Review on improving microbial fuel cell power management systems for consumer applications

Abstract

A microbial fuel cell (MFC) is a renewable source of energy that produces electricity without harming the environment. This review paper describes the importance of MFCs for future power sources. The construction methods, history of MFC, different configuration of MFC and voltage generation of single-chamber as well as the two-chamber MFC have been discussed. Due to the bio-electrochemical features of the MFCs, when an electric load is applied to stack MFCs, Stack MFC’s voltage does not remain constant over time (known as reversal of voltage). Therefore, researchers have proposed various power management systems (PMS) to raise the voltage of the MFC to avoid voltage reversal. The future direction is focus on the design of a PMS adapted for MFC optimal operation using ultralow power consumption components.

Keywords

• Microbial fuel cell
• Charge pump
• Open circuit voltage
• Boost converter
• Power management system
• Energy harvesting