such as sugar in aerobic conditions
they produce carbon dioxide and water. However, when oxygen
is not present they produce carbon dioxide, protons and electrons
as described below (Bennetto, 1990):

0956-053X/$ - see front matter Ó 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.wasman.2013.07.026
2466 M.A. Moqsud et al. / Waste Management 33 (2013) 2465–2469
Fig. 1. Schematic representation of a microbial fuel cell.
C12 H22 O11 þ 13H2 O ! 12CO2 þ 48Hþ þ 48e
On the other hand, oxygen from air is supplied to the cathode and
the following chemical reaction occurs:
6O2 þ 24Hþ þ 24e ! 12H2 O
3. Materials and methods
3.1. Outline of test method
Generally, microbial fuel cells are used under the conditions of
an aerobic cathode with air and an anaerobic anode in waste water.
A proton exchange membrane is also used as a separator between
the cathode and anode in the microbial fuel cell. In this study, a
new type of MFC with a blend of wastes is developed. Two different
types of experiments were carried out with two different sets of or-
ganic materials in the microbial fuel cell. In the first experiment,
grass cuttings along with leaf mold was used as organic waste
and mixed into effective microorganisms (EM) to promote fermen-
tation. In the other type of experiment, rice bran, oil cake (mustard
plant) and chicken droppings (chicken stools) were used.
A schematic diagram for the experimental device of the MFC is
illustrated in Fig. 2. A rectangular (10  10  4 cm) acrylic con-
tainer was used in the laboratory as a cell. Then 70 g of grass cut-
tings (dry basis, moisture content 0%) and 140 g of leaf mold (dry
basis, moisture content 0%) mixed with 80 g of water and 15 g of
effective microorganisms were blended properly by a blender.
The blended sample was filled in the container. Carbon fiber was
used for both the anode and cathode (Kanegae et al., 2009). The
anode was inserted into the sample and the cathode was placed
on the top. The area of the electrode (carbon fiber) was kept same
with the cell areas (100 cm2).Both the anode and cathode were
Resistance Compost
with anaerobic
fermentation
Tester
Acrylic container
Fig. 2. Experimental device of the MFC with compost of organic wastes.
connected with a data logger (Graphtec midi Logger GL 200) and
an external resistance (51 X). A membrane was used to separate
the anode and cathode. The data logger was set to measure the
voltage at 10 min intervals. The laboratory test was conducted in
a constant room temperature of 26 °C.
Electrode output was measured in volts (V) against time. The
current I in Amperes (A) was calculated using Ohm’s law, I = V/R,
where V is the measured voltage in volts (V) and R is the known va-
lue of the external load resistor in Ohms. From this it is possible to
calculate the power output P in watts (W) of the MFCs by taking
the product of the voltage and current i.e. P = I  V.
3.2. Influence of separator
The anode and cathode compartment in the microbial fuel cell
should be separated electronically. A proton exchange membrane
(PEM) is widely used for the separator of MFC, but it is very expen-
sive. Some researchers have developed sediment MFCs that consist
of an anode electrode embedded in the anaerobic sediment and a
ð1Þ cathode electrode suspended in the aerobic water column (Reimers
et al., 2001). A separator is not needed in sediment MFCs, because
sediment has a redox potential and it may act as a proton exchange
membrane.
In this study, the influence of separators for MFC with compost
ð2Þ
of organic wastes is investigated. Three kinds of separators in sizes
of 10  10 cm are used, namely filter paper, cellophane, and PEM
(Nafion, N-115, Dupont Japan). The filter paper and cellophane
which are available commercially and cheap are used. Table 1
shows the test conditions of MFC with different separators.
3.3. Influence of mixing fly ash
The degradation of organic matter in compost is enhanced by
mixing alkaline material such as lime (Kanegae et al., 2009). Fly
ash is a by-product from coal-fired power plants. Fly ash contains
various nutritive substances and has high alkalinity. It is therefore
considered that fly ash promotes degradation of organic matter in
MFC. In this study, fly ash produced at Kyushu electric company
(KEPCO) in Japan is used. Table 2 shows test conditions with and
without fly ash in MFC. Those samples are mixed and the test is
performed in the same manner as described above. Filter paper is
used for the separator. The pH values of the blended sample with
and without fly ash were 8.4 and 7.5, respectively.
3.4. Influence of different anode materials
To observe the influence of different anode materials, other
experiments were conducted by using (i) bamboo charcoal with
iron wire, (ii) carbon fiber with iron wire and (iii) carbon fiber
alone. The homogeneous biomass for the MFC test was prepared
by mixing the rice bran, oil cake, and chicken droppings in a spec-
ified ratio. A specific quantity of water and effective microorgan-
isms (EM) were also mixed to make the biomass suitable for
quick biodegradation. Table 3 shows the different waste material
Carbon fibers for using the biomass for the MFC test. These specific types of
(Cathode)
materials were chosen as they are thought to produce a good qual-
Granulated
ity of uniform biomass for each test and also good quality (in terms
Active carbon
of nutrients) compost after electricity production.
Paper filter
4. Results and discussion
Carbon fibers
The variation of voltage with time in the MFCs test is illustrated
(Anode)
in Fig. 3. It can be seen that the voltage of each MFC increased grad-
ually with elapsed time and the peak value was reached in be-
tween 15 and 25 h. Higher voltage of MFCs is obtained in the
 M.A. Moqsud et al. / Waste Management 33 (2013) 2465–2469 2467

Table 1 140
Test conditions of MFC with different separator.

