Chapter III

METHODOLOGY

This chapter includes the research design, the instruments, and the intervention

that will help in the study’s data collection procedure, as well as the plan for data

analysis.

Research Design

The research design incorporated in this study is the experimental research design.

In an experimental research design, the researchers manipulate the factors that might

affect the result of the system upon which the researchers are experimenting with. In this

study, the researchers aimed to develop a microbial fuel cell prototype that can produce

electricity using biodegradable wastes, specifically fruit and vegetable wastes. The major

factors that affected the outcome of the prototype were the type of wastes present in the

compost tea and the number of organic molecules that were oxidized by the bacteria that

were deposited to cause the electrons to move in order to generate electricity.

Research Instruments

The following materials were used in the construction of the Microbial Fuel Cell:

12 plastic containers, six one-meter copper wires, 72 one-meter cotton mop strands, 12

seven-by-seven-inch aluminum meshes, and two electrical tapes.

 34

The solution created for the salt bridge consisted of two liters of water and one

kilogram of iodized sodium chloride. Various types of fruits and vegetables were

gathered for the formation of the anaerobic compost tea. A multimeter was also used to

measure the electric output of the Microbial Fuel Cell.

Intervention

In this study, three setups were used having two trials. Each setup contained

different kinds of biowaste (fruit peels, vegetable wastes, and a mixture of the two).

These wastes measuring 500 grams in total were mixed with 3.5 liters of water to create a

compost tea.

There were 12 transparent containers used in the study having the same size and

capacity. Each container had a drilled hole at one side located one inch from the bottom,

as well as its covers which were drilled with a hole at the middle. Meanwhile, the salt

bridge was made using a highly concentrated salt solution which was done by boiling one

kilogram of salt in two liters of water. Afterwards, the cotton mop strands were

submerged to the salt solution for five minutes until the salt crystalized on the cotton mop

strands. It was then left to dry and tightly wrapped with an electrical tape. The salt

bridges were then utilized to connect two containers for the anaerobic and aerobic sides

of the device. The holes were secured using a sealant and left to dry for a day and were

checked for leaks. Once again, the holes were resealed using hot melt adhesives.
 35

Figure 2. Set-up Diagram

 36

Next, the researchers made the electrodes out of aluminum mesh and copper

wires. The 12 copper wires having a length of one meter each were attached individually

to the 12 aluminum meshes which were cut with a size of 7 by 28 inches. The electrodes

were placed separately to each of the 12 containers and the copper wires were inserted to

the drilled hole on the cover of the containers.

The ratio of the plants and vegetables used in the study was distributed equally

among the samples that represented the mentioned groups. The organic wastes must be

fresh and moist to increase its ability to support bacterial growth. For the biowastes, the

researchers went to the local market of Naga City to obtain the required amounts of fruit

peels and vegetable wastes. Next to the process was the making of the compost teas. For

the fruit setup, it contained 250 grams of pineapple peels and 250 grams of banana peels

(500 grams in total for each trial). For the vegetable setup it contained 250 grams of

carrot wastes and 250 grams of chayote wastes (500 grams in total for each trial). Last

was for the fruit and vegetable mix setup, it contained 125 grams of pineapple peels, 125

grams of banana peels, 125 grams of carrot wastes and 125 grams of chayote wastes (500

grams in total for each trial). Afterwards, each setup was poured with 3.5 liters of water

and were covered.

The voltage outputs were tested for certain periods of time using a multimeter. To

determine how long the device took to produce a certain amount of electricity from

different types of biowaste, the researchers compared the readings that were tabulated

within a certain time duration of two weeks for each setup. The researchers tabulated the

electric voltage produced by the MFC device from the varying types of biowaste that they
 37

recorded during the time duration, from 9:00 am to 10:00 am and from 4:00 pm to 5:00

pm.

The output of each setup was statistically treated to determine the significant

difference with each output. The biowaste compost with the highest amount of electric

output was tested against the other two outputs, determining the significant difference.

Data Collection Procedure

The researchers collected the materials needed for the study such as the containers,

aluminum mesh, copper wires, cotton mop strands, salt, electrical tapes, water, and

multimeter. The construction of the setups took place in the Chemistry Laboratory of

Naga City Science High School. After construction, the collection of the biowastes from

the local market commenced. The compost teas were made and were equally distributed

for each setup. The researchers then started observing and measuring the voltage output

that were produced by each setup using a multimeter. The gathered data were

tabulated and statistically treated to determine the significant difference with each output.

Statistical Treatment

1. Mean was used to determine the average output (electric voltage) which was

produced by the device according to the type of wastes put into it.

2. One-Way Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) was used for the significant difference

of the amount of voltage produced from varying types of wastes.