Microbial fuel cell energy harvesting using synchronous flyback converter

Alaraj, Muhannad; Ren, Zhiyong Jason; Park, Jae-Do

doi:10.1016/j.jpowsour.2013.09.017

Cited by 52 publications

(31 citation statements)

References 26 publications

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“…The external power supply was replaced with a small 6.7 mF capacitor that harvested sufficient energy to run continuously the microcontroller for switching and voltage monitoring. However according to previous studies describing the development of MPPT active harvesters, it was deemed best to substitute all latching relays with transistors; 39,40 metal-oxide-semiconductor-fieldeffect-transistors (MOSFET) that consumed 1000-times less energy compared to a latching relay (∼30 μJ each).…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Autonomous Energy Harvesting and Prevention of Cell Reversal in MFC Stacks

Papaharalabos

Stinchcombe

Horsfield

et al. 2016

J. Electrochem. Soc.

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This study presents a novel method for avoiding cell reversal whilst optimising energy harvesting from stacked Microbial Fuel Cells (MFCs) by dynamically reconfiguring the electrical connections between them. The sequential changing of in-parallel and in-series electrical connections in an 8-MFC stack resulted in energy being transferred twice as fast into a super-capacitor avoiding cell reversal in MFCs as opposed to a fixed in-series configuration. This approach, allows for a lower internal resistance state within the stack compared to a fixed electrical configuration. This is critical in the initial stages of energy extraction from MFCs connected electrically in-series where the impedance of the capacitor is drawing high levels of current and cell reversals are likely to occur and hinder performance. Automation of electrical connections doubled the extracted power from the stack whilst halving the charging times without any cell reversal occurrence. The electrical reconfiguring of MFCs was performed by a USB-powered switch-box that modulated the stack's connections. This lead to the development of an energy autonomous switch-box circuitry powered solely by the MFC stack with negligible impact on the overall energy harvesting efficiency (i.e. above 90% Microbial fuel cells (MFCs) are bio-electrochemical systems comprising bacteria in the anode that convert organic matter into electricity. Stacking MFC units can increase the voltage and current output so as to meet the demands of most commercial electronic devices and allow further energising of complex and energy intensive circuitries.1-6 Nevertheless, a MFC responds to sudden chemical and biochemical changes such as substrate diffusion and concentration, pH, temperature, presence of oxygen, biofilm community structure, biofilm thickness and density.7-11 These factors can affect microbial communities and the overall redox potential in the anode which can further result in polarity reversals, a frequently observed phenomenon known to impede stacked MFCs. Reverse of polarity usually happens in an MFC when its internal resistance (R int ) increases rapidly 6,12,13 and many studies have focused on explaining and predicting this phenomenon.6,14-16 As a result, the least performing -reversed-MFC in a stack can cause large variations on the overall performance and efficiency.1 To date, reports suggest that this sudden change in R int is triggered either by a) substrate depletion in the anode, 14,15 b) a "heavy" external load -low R ext -connected to the stack that draws current at levels higher than the anodophillic biofilm can deliver, 1,17,18 or c) it is a case of slow kinetics in the anode or the cathode. 16,19 Research groups have attempted to develop power management systems (PMS) for tackling the issue. [20][21][22] In 2011, Pinto et al. 22 suggested that a maximum power point (MPP) matching algorithm could possibly prevent MFCs operating at values below the R int hence avoiding reversal. It was not until 2014 that Boghani et al. 20 developed a USB powered MPP ...

