earticle

영어

Previously, we suggested a multiphase electrode microbial fuel cell (multiphase MFC) to harvest energy using organics in different two phases (water and sediment) of a water body contaminated with waste organics. The MFC consists of floating electrode (FE) located in surface layer of the organic-fed water, mid-electrode (ME) placed in the water, and sediment electrode (SE) embedded in the sediment. Throughout the previous study it was turned out that when the water phase is polluted with waste organics, the electrons produced in ME and SE of the MFC are consumed in the FE, thus coupled current is produced. In this study, we investigate and report a working mechanism on how the multiphase MFC can generate increased power by using organics in the different two phases. Firstly, we found out that the MFC increases current and voltage by interaction of ME with SE, leading to increase in power output. In addition, during the increased power production, most exchange of the electrolyte among the electrodes in the MFC system occurred between FE and ME. Hence, it can be inferred that the ME and FE act as enlarged one anode electrode. These results could provide a clue for benthic MFCs, having operational limitations, to optimize the performance.