Ricerc@Sapienza

This paper aims to show some applications of microbial fuel cells (MFCs), an energy harvesting technique, as clean
power source to supply low power device for application like wireless sensor network (WSN) for environmental monitoring.
Furthermore, MFC can be used directly as biosensor to analyse parameters like pH and temperature or arranged in form of
cluster devices in order to use as small power plant. An MFC is a bioreactor that converts energy stored in chemical bonds of

This paper focuses on microbial fuel cell (MFC) waste valorization, electricity generation and practical applications. A custom electronic analyzer dedicated to MFCs is presented. The measuring system allows to set up a complete electrical characterization of a microbial fuel cell, useful to facilitate and accurately analyze the charge and discharge phase of an MFC. Moreover, it allows power performance analysis and measurement of any kind of MFC typology, using a custom software, which automatically sets up a series of tests over a long period of time.

This paper focuses on applications and electrical valorisation of microbial fuel cells (MFCs), a promising energy harvesting technique, suitable as clean power source to supply low power devices in wireless sensor networks (WSN) for environmental and agricultural monitoring. An MFC is a bioreactor that converts energy stored in chemical bonds of organic matter into electrical energy, through a series of reactions catalysed by microorganisms. An MFC can operate as bioreactor, as bioremediator and as biosensor.

In this work, the feasibility of the Shortcut Biological Nitrogen Removal (SBNR) in the anodic chamber of a Microbial Fuel Cell (MFC) was investigated. Thirty day experiments were carried out using synthetic wastewaters with a Total Organic Carbon vs. nitrogen ratio (TOC/N) ranging from 0.1 to 1. Ammonium, nitrite, nitrate, pH, and TOC were daily monitored. Results showed that microaerobic conditions in the anodic chamber favored the development of nitritation reaction, due to oxygen transfer from the cathodic chamber through the membrane.

Nanocomposite membranes based on polyethersulfone(PES) and nanomagnetite have been investigated with regards to the effect of pretreatments on the electrochemical performance of microbial fuel cells (MFCs). Nanocomposite membranes containing various amounts of Fe3O4(5, 10, and20 wt%) were characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy, thermogravimetric analysis, differential scanning calorimetry, and tensile tests.