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Autonomous Energy Harvesting and Prevention of Cell Reversal in MFC Stacks

Papaharalabos

Stinchcombe

Horsfield

et al. 2016

J. Electrochem. Soc.

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“…The mio-SMFC PMS stands out as the only self-sustainable system that can operate multiple SMFCs independently to increase the output power. The efficiencies of previous PMSs are estimated by various methods [1][2][3][4]8,10,12,[15][16][17]. For example, in [2] the efficiency of a two-stage PMS is estimated to be 56% by characterizing each stage separately and multiplying the results together; in [3] the specifications from the datasheets of individual components are reported, from which the total efficiency can be estimated at 22%; in [8] the efficiency is claimed to be 45%, but the controller is powered externally and the power loss due to the controller is not considered.…”

Section: Experiments and Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Therefore, it can be used in remote monitoring applications without requiring maintenance. [1][2][3][4] No Not required; self-sustainable [6] No Required for operation [7] No Required for start-up/restart [8][9][10] No Required for operation [11] No Required for start-up/restart [12][13][14][15][16][17] No Not required; self-sustainable …”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Multiple SMFCs cannot be connected in series to increase the voltage if they are deployed in an open water body such as in the sea [2][3][4]. Therefore, many power management systems (PMS) have been designed to boost the voltage by employing different types of step-up voltage converters [1][2][3][4], [6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17]. To increase the output power, it is not effective to build a larger SMFC because the power density decreases when the surface areas of the electrodes increase [18].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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A Self-Sustainable Power Management System for Reliable Power Scaling Up of Sediment Microbial Fuel Cells

Tang

Hong

Ewing

et al. 2015

IEEE Trans. Power Electron.

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Sediment microbial fuel cells (SMFC) are considered a promising renewable power source for remote monitoring applications. However, existing SMFCs can only produce several milliwatts of power, and the output power is not scaled linearly with the size of SMFCs. An effective alternative method to increase the output power is to independently operate multiple SMFCs, each of which has an optimal size for maximum power density. Independently-operated SMFCs have electrically isolated electrodes (anodes/cathodes), which complicates the design of a suitable power management system (PMS). This paper describes the challenges in designing a PMS that can harvest energy from multiple independently-operated SMFCs (mio-SMFC) and accordingly proposes a design solution. From experimental results, the proposed PMS demonstrates reliable output power scaling up of mio-SMFC. The proposed PMS is self-sustainable because it is powered entirely from harvested energy without requiring additional external power sources. S 0885-8993 (c)

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“…4. The discrete component version of hysteresis controller has been used [26], [27]. In this paper, the hysteresis voltage regulator is implemented with a microcontroller so that the internal switching time information can be utilized for MPPT, which can be readily available through the microcontroller's internal counter and comparator interrupt service [28].…”

Section: A Hysteresis Voltage Regulatormentioning

confidence: 99%

Current-Sensorless Power Estimation and MPPT Implementation for Thermoelectric Generators

Bond

Park

2015

IEEE Trans. Ind. Electron.

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Presented is a duty-cycle-based maximum power point tracking (MPPT) scheme with current-sensorless power estimation. Conventional MPPT methods require generated power data involving direct current measurement, or disconnection of source and load for open circuit voltage measurement. The proposed scheme avoids these disadvantages while retaining MPPT capability. This microcontroller-based approach allows for easy implementation and tuning of the MPPT algorithm to suit the characteristics of the thermoelectric generator (TEG) with respect to environmental conditions. The hysteresis voltage regulator maintains the TEG output voltage at a reference level, so that the maximum power can be extracted for the given temperature condition. The proposed MPPT energy harvesting scheme is simple and inexpensive, has a low power consumption, and can be used with various types of generators. The proposed system has been validated analytically and experimentally.Index Terms-Thermoelectric energy conversion, Maximum power point tracking (MPPT), Current sensorless, Energy Management.

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Microbial fuel cell energy harvesting using synchronous flyback converter

Cited by 52 publications

References 26 publications

Autonomous Energy Harvesting and Prevention of Cell Reversal in MFC Stacks

Autonomous Energy Harvesting and Prevention of Cell Reversal in MFC Stacks

A Self-Sustainable Power Management System for Reliable Power Scaling Up of Sediment Microbial Fuel Cells

Current-Sensorless Power Estimation and MPPT Implementation for Thermoelectric Generators

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