2011 2nd International Conference on Environmental Science and Technology

IPCBEE vol.6 (2011) © (2011) IACSIT Press, Singapore

Tapioca Waste Water For Electricity Generation in Microbial Fuel Cell (MFC)
System

Farida Nur Cahyani

Department of Petroleum and Gas Processing
Sekolah Tinggi Teknologi MIGAS Balikpapan
Balikpapan, Indonesia
email : farida.n-cahyani@sttmigas.ac.id

Abstract – The application of Microbial Fuel Cell (MFC) for
electricity generation and waste water treatment has been
developing recently. This research explores the application of
MFC in generating electricity using Tapioca starch waste
water from local small scale industry. In order to obtain the
aim of this research, a batch system of MFC with microbe
Saccharomyces cereviceae has been used. Tapioca starch waste
water was prepared and fed in the anode. Potassium
hexacyoferrate 0,01 M was used as catholyte. As parameter, it
was evaluated the power density produced during MFC
operation on variation of fuel volume and microbe
concentration. Flux digital multimeter had been used to record
the voltage and current generated within the system. The
generated electricity was used to switch on LED light.
Based on the result, it can be reported that the optimum
power density, which was 61,62 W/m2 can be achieved. This
power density was given by microbe concentration 1 gram/ml
and fuel volume 10 ml. In this condition, the power generated
within the system were 0,57 V and 0,12 A respectively.
Keywords : Electricity, Microbial Fuel Cell, Saccharomyces
cereviceae, Tapioca starch waste water
I. INTRODUCTION
The application of Microbial Fuel Cell (MFC) for
electricity generation and waste water treatment has been
developing recently. The technology of MFC could convert
chemical energy of waste water that is rich of organic matter
to electrical energy by the catalytic reaction of
microorganisms.
Waste water treatment using a MFC is promising since
this process converts the major part of the chemical energy
of the contaminants to electricity thereby reducing the
generation of excess sludge (Jang, et.al, 2004; Kim, et.al.,
2004). When a complex waste water was used as the fuel,
biofilm formed onto the anode in addition to microbial
clumps are believed to ferment the complex fuel to simple
fermentation products, which are oxidized by the
electrochemically active microorganisms in the biofilm
(Kim, et.al. 2004)
II. MICROBIAL FUEL CELL (MFC)
In general, there are 2 kinds of MFC systems developed:
Mediator-Microbial Fuel Cell and Mediatorless-Microbial
Fuel Cell. In certain studies, the addition of mediators such
as Potassium ferrycyanide (potassium hexacyanoferrate),
anthraquinone, disulfonic acid, cobalt sepulchrate, thionine,
neutral red and azure, is important. In these cases,
microorganisms only partially oxidize organic substrates and
transfer a portion of these electrons to electrodes. The
selection of mediators should consider turnover rate in the
relation to the electrode. The mediators enable to have high
turnover rate should be selected.
The metabolism of microorganism in microbial fuel cell
can be classified into several ways: high redox oxidative
metabolism; medium to low redox oxidative metabolism;
and fermentation. At high anodix potentials, bacteria can use
the respiratory chain in an oxidative metabolism. Electron
and concomitantly protons can be transported through
NADH dehydrogenase, ubiquinone, coenzyme Q or
cytochrome. Processes using oxidative phosphorylation have
been observed in MFCs, yielding high energy efficiencies of
up to 65%. Examples are consortia containing Pseudomonas
aeruginosa, Enterococcus faecium and Rhodoferax
ferrireducens.
If the anode potential decreases in the presence of
alternative electron acceptors such as sulphate, the electrons
are to be deposited onto these components. If there is no
sulphate, nitrate or other electron present, fermentation will
be the main process when the anode potential remains low.
Several organisms that are known to produce fermentation
products and belong to the genus Clostridium, Alcaligens,
Enterococcus, have been isolated from MFCs. Fermentation
products such as acetate can be oxidized at low anode
potential by anaerobic bacteria such as Geobacter species,
which is capable of withdrawing electrones from acetate in
MFC conditions.
Most of the studies used well-defined pure strains, such
as Shewanella putrefaciens or Escherichia coli. In a limited
number of cases, mixed consortia obtained from wastewater
treatment plants have been used in flow through systems.
Bond and Lovley (2003) showed the potential of Geobacter
sulfureducens fermentans as biocatalyst for an MFC. When
a small inoculum of G. sulfurreducens was introduced into
electrode-containing chambers, the suspension of this
organism could oxidize acetate in a two-electrode fuel cells
that stimulated the marine sediment fuel cells, with no
mediator compounds addition. Further research involving
different microbia-Geothrix fermentans was conducted by
Bond and Lovley (2005). In their latest experiment, the Fe
(III) reducing organism Geotrix fermentans conserved
energy to support growth by coupling the complete
oxidation of acetate to reduction of graphite electrode. This

