Electricity Generation in Single-Chamber Granular Activated Carbon Microbial Fuel Cells Treating Wastewater
First Claim
Patent Images
1. A microbial fuel cell for generating electrical power, comprising:
- (a) a chamber that defines an inlet and an outlet, the chamber having a top side defining a substantially horizontal plane; and
(b) an anode and a first cathode associated with the chamber, wherein the anode is defined at least in part from granular activated carbon.
1 Assignment
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
An apparatus and method for producing electrical power and treating wastewater is provided. The apparatus and method oxidize bacteria and substrates naturally occurring in wastewater in a chamber, generating electrons which run from an anode to a cathode through an associated circuit. As a result of the oxidation reactions, the apparatus and method remove impurities from the wastewater and generate electrical power.
8 Citations
32 Claims
-
1. A microbial fuel cell for generating electrical power, comprising:
-
(a) a chamber that defines an inlet and an outlet, the chamber having a top side defining a substantially horizontal plane; and (b) an anode and a first cathode associated with the chamber, wherein the anode is defined at least in part from granular activated carbon. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24)
-
-
25. A method for generating electrical power from a fluid source, the method comprising:
-
(a) providing at least one microbial fuel cell that includes (i) a chamber defining an inlet and an outlet; and
(ii) an anode and a cathode associated with the chamber, wherein the anode is defined at least in part from granular activated carbon;(b) feeding a fluid stream containing bacteria through the inlet into the chamber, said bacteria adhering at least in part to the granular activated carbon; (c) oxidizing bacteria to generate current between the anode and cathode; and (d) discharging effluent through the outlet of the chamber, wherein the effluent contains a reduced bacterial level as compared to the fluid stream fed to the chamber. - View Dependent Claims (26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31)
-
-
32. A microbial fuel cell for generating electrical power, comprising:
-
a chamber that defines an inlet and an outlet, the chamber having a top side defining a substantially horizontal plane; an anode and a plurality of cathodes associated with the chamber, wherein the anode is defined at least in part from granular activated carbon; a plurality of conductive members, at least a portion of each conductive member of the plurality of conductive members being vertically oriented within the chamber at an acute angle or perpendicular relative to the horizontal plane of the top side of the chamber, with each portion of each conductive member of the plurality of conductive members vertically oriented within the chamber extending from a lower portion of the chamber to an upper portion of the chamber; wherein each cathode of the plurality of cathodes is positioned in an upper portion of the chamber, and each cathode of the plurality of cathodes being oriented at an acute angle or perpendicular relative to the horizontal plane of the top side of the chamber; wherein each cathode of the plurality of cathodes is electrically connected to one individual conductive member of the plurality of conductive members, thereby forming a plurality of individual electrical circuits; wherein the number of conductive members in the plurality of conductive members equals the number of cathodes in the plurality of cathodes; and wherein the number of individual electrical circuits in the plurality of individual electrical circuits equals the number of conductive members in the plurality of conductive members.
-
Specification