Key Laboratory of Low-grade Energy Utilization Technologies and Systems (Chongqing University), Ministry of Education, Chongqing 400030, China; Institute of Engineering Thermophysics, Chongqing University, Chongqing 400030, China.
Key Laboratory of Low-grade Energy Utilization Technologies and Systems (Chongqing University), Ministry of Education, Chongqing 400030, China; Institute of Engineering Thermophysics, Chongqing University, Chongqing 400030, China.
Biosens Bioelectron. 2016 May 15;79:406-10. doi: 10.1016/j.bios.2015.12.067. Epub 2015 Dec 21.
A laminar-flow controlled microfluidic microbial fuel cell (MMFC) is considered as a promising approach to be a bio-electrochemical system (BES). But poor bacterial colonization and low power generation are two severe bottlenecks to restrict its development. In this study, we reported a MMFC with multiple anolyte inlets (MMFC-MI) to enhance the biofilm formation and promote the power density of MMFCs. Voltage profiles during the inoculation process demonstrated MMFC-MI had a faster start-up process than the conventional microfluidic microbial fuel cell with one inlet (MMFC-OI). Meanwhile, benefited from the periodical replenishment of boundary layer near the electrode, a more densely-packed bacterial aggregation was observed along the flow direction and also the substantially low internal resistance for MMFC-MI. Most importantly, the output power density of MMFC-MI was the highest value among the reported µl-scale MFCs to our best knowledge. The presented MMFC-MI appears promising for bio-chip technology and extends the scope of microfluidic energy.
层流控制的微流控微生物燃料电池（MMFC）被认为是生物电化学系统（BES）的一种有前途的方法。但是，细菌定植不良和发电效率低是限制其发展的两个严重瓶颈。在本研究中，我们报道了一种具有多个阳极入口的 MMFC（MMFC-MI），以增强生物膜的形成并提高 MMFC 的功率密度。接种过程中的电压曲线表明，与具有一个入口的传统微流控微生物燃料电池（MMFC-OI）相比，MMFC-MI 具有更快的启动过程。同时，得益于周期性补充电极附近的边界层，在流动方向上观察到更密集的细菌聚集，并且 MMFC-MI 的内阻大大降低。最重要的是，据我们所知，MMFC-MI 的输出功率密度是已报道的µl 级 MFC 中最高的。所提出的 MMFC-MI 有望用于生物芯片技术，并扩展了微流能的范围。
