Sustainable use of tannery effluents and Chorella sp. microalgae in the generation of electrical energy through dual-chamber microbial fuel cells

Abstract

The high increase in electricity prices, as well as the absence of electricity in remote places, is a complex problem that cannot be solved even in this day and age. Scientists have tirelessly dedicated themselves to the search for alternative and sustainable ways to generate electricity. In this sense, microbial fuel cells emerge as a novel and futuristic alternative due to their use as a bioremediator and generator of electricity simultaneously. This research proposes using carbon and zinc electrodes to use microalgae “Chlorella sp.” and tannery effluents as fuel in double-chamber microbial fuel cells. The experiment successfully generated an average peak voltage of 1.046 ± 0.024V on the twelfth day, whose pH was 5.438 ± 0.241 at the anode and neutral at the cathode; with these values, ​​the value of the electric current was 2.836 ± 0.081mA. The calculated internal resistance was 134.541 ± 13.597 Ω, where the microbial fuel cell showed a power density of 254.452 ± 19.985 mW/cm2 for a current density of 4.688 ± 0.894 A/cm2, while the density found in the cathode chamber was 1.357x106 ± 0.157 x106 cell/mL.