Comparison of Electrodes in Soil and Wastewater Microbial Fuel Cells

Different types of electrodes are used to study efficiency as a function of the cathode surface area in soil and wastewater microbial fuel cells (MFCs). Proton exchange membrane is used as a separator in the two compartment fuel cells. Peak voltage of 6.5 V was obtained for platinum-platinum electrodes with a maximum current of 15$\mu $A and a peak voltage of 1.2 V with a maximum current of 15$\mu $A with carbon-copper electrodes of surface area 2.5 cm x 5.0 cm. Maximum power is obtained in a few hours of construction of the MFCs and is observed to sustain for at least two weeks.