Optimal Production of Biohydrogen Gas via Microbial Electrolysis Cells (MEC) in a Controlled Batch Reactor System

Abstract

A Microbial Electrolysis Cells (MECs) is a slightly modified microbial fuel cells (MFCs) where a small amount of electricity is applied to the anode chamber to suppress the production of methane. Oxygen is kept out of the cathode chamber to assist bacterial oxidation of organic matter present in the wastewater to produce hydrogen, a gas which is the becoming the most attractive energy source. While MECs has tremendous potential, the development of this technique is still in its infancy. The goal of this work is to optimize the production of biohydrogen gas by selecting the optimum current and controlling applied voltage in MECs using batch reactor. The mathematical model of the MECs is based on material balances with the integration of bio-electrochemical reactions describing the effect of applied voltage on the performance of MECs batch reactor. The behaviour of the system differs significantly as the value of applied voltage is changed and gives a significant influence on the hydrogen production rate. Finally, this study can be extended in the future to improve the optimization in MEC model and develop advanced control system study.