EFFECT OF POROSITY ON OCV AND WASTEWATER TREATMENT EFFICIENCY OF A CLAY PARTITIONED ION-EXCHANGE DOUBLE-CHAMBER MICROBIAL FUEL CELL

A microbial fuel cell (MFC) is a device that converts biochemical energy to electrical energy by the catalytic reaction of microorganisms. Two membraneless clay partitions were fabricated using local materials (Mfensi clay and alumina). Two double chambered MFCs were constructed using the clay partitions and operated under the same conditions (ambient temperature and pressure, pH, electrode size, substrate type and COD of 7200 mg/L) for 18 days. The performances of the cells were then compared in terms of wastewater treatment, power generation and coulombic efficiency. The maximum open circuit voltage (OCV) obtained for cell 1 and 2 were 1173.0 mV and 1333.0 mV respectively. The maximum power densities of cell 1 and 2 were 116.377 Wm-2 and 134.709 Wm-2 respectively. After operation, the cells showed decrease in the COD (Chemical oxygen demand) values of the wastewater of 3720 mg/L and 2610 mg/L respectively. The coulombic efficiency of cell 1 and 2 were 56.96 % and 46.37 % respectively. The wastewater treatment efficiency for cell 1 and 2 were 48.3 % and 63.8 % respectively. Cell 1 was found to be the best for MFC setup focused on power generation whiles Cell 2 was found to be the best for MFC setup focused on wastewater treatment.