Bioelectricity generation using banana peel as substrate in dual-chamber Pseudomonas aeruginosa based microbial fuel cell

Abstract

Aims: Banana peel (BP) waste is still underutilized in Malaysia, which can be used as source of renewable energy. Microbial fuel cell (MFC) is a device that utilizes biomass to convert chemical energy into electrical energy with help of the microbial catalysis. The present study evaluates the current generation of MFC supplemented with BP waste as substrate for Pseudomonas aeruginosa ATCC 27853. Methodology and results:The CHNS result shows that the C:N ratio of BP is 27:1 which is within the optimum C:N ratio for the microbial food requirement. Fluctuation of current increases as concentration of banana peel extract (BPE) decreases from 1:10, 1:20, 1:40 and 1:80, thus making 1:10 BPE optimum. Current fluctuation is related to microbial activity due to the sufficiency of nutrients which subsequently affect the performance of MFC. BPE and banana peel slurry (BPS) comparison shows that BPS is optimum. BPE reaches a maximum current of 3.91 µA in ascending phase which is higher compared to BPS (3.65 µA). In descending phase, BPE current drops to 2.31 µA compared to 2.98 µA of BPS. In stationary phase, BPS able to maintain a higher current compared to BPE. MFC maximum current was doubled to 6.52 µA when PEM was treated priorly. Conclusion, significance and impact of study: Besides exploring and improving the ability of MFC as an alternative for power production other than fossil fuel, this research also encourage society to fully utilize waste as a source of renewable energy instead of throwing it into garbage without productivity.