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Lookup NU author(s): Jordan Day, Dr Elizabeth Heidrich, Dr Toby Wood
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0).
© 2021 The AuthorsMathematical modelling can reduce the cost and time required to design complex systems, and is being increasingly used in microbial electrochemical technologies (METs). To be of value such models must be complex enough to reproduce important behaviour of MET, yet simple enough to provide insight into underlying causes of this behaviour. Ideally, models must also be scalable to future industrial applications, rather than limited to describing existing laboratory experiments. We present a scalable model for simulating both fluid flow and bioelectrochemical processes in microbial fuel cells (MFCs), benchmarking against an experimental pilot-scale bioreactor. The model describes substrate transport through a two-dimensional fluid domain, and biofilm growth on anode surfaces. Electron transfer is achieved by an intracellular redox mediator. We find significant spatial variations in both substrate concentration and current density. Simple changes to the reactor layout can greatly improve the overall efficiency, measured in terms of substrate removal and total current generated.
Author(s): Day JR, Heidrich ES, Wood TS
Publication type: Article
Publication status: Published
Journal: Chemosphere
Year: 2022
Volume: 291
Issue: Part 1
Print publication date: 01/03/2022
Online publication date: 02/11/2021
Acceptance date: 23/10/2021
Date deposited: 23/11/2021
ISSN (print): 0045-6535
ISSN (electronic): 1879-1298
Publisher: Elsevier Ltd
URL: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chemosphere.2021.132686
DOI: 10.1016/j.chemosphere.2021.132686
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