Microbial Fuel Cells (MFCs) are bio-electrochemical reactors that have shown promising performance towards the management of the world-wide spread issue of waste treatment. The employment of these systems, in fact, allows to turn the problem of waste disposal into an economic opportunity, by directly producing electrical energy through the metabolism of particular strains of bacteria. In this paper we deploy a full 3D model for the evaluation of the electrochemical performance of MFCs, based on the Lattice Boltzmann Method. Despite a simplified, yet effective, electrochemical schematization, the proposed numerical approach is able to accurately capture the main energetic parameters of MFCs in terms of polarization and power curves, as well as pH evolution and ion distribution within the batch reactor. The results are validated against experimental measurements taken on solid-waste microbial fuel cells: the comparison highlights the accuracy and reliability of the proposed numerical method for the prediction of MFC performance.
A comprehensive multiscale methodology to investigate microbial fuel cell performance
Di Ilio G.
;Nastro R. A.;Di Trolio P.;Falcucci G.
2019-01-01
Abstract
Microbial Fuel Cells (MFCs) are bio-electrochemical reactors that have shown promising performance towards the management of the world-wide spread issue of waste treatment. The employment of these systems, in fact, allows to turn the problem of waste disposal into an economic opportunity, by directly producing electrical energy through the metabolism of particular strains of bacteria. In this paper we deploy a full 3D model for the evaluation of the electrochemical performance of MFCs, based on the Lattice Boltzmann Method. Despite a simplified, yet effective, electrochemical schematization, the proposed numerical approach is able to accurately capture the main energetic parameters of MFCs in terms of polarization and power curves, as well as pH evolution and ion distribution within the batch reactor. The results are validated against experimental measurements taken on solid-waste microbial fuel cells: the comparison highlights the accuracy and reliability of the proposed numerical method for the prediction of MFC performance.I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.
