Bioelectricity Generation from Kitchen Waste in a Low-Cost Earthenware Microbial Fuel Cell

Microbial fuel cells (MFCs) are gaining much attention in recent years because they produce energy in the form of electricity, while simultaneously treating wastewater. In this study, the organic compounds obtained from the pretreatment of kitchen waste were used as a substrate in MFC. In order to enhance the rate of hydrolysis, parameters such as pH, solid-to-liquid ratio, and solid retention time under anaerobic conditions were studied and optimized. Two MFCs (1 and 2) having earthen separators and an anode volume of 450 mL and 630 mL, were employed, respectively. The maximum power density for MFC-1 and MFC-2 was 0.040 W/m(2) and 0.044 W/m(2) and maximum volumetric power density of 3.80 W/m(3) and 3.40 W/m(3) were, respectively obtained for a hydraulic retention time of 10 days. The study concludes that earthenware as a cation exchange membrane and kitchen waste as an anolyte were found effective for power generation.