The present work demonstrates a new bioelectrochemical process for production of electricity from vegetable wastes at room temperature. This study examines vegetable wastes as source of electron donor in a two-compartment microbial fuel cell for electricity generation. The tomato wastes were used as a model substrate for vegetable wastes, as it is a major vegetable crop in both tropical and temperature climates throughout the world. The processed tomatoes ranges from 80% to 90% of total production in both Europe and United States , and nearly 40% of the tomato production ends as processing waste. For example, four million tons of tomato products are disposed as waste in Europe alone. The study was conducted under fed-batch mode using mixed microbial community as the biocatalyst and Tomato wastes as the electron donor in the anode compartment, and ferricyanide as the electron acceptor in the cathode compartment. The Tomato wastes were processed with heat extraction techniques to aid in the release of chemical oxygen demand during initial phases of MFC operation. The following two test MFCs were obtained with i) sun-dried Tomato Fruit and ii) sun-dried seeds and skins from Tomato. A control MFC was initiated with glucose as the sole source of COD (Control1). The defined culture medium containing glucose was used as the electrolyte to promote biofilm formation in all the three MFCs during first two cycles of operation lasting for nearly 1000 hours. The test MFCs with biofilm-coated anode were used to evaluate the Tomato for electricity production for additional 1000 hours during last two cycles of MFC operation. The two MFCs (Auto, Micro, No-Treat, and Control1) produced power over 200 mW/m2 with COD removal of nearly 90% efficiency. AC impedance techniques were used to identify the major sources of internal resistances in Tomto-based MFCs.

New bioelectrochemical technology for production of DC power from vegetable wastes

247th National Meeting (2014)

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