Ultrasound Driven Biofilm Removal for Stable Power Generation in Microbial Fuel Cell

Anodic biofilm plays a crucial role in bioelectrochemical system to make it sustainable for long-term performance. However, the accumulation of dead cells over time within the anode biofilm can be particularly detrimental for current generation. In this study, the effect of ultrasound on anode biofi...

Full description

Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Islam, M. Amirul, Woon, Chee Wai, Ethiraj, Baranitharan, Cheng, C. K., Yousuf, Abu, Khan, Maksudur R.
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: American Chemical Society (ACS Publications) 2017
Subjects:
Online Access:http://umpir.ump.edu.my/id/eprint/16757/
http://umpir.ump.edu.my/id/eprint/16757/1/ultrasound-amirul-fkksa-2017.pdf
_version_ 1848820271857795072
author Islam, M. Amirul
Woon, Chee Wai
Ethiraj, Baranitharan
Cheng, C. K.
Yousuf, Abu
Khan, Maksudur R.
author_facet Islam, M. Amirul
Woon, Chee Wai
Ethiraj, Baranitharan
Cheng, C. K.
Yousuf, Abu
Khan, Maksudur R.
author_sort Islam, M. Amirul
building UMP Institutional Repository
collection Online Access
description Anodic biofilm plays a crucial role in bioelectrochemical system to make it sustainable for long-term performance. However, the accumulation of dead cells over time within the anode biofilm can be particularly detrimental for current generation. In this study, the effect of ultrasound on anode biofilm thickness was investigated in microbial fuel cells (MFCs). Ultrasonic treatment was employed for different durations to evaluate its ability to control the thickness of the biofilm to maintain stable power generation. Cell viability count and field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM) analysis of the biofilms over time showed that the number of dead cells increased with the increase of biofilm thickness, and eventually exceeded the number of live cells by many-fold. Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) analysis indicated that the high polarization resistance appeared due to the dead layer formation, and thus the catalytic efficiency was reduced in MFCs. The stable power generation was achieved by employing ultrasonic treatment for 30 min every 6 days with some initial exception. The low frequency ultrasound treatment successfully dislodged the ineffective biofilm from the surface of the anode. Moreover, the ultrasound could increase the mass transfer rate of the nutrients and cellular waste through the biofilm leading to the increase in cell growth. Therefore, ultrasonic treatment is verified as an efficient method to control the thickness of the biofilm as well as enhance the cell viability in biofilm thereby maintaining the stable power generation in the MFC.
first_indexed 2025-11-15T02:06:48Z
format Article
id ump-16757
institution Universiti Malaysia Pahang
institution_category Local University
language English
last_indexed 2025-11-15T02:06:48Z
publishDate 2017
publisher American Chemical Society (ACS Publications)
recordtype eprints
repository_type Digital Repository
spelling ump-167572018-01-12T04:57:50Z http://umpir.ump.edu.my/id/eprint/16757/ Ultrasound Driven Biofilm Removal for Stable Power Generation in Microbial Fuel Cell Islam, M. Amirul Woon, Chee Wai Ethiraj, Baranitharan Cheng, C. K. Yousuf, Abu Khan, Maksudur R. TP Chemical technology Anodic biofilm plays a crucial role in bioelectrochemical system to make it sustainable for long-term performance. However, the accumulation of dead cells over time within the anode biofilm can be particularly detrimental for current generation. In this study, the effect of ultrasound on anode biofilm thickness was investigated in microbial fuel cells (MFCs). Ultrasonic treatment was employed for different durations to evaluate its ability to control the thickness of the biofilm to maintain stable power generation. Cell viability count and field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM) analysis of the biofilms over time showed that the number of dead cells increased with the increase of biofilm thickness, and eventually exceeded the number of live cells by many-fold. Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) analysis indicated that the high polarization resistance appeared due to the dead layer formation, and thus the catalytic efficiency was reduced in MFCs. The stable power generation was achieved by employing ultrasonic treatment for 30 min every 6 days with some initial exception. The low frequency ultrasound treatment successfully dislodged the ineffective biofilm from the surface of the anode. Moreover, the ultrasound could increase the mass transfer rate of the nutrients and cellular waste through the biofilm leading to the increase in cell growth. Therefore, ultrasonic treatment is verified as an efficient method to control the thickness of the biofilm as well as enhance the cell viability in biofilm thereby maintaining the stable power generation in the MFC. American Chemical Society (ACS Publications) 2017-12-01 Article PeerReviewed application/pdf en http://umpir.ump.edu.my/id/eprint/16757/1/ultrasound-amirul-fkksa-2017.pdf Islam, M. Amirul and Woon, Chee Wai and Ethiraj, Baranitharan and Cheng, C. K. and Yousuf, Abu and Khan, Maksudur R. (2017) Ultrasound Driven Biofilm Removal for Stable Power Generation in Microbial Fuel Cell. Energy & Fuels, 31 (1). pp. 968-976. ISSN 0887-0624. (Published) http://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/acs.energyfuels.6b02294 DOI:10.1021/acs.energyfuels.6b02294
spellingShingle TP Chemical technology
Islam, M. Amirul
Woon, Chee Wai
Ethiraj, Baranitharan
Cheng, C. K.
Yousuf, Abu
Khan, Maksudur R.
Ultrasound Driven Biofilm Removal for Stable Power Generation in Microbial Fuel Cell
title Ultrasound Driven Biofilm Removal for Stable Power Generation in Microbial Fuel Cell
title_full Ultrasound Driven Biofilm Removal for Stable Power Generation in Microbial Fuel Cell
title_fullStr Ultrasound Driven Biofilm Removal for Stable Power Generation in Microbial Fuel Cell
title_full_unstemmed Ultrasound Driven Biofilm Removal for Stable Power Generation in Microbial Fuel Cell
title_short Ultrasound Driven Biofilm Removal for Stable Power Generation in Microbial Fuel Cell
title_sort ultrasound driven biofilm removal for stable power generation in microbial fuel cell
topic TP Chemical technology
url http://umpir.ump.edu.my/id/eprint/16757/
http://umpir.ump.edu.my/id/eprint/16757/
http://umpir.ump.edu.my/id/eprint/16757/
http://umpir.ump.edu.my/id/eprint/16757/1/ultrasound-amirul-fkksa-2017.pdf