Separator Mixing sample 120

Leaf mold Cutting grass EM resource Water

100
(g) (g) (g) (g)

Voltage (mV)
Case Paper 140 70 15 80 80
1 filter
Case Cellphane 140 70 15 80
2
60
Case PEM 140 70 15 80
3 40
Case.1:Paper filter
20 Case.2:Cellophane
Case.3:PEM
0
0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40
Table 2
Test conditions of MFC using organic waste with or without fly ash. Elapsed time (hour)

Mixing sample Fig. 3. Relationship between voltage and elapsed time in the MFCs.
Leaf mold Cutting grass EM resource Fly Water
(g) (g) (g) ash (g)
Case 140 70 15 – 70 400
4 Case.1:Paper filter
Case 140 70 15 100 g 90 350
Case.2:Cellophane
5 Case.3:PEM
300

Voltage (mV)
250

order of cellophane, paper filter, and PEM (proton exchange mem-
brane) when three different membranes were used as separators of
the MFCs. PEM is usually used in water and it is impermeable, con-
sequently it is easy to become dry. It is considered that electric
resistance of the cellophane is lower than the PEM. Due to having
a dry surface, PEM resistance is higher. The paper filter is a perme-
able material to both water and air. The cellophane may be a good
material for the separator, but it is not reusable due to it deterio-
rating quickly.
Fig. 4 shows the relationship between voltage and current in the
MFCs for 20 h of elapsed time. It is found that the relationship was
almost linear. The intercept and inclination of the line represents
electromotive force and internal resistance for the MFCs, respec-
tively. It represents that MFC with a good performance indicates
high electromotive force and low internal resistance. The electro-
motive force of MFC with filter paper or cellophane was approxi-
mately 350 mV. The internal resistance of MFC with cellophane
was relatively low. On the other hand, the performance of MFC
with PEM is lower than filter paper or cellophane. As described
above, it is considered that PEM does not work well in dry condi-
tions. The test results obtained from Fig. 4 are given in Table 3.
Maximum electric power is calculated from the linear relationship
between voltage and current. The maximum power per anode area
is 42.5 mW/m2 for the MFC with cellophane.
The variation of voltage with time for the MFCs with or without
fly ash is shown in Fig. 5. Voltage of the MFC with fly ash increased
rapidly and it was much higher than that without fly ash for the
same elapsed time. Although the peak for the MFC without fly
ash was seen in 20 h, in the case of mixing fly ash it was in 15 h.
It is considered that degradation of organic matter is promoted
by mixing fly ash.
Table 3
Test results of MFCs in Case 1–3.
Case 1 Case 2
Electromotive force (mV) 352.8 357.2
Internal resistance (X) 89.71 75.03
Maximum power per area of 34.5 mW/ 42.5 mW/
cathode m2 m2
200
150
100
50
0
0 1 2 3 4 5
Current (mA)
Fig. 4. Relationship between voltage and current in the MFCs (20 h).
Fig. 6 shows the relationship between voltage and current in the
MFCs for 15 h of elapsed time. A linear relationship of voltage and
current was obtained for each MFC. By mixing fly ash, the electro-
motive force of the MFC increased and the internal resistance de-
creased. Namely, the performance of electricity generation of
MFC was improved by mixing fly ash. Table 4 presents the test re-
sults obtained from Fig. 6. The maximum power per cathode area
was 54.4 mW/m2 for the MFC by mixing fly ash.
Fig. 7 illustrates the variation of voltage with duration in
different anode materials by using the same biomass (comprising
of rice bran, oil cake, chicken droppings see Table 5) for each
anode. It is observed that bamboo charcoal with iron wire
winding showed the highest value of voltage and it reached
about 420 mV, which is quite good. The subsequent higher value
of voltage was found when the anode material was carbon fiber
with iron wire winding. The voltage reached 260 mV after
3 days. The carbon fiber alone did not show much higher values
compared with the other two. The winding of iron wire showed
some increased amount of voltage during the test.
Fig. 8 shows the relationship between voltage and current in
the MFCs for 4 days of elapsed time with different anode mate-
rials. A linear relationship of voltage and current was obtained
Case 3 for each MFC. By using bamboo charcoal with iron wire winding,
the electromotive force of the MFC increased and the internal
329
179.81 resistance decreased. The maximum power obtained was around
13.0 mW/ 400 mW/m2. The carbon fiber with iron wire and without iron
m2 wire showed the power around 130 mW/m2 and 10 mW/m2,
respectively.
2468 M.A. Moqsud et al. / Waste Management 33 (2013) 2465–2469

200 0.5
Resistance 51 Ω Anode
Bamboo charcoal + Iron wire
0.4
150
Voltage (mV)

Voltage (V)
0.3 Carbon fiber + Iron wire
100

0.2

50
Case.1:Without fly ash
0.1
Case.2:Mixing fly ash Carbon fiber

0
0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40
0
Elapsed time (hour) 0 2 4 6 8
Elapsed time (day)
Fig. 5. Relationship between voltage and elapsed time in the MFCs with or without
fly ash.
Fig. 7. Variation of voltage with duration by using three different anode materials.

