Microbial Fuel Cell (MFCs) becoming capable to provide continuous sustainable energy to power wireless ensors networks and underwater sensors

Microbial fuel cells (MFCs), generate electric energy by converting chemical energy from organic compounds through catalytic reactions by microorganisms. Microbial fuel cells (MFCs) are envisioned as one of the most promising alternative renewable energy sources because they can generate electric current continuously while treating waste. While these cells individually produce less than a volt (0.6V to 0.3V), their source of electricity is organic matter (waste food, fallen leaves, etc.) which makes them ideal for converting waste to electricity.

Scientists have developed a new skin patch, a flexible square just a couple of centimetres across that sticks to skin has used only sweat to power a radio for two days. “We’re now getting really impressive power levels,” Joseph Wang at the University of California-San Diego, who was on the team that worked on the technology, told the magazine. “If you were out for a run, you would be able to power a mobile device.” Wang and his colleagues used the lactate found in sweat to power their particular biofuel cell. The amount of lactate or lactic acid in sweat is also related to how efficiently a person’s muscles are working, so could help give readings on an athlete’s performance during exercise.

“The most exciting application is wearable sensors that can monitor health conditions, then sweat could generate enough power for a Bluetooth connection so that the results could be read straight from a smartphone,” says Mirella Di Lorenzo at the University of Bath, UK.

MFCs can be of aquatic microbial fuel cells (AMFCs) type that works in water environment and Terrestrial microbial fuel cells (TMFCs) can be inoculated and worked on land, which can overcome the disadvantages of AMFCs and extend the MFCs’ application range. One of the applications of MFC is to power a wireless environmental sensor network, however challenges of the low power density and low reliability prevents their widespread adoption.