Event Title
Microbial Fuel Cell
Presentation Type
Poster/Portfolio
Presenter Major(s)
Biomedical Sciences
Mentor Information
M. Aaron Baxter, baxteraa@gvsu.edu
Department
Biomedical Sciences
Location
Kirkhof Center KC55
Start Date
13-4-2011 11:00 AM
End Date
13-4-2011 12:00 PM
Keywords
Life Science
Abstract
A microbial fuel cell is a closed system in which a microbe oxidizes a substrate and captures the electrons that normally pass through the organism's electron transport chain. In normal respiration, hydrogen ions are pumped outside of the cell as electrons are passed through a series of electron carrying proteins. The result is the generation of ATP. The microbial fuel cells in our lab utilizes a mediator which captures these electrons during the oxidation of a metabolic substrate by the bacteria. These electrons are passed to the cathode resulting in an electrical current. With the system utilized in the lab, we experimented with a series of small fuel cells. Each individual fuel cell was optimized to produce an average current of ~500mV. This project was designed to develop a laboratory exercise for BMS 323 (Bacterial Physiology Lab) that illustrated the concepts of microbial respiration and demonstrated the capacity that microbes have to act as a potential source of green energy.
Microbial Fuel Cell
Kirkhof Center KC55
A microbial fuel cell is a closed system in which a microbe oxidizes a substrate and captures the electrons that normally pass through the organism's electron transport chain. In normal respiration, hydrogen ions are pumped outside of the cell as electrons are passed through a series of electron carrying proteins. The result is the generation of ATP. The microbial fuel cells in our lab utilizes a mediator which captures these electrons during the oxidation of a metabolic substrate by the bacteria. These electrons are passed to the cathode resulting in an electrical current. With the system utilized in the lab, we experimented with a series of small fuel cells. Each individual fuel cell was optimized to produce an average current of ~500mV. This project was designed to develop a laboratory exercise for BMS 323 (Bacterial Physiology Lab) that illustrated the concepts of microbial respiration and demonstrated the capacity that microbes have to act as a potential source of green energy.