400
Case.1:Without fly ash 600
350 Case.2:Mixing fly ash

300 500
Voltage (mV)

250 Anode
400 Bamboo charcoal
Voltage (V)

200 + Iron wire

300
150

100 Carbon fiber

200 + Iron wire
50 Carbon
100 fiber
0
0 1 2 3 4 5 6
Current (mA) 0
0 5 10 15 20 25 30
Fig. 6. Relationship between voltage and current in the MFCs (15 h). Current (mA)

Fig. 8. Relationship between voltage and current in the MFCs by using different
anode materials (4 days).

Table 4
Test results of MFCs in Case 4–5.
0.4
Electromotive Internal Maximum Maximum power per
force resistance power area of cathode (mW/
(X) (mW) m2)
Case 352.8 89.7 0.347 34.7 0.3 Cathode: Carbon fiber
4 +Granulated acitve carbone
Case 383.9 67.8 0.544 54.4 Anode: Bamboo charcoal+Iron wire
Voltage (V)

5
0.2

Table 5 0.1 Cathode: Bamboo charcoal

Composition of biomass for MFC for different anode materials.
Anode: Bamboo charcoal+Iron wire
Rice bran (g) Chicken droppings (g)a Oil cakes (g)b EM (g) Water (g)
100 50 50 12 140
0
a
Chicken droppings were collected from the Japan Agricultural Office. 0 1 2 3 4
b
Oil cakes were made of mustard available in Japan Agricultural Office. Elapsed time (day)

Fig. 9. Variation of voltage with duration with different cathode materials.

Fig. 9 illustrates the variation of voltage with duration by

changing the cathode materials. The anode was fixed with bamboo carbon fiber. It was seen that maximum power reached about
charcoal and the cathode was changed with bamboo charcoal and 394 mW/m2 by using the carbon fiber as cathode material. Carbon
 M.A. Moqsud et al. / Waste Management 33 (2013) 2465–2469
600
Cathode: Carbon fiber
500 +Granulated acitve carbone
Anode: Bamboo charcoal+Iron wire
400
Voltage (V)
300
200
100
Cathode: Bamboo charcoal
Anode: Bamboo charcoal
+Iron wire
0
0 5 10 15 20 25 30
Current (mA)
Fig. 10. Relationship between voltage and current in the MFCs by using different
cathode materials (4 days).
fiber showed much higher value than bamboo charcoal (8 mW/m2)
as a cathode material. This type of trend was due to the enhanced
contact surface of the cathode material (carbon fiber) with bio-
mass. The bamboo charcoal usually has some bends so it is not
smooth to touch or contact with biomass and consequently it
showed lower voltage. Bamboo charcoal is a good environment
friendly material and also cheap compared to carbon fiber. How-
ever, for this characteristic bamboo charcoal is not suitable for
using as cathode.
Fig. 10 illustrates the relationship between voltage and current
in each type of cathode material after 4 days. It was seen that max-
imum power reached about 394 mW/m2 by using carbon fiber as a
cathode material. Carbon fiber showed much higher value than
bamboo charcoal (8 mW/m2) as a cathode material. The bamboo
charcoal did not show a good value of power when it was used
for the cathode material due to its less contact with the biomass
of the MFC. The surface of the bamboo charcoal was naturally
curved so it did not touch the biomass smoothly.
5. Conclusions
The main conclusions obtained in this paper are as follows:
(1) The electromotive force of MFC with filter paper or cello-
phane is approximately 350 mV. The performance of MFC
with PEM is lower than that with filter paper or cellophane.
It is considered that PEM does not work well in dry condi-
tions. The maximum power per cathode area is 42.5 mW/
m2 for the MFC with cellophane.
(2) Voltage of the MFC with fly ash increases rapidly and it is
much higher than that without fly ash for the same elapsed
time. The maximum power per cathode area is 54.4 mW/m2
for the MFC by mixing fly ash. It is considered that degrada-
tion of organic matter is promoted by mixing fly ash.
2469
(3) A microbial fuel cell can generate some electricity directly
from organic wastes such as cutting grass, rice bran, oil cakes
or chicken droppings.
(4) Bamboo charcoal is good for anode material which is again
an environment friendly material, however carbon fiber is
the best choice for the cathode material.
In further study, test conditions for maximizing the power gen-
eration in the MFC and chemical components of the compost for
soil conditioner are needed to clarify.
Acknowledgement
The authors wish to acknowledge the financial support by
Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (21360227) from Japan Society
for the Promotion of Science and Kyushu University Interdisciplin-
ary Programs in Education and Projects in Research (P&P). The
authors also acknowledged to Mr. Kanegae for his help while con-
ducting the experiments.
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