On the Stable Operation of a Membraneless Microbial Fuel Cell for More Than One Hundred Days

The development of alternative energy sources is one of the most important areas of modern science. The processes of energy generation are studied in a membraneless mediatorless microbial fuel cell fueled by the Gluconobacter oxydans microorganism using synthetic wastewater with phototrophic Chlorella vulgaris microalgae in the cathode chamber. The operation of the fuel cell is compared with different catholytes, including microalgae with and without illumination, a nutrient medium for growing microalgae, and a K-phosphate buffer. This microbial fuel cell shows stable operation with a slight decrease in power over 113 days of the experiment. This result is due to the formation of biofilms and is confirmed by scanning-electron-microscopy images. Thus, the studied microbial fuel cell is promising for further study in the field of wastewater treatment.