Mohammad Mahdi Mardanpour
Mohsen Nasr Esfahany - Associate Professor, Department of Chemical Engineering, Isfahan University of Technology,
Tayebeh Behzad,
Ramin Sedaqatvand

In this study, the single chamber microbial fuel cel (MFC) with annular configuration and spiral anode geometry is suggested for future large-scaleapplications. Dairy wastewater containing complex organic matter was used as substrate. Factors affecting power generation and internal resistance of this MFC such as substrate injection, electrode surface area, and substrate concentration were investigated to elucidate the effects of the MFC configuration and operating conditions on its performance. The results show that with decreasing anode surface area output current is reduced. With decreasing anode surface area from 2×63 cm to 2×38 cm, output current is reduced about 34%. In measurement of open circuit voltage, replacement of old wastewater by fresh ones increases open circuit voltage significantly. Also, enhancement of wastewater concentration shows an increase in the MFC power density. The MFC which was fed with wastewater with lower COD had a shorter batch time than that of the higher wastewater COD.

Single chamber microbial fuel cell, Spiral anode, Operating conditions, Dairy wastewater