TWI407622B - Microbial fuel cell - Google Patents

Abstract

The invention relates to a microbial fuel cell, including a first container, a second container connecting to the first container, a culture medium which is set in the first and the second containers and wherein has a photosynthetic microbe, a permeable membrane set between the first and the second containers, and a light source penetrating the first container to illuminate the photosynthetic microbe so that the photosynthetic microbe absorbs a carbon dioxide and light to produce electricity power. The invention produces electricity power by having the microbe to absorb carbon dioxide and light. Moreover, an electric current could responds to a certain degree without adding additional electron transport. It not only decreases the emission quantity of carbon dioxide, but also efficiently decreases the cost of microbial fuel cell, so as to decrease global warming efficiency.

Description

Microbial fuel cell

The present invention relates to a fuel cell, and more particularly to a microbial fuel cell.

With the emergence of technologies that turn waste into energy, the problems caused by the continued reduction in energy are alleviated, and the use of microbial fuel cells is one of the technologies to address energy shortages.

Microbial fuel cells use bacteria to break down organic waste and convert their chemical bond energy into energy, such as electricity and hydrogen. The use of microbial fuel cells to treat wastewater can save most of the energy needed to treat wastewater. In addition to generating a large amount of electricity, it can also reduce the cost of active sludge in air-drying wastewater, reducing electricity consumption by half, and the resulting treatment needs to be treated. The solid matter is also reduced by a large part.

Microbial fuel cells can also be an important source of energy in the less developed regions of the world, or convert substances that are not available to certain industries into energy sources, such as sediments on the sea floor, or certain biological substances in waste.

Most of the energy sources of the prior art are sugar substances, and there is a problem of competing with people. If wastewater is used as a source, the mobility is insufficient, and the impurities in the wastewater are likely to affect the electricity production efficiency. Furthermore, the micro-generation used in general microbial power generation systems Most of the things must be added with additional electronic media, which greatly increases the cost.

Therefore, the present invention provides a microbial fuel cell which converts light energy into electrical energy by using light energy as its energy supplier, and can have a relatively high current reaction and can fix carbon dioxide without additional electron transport medium. This can effectively reduce the cost of microbial fuel cells, and can also reduce carbon dioxide emissions to reduce the benefits of global warming.

The main object of the present invention is to provide a microbial fuel cell which generates electricity by absorbing carbon dioxide while utilizing light energy, and can generate a relatively large current reaction without further addition of an electron transport medium, which not only reduces Carbon dioxide emissions to increase the efficiency of electricity production, and more effectively reduce the cost of microbial fuel cells to reduce the benefits of global warming.

The present invention provides a microbial fuel cell comprising a first container, a second container, a medium, a permeable membrane and a light source, the second container is connected to the first container; the medium is disposed in the first container and the first container In the second container, the medium has a photosynthetic microorganism; the permeable membrane is disposed between the first container and the second container; the light source is permeable to the first container and irradiates the photosynthetic microorganism, and the photosynthetic microorganism absorbs a carbon dioxide and absorbs the light energy to generate a power. The invention generates electric power by absorbing carbon dioxide by photosynthetic microorganisms, and has a considerable current reaction without additional addition of an electron transport medium, thereby reducing carbon dioxide emissions and reducing the cost of the microbial fuel cell to reduce global warming. Benefits.

10‧‧‧First container

12‧‧‧ venting port

14‧‧‧A positive electrode

20‧‧‧Second container

24‧‧‧negative electrode

30‧‧‧ medium

32‧‧‧Photosynthetic microorganisms

40‧‧‧Transparent membrane

50‧‧‧Light source

60‧‧‧Constant potential meter

70‧‧‧resistance

1 is a schematic structural view of a power generation test device for a microbial fuel cell according to an embodiment of the present invention; 2 is a schematic view showing the structure of a microbial fuel cell according to a comparative example of the present invention; the third drawing is a graph showing the current and time of photosynthetic microorganism production according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention; and the fourth drawing is a preferred embodiment of the present invention. A graph of current and time of electricity production by photosynthetic microorganisms under conditions of light opening and closing; and a fifth graph showing a graph of microbial fuel cell output power according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

