The Impact of Adding Vegetable Waste on the Functioning of Microbial Fuel Cell

Abstract

As the demand for energy and power grows, so does the supply of fossil fuels, causing CO2 levels in the atmosphere to rise. The development of microbial activity-based fuel technology, also known as Microbial Fuel Cell (MFC), is an energy source that can be produced. The technology is one of the alternative technology systems as an energy supplier with fuel cells that can convert chemical energy into electrical energy through a microorganism catalyst process. This research will be disclosed about the effect of several types of main vegetable waste on the MFC power density. This MCF system is made from a plastic container that is given a soil medium that functions as a source of microbes and membranes and is equipped with graphite fiber electrodes. Organic materials that function as natural substrates for MFCs come from mustard greens, kale, and spinach. The MFC experiment was divided into two groups: (1) the group without the addition of vegetable waste, (2) the group with the addition of vegetable waste. The optimum power, 134 W, was produced by MFC on giving spinach dregs. The optimum power density value is 211 mW/m2, the optimum average voltage is 0.804 V, and the optimum current is 2.37 mA.