Preliminary Studies Comparing Electrogeneration by a Bacteria and Saccharomyes cerevisiae in a Microbial Fuel Cell

Global energy crisis coupled with environmental pollutions have warranted a surge in greener energy alternatives, of which microbial fuel cells (MFCs) is considered to be a good alternative. Unfortunately, MFC suffers setback as a result of low current generation and poor efficiency. Use of microbial consortia as inoculum is another way of enhancing the efficiency and current generation of MFC. Different inocula, namely: anaerobic sludge from domestic waste water and Saccharomyces cerevisiae (Baker’s yeast) were tested as biocatalysts for electricity generation in MFC using yoghurt waste water (YWW) as substrate with the plain YWW serving as control. The maximum power densities generated are 1.93mW/m2 (current density, 4.43mA/m2), 0.32mW/m2 (current density, 0.81mA/m2) and 0.23mW/m2 (current density, 0.81mA/m2) for anaerobic sludge, Baker’s yeast and plain YWW, respectively. This study showed that anaerobic sludge can be a perfect choice relative to Saccharomyces cerevisiae or plain yoghurt waste water as a biocatalyst for electricity production in microbial fuel cell. The study has also shown the potentials of microbial fuel cell as a promising alternative and green technology for waste water treatment.