Anode Material Testing for Marine Sediment Microbial Fuel Cells
Abstract
An increase in scientific research of microbial fuel cell technology is usually based on increasing the efficiency of the fuel cell by modifying the components or via investigations based on the microbiology that catalyzes the electrochemistry of the system. The increase of efficiency in sediment microbial fuel cells may lead to increased deployment times and reduction of battery requirements for oceanographic sensor systems. In a two-part study, anode material types with different surface area and porosity properties were compared and exoelectrogenic and background bacterial populations were detected and relatively quantified using real-time PCR techniques. The different types of anode material were tested under controlled conditions in a tank of marine sediment, keeping temperature, salinity, oxygen content, and the flow of interstitial water across the anode material as stable as possible. The relative quantification of biofilm was investigated using the relative real-time polymerase chain reaction method and aragose gel electrophoresis.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Sep 26, 2013
- Accession Number
- ADA589262
Entities
People
- Andrew J. Quaid
Organizations
- United States Naval Research Laboratory