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is the first report of complete oxidation of organic
compounds linked to electrode reduction.
III. TAPIOCA STARCH WASTE WATER
In small scale industry, the production of Tapioca starch
from cassava root involves certain major stages washing,
grinding, dewatering, residue separation, dehydration,
drying, and milling. The starch production requires large
amount of water which in the end becomes waste water. The
waste waster contains high organic load and solid waste.
There is no technique applied to reuse and recycle water
consume during the process. So far, the waste water is used
as raw material for production of nata de cassava. But its
economical value still in stage of discussion.
This research intends to utilise the waste water generated
from small scale Tapioca starch production to generate
electricity in Microbial Fuel Cell (MFC) system. The bread
yeast from species Saccharomyces cereviceae was used as
micro organism (biocatalyst). The yeast will convert sugar
components in the waste water into Carbon dioxide, where
in the intermediate process will be released electron
generating electricity in MFC system. Then the electricity
produced was used to switch on LED light and evaluted the
maximum duration of its generation.
The performance data of MFC most studies obtained is
power output in term of mW/m2 of electrode surface.
However, because the bio catalysts (bacteria) have specific
requirements and occupy a certain volume in the reactor
thereby reducing free space and pore size. In a technical
point of view, it is useful to express the performance of the
reactor in terms of watt/m3 (power density) of anode
compartment volume (liquid) as a benchmark. Based on the
data of power density and the possibility to switch on LED,
the performance of established MFC is evaluated.
IV. METHODS AND MATERIAL
A. Materials
a. Saccharomyces cereviceae from bread yeast
b. Potassium hexacyanoferrate as oxidator
c. Aquadest
d. Na2HPO4
e. NaH2PO4
f. Tapioca waste water
B. Equipment
The Microbial Fuel Cell used consists of Perspex fuel
cell, carbon fiber tissue electrodes, double neoprene gaskets,
and cation exchange membrane. The detail of each
component used in MFC as shown in Figure 1
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Figure 1. Description of Microbial Fuel Cell
In the cathode, it was immersed oxidizing solution that is
Potassium hexacyanoferrate 0.01 M in phosphate buffer
solution (in range area of pH 7). The separation of the anode
and cathode solutions is achieved with the aid of a cation
exchange membrane. The second electrode (anode) contains
micro organism and substrate/fuel (Tapioca waste water).
The waste was firstly sterilized using autoclave at 121°C for
15 minutes. The contact between two electrodes should be
avoided to prevent from possibility a short circuit. For
electrical measurement, the flux digital multi meter was
connected via crocodile clips to the electrode terminals and
it is made sure that the electrodes do not touch the cation
membrane exchange. The reading of electrical current
generated is based on the multi meter measurement and
visually from LED light generation.
C. Analysis
Variables used in this research are as follow:
a. Design Variable: microbe concentration (in buffer
solution), Fixed Variables: Concentration of Potassium
hexacyanoferrate, volume of waste water
b. Design Variable: volume of waste water, Fixed
Variables: microbe concentration (in buffer solution),
Concentration of Potassium hexacyanoferrate
In order to evaluate power generated, it has been used
the following equation:
P = V.I
…….………….................................................…(1)
V. RESULT AND DISCUSSION