For a better understanding and understanding of the structural features and efficacies of the present invention, please refer to the preferred embodiment and the detailed description. For the following: please refer to the first and second figures. The structure of the microbial fuel cell of the preferred embodiment of the present invention is schematically illustrated as a schematic diagram of the structure of the microbial fuel cell. As shown, the microbial fuel cell of the present invention comprises a first container 10, a first The second container 20, a medium 30, a permeable membrane 40 and a light source 50, the second container 20 is connected to the first container 10; the medium 30 is disposed in the first container 10 and the second container 20, and the medium 30 has a Photosynthetic microorganism 32; the permeable membrane 40 is disposed between the first container 10 and the second container 20, the first container 10 is provided with a venting opening 12 for ventilation, and the light source 50 is disposed under the first container 10, the first container 10 is a light-transmissive container, and the light source 50 is an LED lamp. The light source 50 is permeable to the first container 10 and irradiates the photosynthetic microorganism 32, and the photosynthetic microorganism 32 absorbs a carbon dioxide and generates a power.

The medium 30 contains a carbonate, the carbonate is an inorganic carbon medium 30, and the photosynthetic microorganism 32 is selected from a hot spring and named one of the blue-green bacteria ( Thermosynechococcus sp. CL-1) was cultured in a carbonate medium 30. The first container 10 is provided with an anode electrode 14, the anode electrode material is a carbon fiber cloth, the anode electrode 14 is in contact with the medium 30 in the first container 10, and the second container 20 is provided with a cathode electrode 24, the cathode electrode 24 and the second container 20 The medium 30 is in contact with each other, and the material of the cathode electrode 24 contains platinum.

The invention utilizes a device for providing voltage as a tool for power generation capability testing, such as a certain potentiometer 60 connecting the anode electrode 14 and the cathode electrode 24 to provide a voltage in the medium 30, and irradiating the medium 30 with the light source 50 to irradiate the photosynthetic microorganism 32. Moreover, the present invention does not require the addition of an electron transport medium to the medium 30, thereby exhibiting carbon sequestration and current generation. The potentiometer 60 is changed to a resistor 70, and the resistor 70 is respectively connected to the anode electrode 14 and the cathode electrode 24 in the first container 10 and the second container 20 to be combined into a microbial fuel cell with the light source 50 as an energy, as shown in the figure. The second is shown. The carbonate of this example has an inorganic carbon concentration of 47 mM to provide a photosynthetic microorganism 32 as a preferred reaction environment.

Please refer to the third figure, which is a graph of current and time of photosynthetic microorganism production according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention. It can be seen from the figure that when the present invention is cultured with an appropriate amount of inorganic carbon, under a fixed applied voltage. According to the light, as the cell grows, the reaction current increases. In this embodiment, the applied voltage is 0.2V and the light is applied, so that the carbon can be effectively fixed, and as the cell grows, the current value also increases. .

Please refer to the fourth figure, which is a graph showing the current and time of electricity production of the photosynthetic microorganism under the conditions of opening and closing light according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention; as shown in the figure, the photosynthetic microorganism 32 generates electricity when the light is turned on. There are many, and there are fewer when the light is closed. It can be seen that the photosynthetic microorganism 32 produces electricity by supplying light energy as its energy source. When the current rises to 18μA, the light is turned off, and the current begins to decrease. When the light is turned on again, the current value starts to rise, and the result of the repeated test proves the correlation between the current and the light. In Figure 4, A, B, C and D respectively indicate the current measurement in the four states of turning off the light, turning on the light, turning off the light and turning on the light.

