Microbial Fuel Cell Project

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frosted_cupcake123
Posts: 2
Joined: Mon Feb 21, 2022 5:52 pm
Occupation: Student

Microbial Fuel Cell Project

Post by frosted_cupcake123 »

Hello! I am doing an experiment with Microbial Fuel Cells. This is the project I am doing: https://www.sciencebuddies.org/science- ... cell-urine

I already assembled both microbial fuel cells once, and left it there for around 10 days. I didn't see anything happening. The LED wasn't blinking. The fuel cell was in all of the right conditions. It was left undisturbed, at the right temperature. For my soil, I used dirt from a near by house construction site. When I was done sifting the soil, it was very very fine, and there were no rocks or particles at all. Because there was no activity, I dissembled the microbial fuel cells and am planning to reassemble them again.

Could anyone please give some recommendations on where to get soil? It has to be organic soil, with nothing to aerate it like vermiculite, perlite or peat moss.

If I were to get my soil from outside, do you know if it would be ok if there was a little mulch or sticks or something like that? Because if I get it from my garden, it will extremely difficult to remove all sticks, rocks, etc.

Also, does anyone know if there is anyway to make the bacteria grow as fast a possible? At this point, garden soil seems like the option I am going to go with, but still, any thoughts would be GREATLY appreciated.


[Administrator note: Please be sure to review timeline and FAQ at the bottom of the project: https://www.sciencebuddies.org/science- ... -urine#faq ]
koneill18
Expert
Posts: 188
Joined: Thu Aug 06, 2020 8:22 am
Occupation: Other Adult

Re: Microbial Fuel Cell Project

Post by koneill18 »

Hello!

I think your garden would be a great place for you to take your soil from. As long as it wasn't treated with pesticides, you should be good to go. And since you're going to be sifting the soil before you use it, it shouldn't matter if the soil has sticks or mulch in it. The strainer will catch all of those larger objects so they won't end up in the fuel cell. It's important to make sure that no large rocks or sticks make it into the fuel cell because they can make air bubbles form, which will prevent the bacteria from growing. In terms of making your microbial fuel cells work as efficiently as possible, make sure to check out the FAQ section of the project that's linked in the administrator note above. If the LED light still doesn't blink on your second attempt, make sure the soil is still wet and the fuel cell hasn't gotten too cold.

Let us know if you have more questions!
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