Electric Potential of <i>Chlorella</i> sp. Microalgae Biomass in Microbial Fuel Cells (MFCs)
The projected global energy demand for 2050 drives the imperative search for alternative and environmentally friendly energy sources. An emerging and promising alternative is microbial fuel cells assisted with microalgae. This research evaluated the potential of <i>Chlorella</i> sp. biom...
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2025-06-01
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| author | Rickelmi Agüero-Quiñones Magaly De La Cruz-Noriega Walter Rojas-Villacorta |
| author_facet | Rickelmi Agüero-Quiñones Magaly De La Cruz-Noriega Walter Rojas-Villacorta |
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| description | The projected global energy demand for 2050 drives the imperative search for alternative and environmentally friendly energy sources. An emerging and promising alternative is microbial fuel cells assisted with microalgae. This research evaluated the potential of <i>Chlorella</i> sp. biomass in electricity production using microbial fuel cells (MFCs) with a single chamber and activated carbon and zinc electrodes at the laboratory scale over 20 days of operation. Maximum values of voltage (1271 ± 2.52 mV), current (4.77 ± 0.02 mA), power density (247.514 mW/cm<sup>2</sup>), current density (0.551 mA/cm<sup>2</sup>), and internal resistance (200.83 ± 0.327 Ω) were obtained. The biomass-maintained pH values of 7.32 ± 0.03–7.74 ± 0.02 and peaks of electrical conductivity of 2450 ± 17.1 µS/cm and oxidation-reduction potential of 952 ± 20 mV were reached. Meanwhile, cell density and absorbance increased to average values of 2.2933 × 10<sup>7</sup> ± 1.15 × 10<sup>6</sup> cells/mL and 3.471 ± 0.195 absorbance units (AU), respectively. Scanning electron microscopy micrographs allowed the observation of filamentous structures of the formed biofilm attached to carbon particles, and energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy spectra of the anodes determined the predominance of oxygen, carbon, silicon, aluminum, and iron. Finally, this research demonstrates the great potential of <i>Chlorella</i> sp. biomass for sustainable bioelectricity generation in MFCs. |
| format | Article |
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| series | Bioengineering |
| spelling | doaj-art-cc3e98d7abb44075a71f1d1fcb61a3d22025-08-20T03:27:05ZengMDPI AGBioengineering2306-53542025-06-0112663510.3390/bioengineering12060635Electric Potential of <i>Chlorella</i> sp. Microalgae Biomass in Microbial Fuel Cells (MFCs)Rickelmi Agüero-Quiñones0Magaly De La Cruz-Noriega1Walter Rojas-Villacorta2Escuela de Ingeniería Ambiental, Facultad de Ingeniería, Universidad César Vallejo, Trujillo 13007, PeruInstitutos y Centros de Investigación, Universidad César Vallejo, Trujillo 13001, PeruPrograma de Investigación Formativa e Integridad Científica, Universidad César Vallejo, Trujillo 13001, PeruThe projected global energy demand for 2050 drives the imperative search for alternative and environmentally friendly energy sources. An emerging and promising alternative is microbial fuel cells assisted with microalgae. This research evaluated the potential of <i>Chlorella</i> sp. biomass in electricity production using microbial fuel cells (MFCs) with a single chamber and activated carbon and zinc electrodes at the laboratory scale over 20 days of operation. Maximum values of voltage (1271 ± 2.52 mV), current (4.77 ± 0.02 mA), power density (247.514 mW/cm<sup>2</sup>), current density (0.551 mA/cm<sup>2</sup>), and internal resistance (200.83 ± 0.327 Ω) were obtained. The biomass-maintained pH values of 7.32 ± 0.03–7.74 ± 0.02 and peaks of electrical conductivity of 2450 ± 17.1 µS/cm and oxidation-reduction potential of 952 ± 20 mV were reached. Meanwhile, cell density and absorbance increased to average values of 2.2933 × 10<sup>7</sup> ± 1.15 × 10<sup>6</sup> cells/mL and 3.471 ± 0.195 absorbance units (AU), respectively. Scanning electron microscopy micrographs allowed the observation of filamentous structures of the formed biofilm attached to carbon particles, and energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy spectra of the anodes determined the predominance of oxygen, carbon, silicon, aluminum, and iron. Finally, this research demonstrates the great potential of <i>Chlorella</i> sp. biomass for sustainable bioelectricity generation in MFCs.https://www.mdpi.com/2306-5354/12/6/635<i>Chlorella</i> sp.microbial fuel cellsbiomasselectric power |
| spellingShingle | Rickelmi Agüero-Quiñones Magaly De La Cruz-Noriega Walter Rojas-Villacorta Electric Potential of <i>Chlorella</i> sp. Microalgae Biomass in Microbial Fuel Cells (MFCs) Bioengineering <i>Chlorella</i> sp. microbial fuel cells biomass electric power |
| title | Electric Potential of <i>Chlorella</i> sp. Microalgae Biomass in Microbial Fuel Cells (MFCs) |
| title_full | Electric Potential of <i>Chlorella</i> sp. Microalgae Biomass in Microbial Fuel Cells (MFCs) |
| title_fullStr | Electric Potential of <i>Chlorella</i> sp. Microalgae Biomass in Microbial Fuel Cells (MFCs) |
| title_full_unstemmed | Electric Potential of <i>Chlorella</i> sp. Microalgae Biomass in Microbial Fuel Cells (MFCs) |
| title_short | Electric Potential of <i>Chlorella</i> sp. Microalgae Biomass in Microbial Fuel Cells (MFCs) |
| title_sort | electric potential of i chlorella i sp microalgae biomass in microbial fuel cells mfcs |
| topic | <i>Chlorella</i> sp. microbial fuel cells biomass electric power |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2306-5354/12/6/635 |
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