Please refer to the fifth figure, which is a graph of the output power of the microbial fuel cell according to the preferred embodiment of the present invention; as shown in the figure, the maximum output power of the microbial fuel cell of the present invention which does not require the addition of an electron transfer enzyme is 0.95mW m-2. The photosynthetic microorganism 32 does not need to add an electron transport medium in this process, and can effectively remove carbon dioxide and have potential for generating electricity under illumination conditions, and can be used as an environmental protection and green energy tool.

It can be seen from the above that the present invention utilizes the photosynthetic microorganism 32 of blue-green fungus to absorb carbon dioxide, and has the benefit of producing electricity at the same time. The blue-green bacteria have both high alkali resistance and high temperature characteristics, and can effectively utilize the largest carbon dioxide emission source (flue) Gas), so there are also benefits of reducing carbon dioxide emissions and electricity production. In view of the increasing importance of biomass energy and the effect of carbon dioxide on global warming, it is a two-pronged approach to obtain electricity from carbon fixation by photosynthetic microorganisms 32.

In summary, the present invention provides a microbial fuel cell comprising a first container, a second container, a medium and a light source; the medium is disposed in the first container and the second container, the medium has a photosynthetic microorganism; the light source The first container is permeable and irradiated with photosynthetic microorganisms, and the photosynthetic microorganism absorbs a carbon dioxide and generates a power. The invention generates electric power by absorbing carbon dioxide by photosynthetic microorganisms, and has a considerable current reaction without additional addition of an electron transport medium, thereby reducing carbon dioxide emissions and reducing the cost of the microbial fuel cell to reduce global warming. Benefits.

Therefore, the present invention is a novelty, progressive and available for industrial use. It should be in accordance with the patent application requirements stipulated in the Patent Law of China, and the invention patent application is filed according to law, and the prayer bureau will grant the patent as soon as possible. For prayer.

However, the above description is only a preferred embodiment of the present invention, and is not intended to limit the scope of the present invention, and the shapes, structures, features, and spirits described in the claims are equivalently changed. Modifications are intended to be included in the scope of the patent application of the present invention.

10‧‧‧First container

12‧‧‧ venting port

14‧‧‧A positive electrode

20‧‧‧Second container

24‧‧‧negative electrode

30‧‧‧ medium

32‧‧‧Photosynthetic microorganisms

40‧‧‧Transparent membrane

50‧‧‧Light source

70‧‧‧resistance

Claims (10)

A microbial fuel cell comprising: a first container; a second container connected to the first container; a medium disposed in the first container and the second container, the medium having a photosynthetic microorganism The photosynthetic microorganism is Thermosynechococcus sp. CL-1; a transparent membrane disposed between the first container and the second container; and a light source penetrating the first container and irradiating Thermosynechococcus sp. CL-1, Thermosynechococcus sp .CL-1 absorbs a carbon dioxide and absorbs light energy to generate a power. Thermosynechococcus sp. CL-1 does not need to add an electron transfer enzyme to generate the electricity. The microbial fuel cell of claim 1, wherein the first container is a light-transmissive container. The microbial fuel cell of claim 1, wherein the first container is provided with a gas vent. The microbial fuel cell of claim 1, wherein the medium comprises a carbonate, and the photosynthetic microorganism is a blue-green fungus. The microbial fuel cell of claim 4, wherein the carbonate has an inorganic carbon concentration of 47 millimolar (mM). The microbial fuel cell of claim 1, wherein the first container is provided with an anode electrode, and the second container is provided with a cathode electrode, the anode electrode and The cathode electrode is in contact with the medium, respectively. The microbial fuel cell of claim 6, wherein the material of the cathode electrode comprises platinum. The microbial fuel cell of claim 6, further comprising a resistor, the resistor being respectively connected to the anode electrode and the cathode electrode. The microbial fuel cell of claim 6, further comprising a potentiometer, the potentiometer and the anode electrode being electrically connected to the cathode electrode. The microbial fuel cell of claim 1, wherein the light source is an LED lamp.