Increased generation of electricity in a microbial fuel cell using Geobacter sulfurreducens

The microbial fuel cell (MFC) has attracted research attention as a biotechnology capable of converting hydrocarbon into electricity production by using metal reducing bacteria as a biocatalyst. Electricity generation using a microbial fuel cell (MFC) was investigated with acetate as the fuel and Geobacter sulfurreducens as the biocatalyst on the anode electrode. Stable current production of 0.20–0.24 mA was obtained at 30–32 °C. The maximum power density of 418–470 mW/m2, obtained at an external resistor of 1,000 Ω, was increased over 2-fold (from 418 to 866 mW/m2) as the Pt loading on the cathode electrode was increased from 0.5 to 3.0 mg Pt/cm2. The optimal batch mode temperature was between 30 and 32 °C with a maximum power density of 418–470 mW/m2. The optimal temperature and Pt loading for MFC were determined in this study. Our results demonstrate that the cathode reaction related through the Pt loading on the cathode electrode is a bottleneck for the MFC’s performance.