Based on the experiment conducted, for electrode
surface area = 11.1 cm2 , blank solution voltage = 0,17 V
and volume of chamber = 10 ml, the data of power density
and volumetric power achieved were shown on Table 1 and
Table 2.
TABLE 1. DATA OF POWER DENSITY AND VOLUMETRIC POWER FOR
VARIOUS FUEL VOLUMES
(MASS OF MICRO ORGANISM = 10 GRAM)
Volume of Fuel, Power Density, Volumetric
Ml W/m2 Power, W/l
10 60.36 6.70
20 46.67 5.12
 30 44.23 4.91
40 49.91 5.54
TABLE 2. DATA OF POWER DENSITY AND VOLUMETRIC POWER FOR
VARIOUS CONCENTRATION OF SACCHAROMYCES CEREVICEAE
(VOLUME OF FUEL = 30 ML)
Concentration, Power Density, Volumetric
mg/ ml W/m2 Power, W/l
0.167 49.73 5.47
0.333 60.64 6.67
0.500 46.09 5.07
0.750 50.18 5.52
Microbial fuel cell operated in this project worked in a
batch system, used yeast (Saccharomyces cereviceae) as
micro organism and Tapioca waste water as a fuel. Yeast
was utilized in the reason that its price was affordable. In
point of view of economic consideration for real application,
yeast was an appropriate choice. However, ordinary yeast
was sluggish. So that it will be less active and give less
reducing power. The Tapioca waste water is a source of
organic matter that will be oxidized producing electron and
neutron. In the anode chamber of a MFC, the bacteria will
oxidize organic content from Tapioca waste water and
transfer electrons to an electrode. Electrons flow from the
anode to the cathode electrode through the clip and
conductive wire to generate current. The digital multi meter
connected to Personal computer for result recording, was
used for voltage and current measurement. During the
measurement of current, a low current was produced, an
indication that there was no effective coupling of the source
of the electrons with the electrode.
In the cathode, Potassium hexacyanoferrate was reduced
from Fe (III) to Fe (II). The reaction in the cathode is as
follow:
Fe(CN)63- + e- → Fe(CN)64-
The performance of Potassium hexacyanoferrate as
catholyte (electron acceptor) for laboratory scale more
effective than any other oxidation agents such as MnO2,
oxygen, etc because the voltage produced will almost the
same as in open circuit. However its application for large
scale is less effective due to limited time for oxidation
process, so that the system should be changed periodically.
Based on Table 1 and 2, the result of voltage
measurement for various fuel volume and microbe
concentration were in the range of 0.49 – 0.55 V. The
voltage achieved not only depended on oxidiser agent used
in cathode, in this case Potassium hexacyanoferrate as
electron acceptor but also metabolism process in anode. In
the anode chemical energy of organic matter in Tapioca
waste waster will be converted to electrical energy.
C6H12O6 + H2O → 6 CO2 + 24 H+ + 24 e-
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According to the results, the optimum power density,
which is 60.64 W/m2 can be achieved. This power density is
given by microbe concentration 0.33 gram/ml and fuel
volume 30 ml. In this condition, the voltage and current
generated within the system are 0.55 V and 0.12 A
respectively.
VI. CONCLUSION
Based on the research conducted, there are several points
that can be concluded:
a. Technology of Microbial Fuel Cell is one
alternative of energy production using renewable
resource.
b. Saccharomyces cereviceae can be used as micro
organism in MFC operation using Tapioca waste
water solution as fuel.
c. The optimum power of MFC for this system is
60.64W/m2, given by microbe concentration
0,33g/ml and fuel volume 30 ml. In this condition,
the voltage and current generated within the
system are 0,55V and 0,12A respectively.
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