Bio-electricity production in a single-chamber microbial fuel cell using urine as a substrate

AbstractThis study aimed to evaluate the performance of a single-chamber microbial fuel cell (SC-MFC) using undiluted livestock urine (i.e. cow, goat, and sheep urine). Data showed that the MFC with cow urine reached a maximum power density of 110.72 ± 0.42 mW m−2 at the maximum current density of 230.88 ± 0.65 mA m−2 and voltage of 277 ± 0.04 mV in a polarization experiment. Whereas, in terms of the long-term operation experiment, the same reactor reached a maximum power density of 7.60 ± 0.06 mW m−2 (on day 10), with an external resistance of 1000 Ω. Besides, 44.30% of microorganisms (strains) were found in the anode of Sheep-MFC due to the association of urine with the substrate, compared to other reactors. The study's findings indicated that the composition of the livestock urine positively affected power generation in the evaluated MFCs. In addition, cow urine was the best substrate for driving MFC technology compared to other types of urine used in this study.Keywords: Electrochemically active bacteriamicrobial fuel cellpower densityorganic substrateurine waste AcknowledgmentsThe first author (WA) acknowledges the National Council of Humanities, Science, and Technology (CONAHCyT). In addition, the authors acknowledge the Support Program for Scientific and Technological Research (PAICYT) at the Autonomous University of Nuevo León, as well as the Molecular Laboratory at the Technological Institute of Tlajomulco for their support.Disclosure statementNo potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).