Several technologies have been studied as alternatives to petroleum-based fuels. Among these stands out the technology of fuel cells due to their diverse field of application extends from portable devices to generate stationary, including automotive use. Although the high cost still prevents the application of such devices on a large scale, reduced cost, weight and increase efficiency, will provide a rapid growth in the use of fuel cells. The technology of fuel cells is divided into two categories electrochemical fuel cells (also called conventional) and biocells fuel (or fuel cell biological - MFC), the latter having received extensive attention in the past three years. For the production of electricity, the MFC operates with two sections (one cathode-anode-aerobic and anaerobic), separated by an ion selective membrane H. Micro-organisms are used to catalyze the oxidation of organic matter, generating electricity by transfer of electrons to an external circuit, introduced before the step of reducing an electron acceptor. In the anaerobic compartment is the oxidation of organic material, with formation of CO2, protons and electrons. The generated protons migrate to the aerobic compartment (cathodic chamber) permeating through the proton exchange membrane. The produced electrons are transferred to the cathode through the external circuit, and this surface is the reduction of oxygen to water. This flow of electrons through the external circuit generates an electrical current that can be measured and used to do work. The overall cell reaction is the conversion of biodegradable organic material to carbon dioxide and water, generating electricity in the process. The electrodes can not colonized by a few species of bacteria. Electroactive bacteria can transfer electrons to the electrode surface without the need for redox mediators. Some of the micro-organisms known more electrochemical active Shewanella putrefaciens and Shewanella oneidensis, the Gamma-proteobacteria, Geobacter sulfurreducens, Geobacter metallireducens and Desulfuromonas acetoxidans all Deltaproteobacteria and Rhodoferax ferrireducens the Betaproteobacteria. The MFCs form a promising technology for sewage treatment, as a method of recovering energy in the form of hydrogen or electricity. In 2004, there was a change in the relationship between electricity production and sewage treatment, when it was shown that wastewater can be treated at practical levels parallel to power generation. The amount of energy generated in the study, although low, can be considered high compared to previous studies. Reimers, 2001, demonstrated that inorganic and organic materials present in marine sediments could be used in a new type of MFC, with the use of variety of substrates, new materials and structural arrangements in the construction of the MFCs. MFC CONSTRUCTION Materials
• 4 PLATES ACRYLIC 120x120mm, 5mm thick
• 2 PLATES ACRYLIC 100X75mm, 5mm thick
• 2 PLATES 120X75mm, 5mm de thick
• 24 screw-nut M6
• 24 washer/bezant M6
• 6 tubes of 20g of cyanoacrylate (superglue)
• 6 connectors 1/4''
• Hose 1/8''
• Straight connectors 1/8''
• 3 valves d
• carbon fiber
• 10x10cm de NAFION® Procedures 1) Machining of acrylic pieces. The acrylic pieces were cut according to the specifications. MEMBRANE117 Assembly
• Plates were united in order to form a rectangle with cyanoacrylate based glue as shown below: https://igem.org/File:8.png Electrode: Aluminum wire was wound and coated with a carbon fiber for A heat sink aluminum was used as the counter electrode to the SETUP OF MEASUREMENT DEVICE The electrodes were connected to a resistor of 0.9620 KΩ, and then connected to an Agilent U1252A multimeter. The potential was measured at intervals of 15 minutes by 9hrs30min, and stored. From the same may construct the table below, where the MFC produced watts / hour.