Effect of Wall Boundary Layer Thickness on Power Performance of a Recirculation Microbial Fuel Cell
Hydrodynamic boundary layer is a significant phenomenon occurring in a flow through a bluff body, and this includes the flow motion and mass transfer. Thus, it could affect the biofilm formation and the mass transfer of substrates in microbial fuel cells (MFCs). Therefore, understanding the role of...
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doaj-dda7f337eff048a2bf68c6bd52bdf7fa2020-11-24T22:53:45ZengMDPI AGEnergies1996-10732018-04-01114100310.3390/en11041003en11041003Effect of Wall Boundary Layer Thickness on Power Performance of a Recirculation Microbial Fuel CellYan-Ming Chen0Chin-Tsan Wang1Yung-Chin Yang2Institute of Materials Science and Engineering, National Taipei University of Technology, No.1, Sec. 3, Zhongxiao E. Rd., 106 Taipei, TaiwanDepartment of Mechanical and Electro-Mechanical Engineering, National I-Lan University, No.1, Sec. 1, Shennong Rd., 26047 I Lan, TaiwanInstitute of Materials Science and Engineering, National Taipei University of Technology, No.1, Sec. 3, Zhongxiao E. Rd., 106 Taipei, TaiwanHydrodynamic boundary layer is a significant phenomenon occurring in a flow through a bluff body, and this includes the flow motion and mass transfer. Thus, it could affect the biofilm formation and the mass transfer of substrates in microbial fuel cells (MFCs). Therefore, understanding the role of hydrodynamic boundary layer thicknesses in MFCs is truly important. In this study, three hydrodynamic boundary layers of thickness 1.6, 4.1, and 5 cm were applied to the recirculation mode membrane-less MFC to investigate the electricity production performance. The results showed that the thin hydrodynamic boundary could enhance the voltage output of MFC due to the strong shear rate effect. Thus, a maximum voltage of 22 mV was obtained in the MFC with a hydrodynamic boundary layer thickness of 1.6 cm, and this voltage output obtained was 11 times higher than that of MFC with 5 cm hydrodynamic boundary layer thickness. Moreover, the charge transfer resistance of anode decreased with decreasing hydrodynamic boundary layer thickness. The charge transfer resistance of MFC with hydrodynamic boundary layer of thickness 1.6 cm was 39 Ω, which was 0.79 times lesser than that of MFC with 5 cm thickness. These observations would be useful for enhancing the performance of recirculation mode MFCs.http://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/11/4/1003MFChydrodynamic boundary layerrecirculation modeshear ratevoltagecharge transfer resistance |
collection |
DOAJ |
language |
English |
format |
Article |
sources |
DOAJ |
author |
Yan-Ming Chen Chin-Tsan Wang Yung-Chin Yang |
spellingShingle |
Yan-Ming Chen Chin-Tsan Wang Yung-Chin Yang Effect of Wall Boundary Layer Thickness on Power Performance of a Recirculation Microbial Fuel Cell Energies MFC hydrodynamic boundary layer recirculation mode shear rate voltage charge transfer resistance |
author_facet |
Yan-Ming Chen Chin-Tsan Wang Yung-Chin Yang |
author_sort |
Yan-Ming Chen |
title |
Effect of Wall Boundary Layer Thickness on Power Performance of a Recirculation Microbial Fuel Cell |
title_short |
Effect of Wall Boundary Layer Thickness on Power Performance of a Recirculation Microbial Fuel Cell |
title_full |
Effect of Wall Boundary Layer Thickness on Power Performance of a Recirculation Microbial Fuel Cell |
title_fullStr |
Effect of Wall Boundary Layer Thickness on Power Performance of a Recirculation Microbial Fuel Cell |
title_full_unstemmed |
Effect of Wall Boundary Layer Thickness on Power Performance of a Recirculation Microbial Fuel Cell |
title_sort |
effect of wall boundary layer thickness on power performance of a recirculation microbial fuel cell |
publisher |
MDPI AG |
series |
Energies |
issn |
1996-1073 |
publishDate |
2018-04-01 |
description |
Hydrodynamic boundary layer is a significant phenomenon occurring in a flow through a bluff body, and this includes the flow motion and mass transfer. Thus, it could affect the biofilm formation and the mass transfer of substrates in microbial fuel cells (MFCs). Therefore, understanding the role of hydrodynamic boundary layer thicknesses in MFCs is truly important. In this study, three hydrodynamic boundary layers of thickness 1.6, 4.1, and 5 cm were applied to the recirculation mode membrane-less MFC to investigate the electricity production performance. The results showed that the thin hydrodynamic boundary could enhance the voltage output of MFC due to the strong shear rate effect. Thus, a maximum voltage of 22 mV was obtained in the MFC with a hydrodynamic boundary layer thickness of 1.6 cm, and this voltage output obtained was 11 times higher than that of MFC with 5 cm hydrodynamic boundary layer thickness. Moreover, the charge transfer resistance of anode decreased with decreasing hydrodynamic boundary layer thickness. The charge transfer resistance of MFC with hydrodynamic boundary layer of thickness 1.6 cm was 39 Ω, which was 0.79 times lesser than that of MFC with 5 cm thickness. These observations would be useful for enhancing the performance of recirculation mode MFCs. |
topic |
MFC hydrodynamic boundary layer recirculation mode shear rate voltage charge transfer resistance |
url |
http://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/11/4/1003 |
work_keys_str_mv |
AT yanmingchen effectofwallboundarylayerthicknessonpowerperformanceofarecirculationmicrobialfuelcell AT chintsanwang effectofwallboundarylayerthicknessonpowerperformanceofarecirculationmicrobialfuelcell AT yungchinyang effectofwallboundarylayerthicknessonpowerperformanceofarecirculationmicrobialfuelcell |
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1725662012494577664 |