Premium
Optimizing Biofuel Cell Performance Using a Targeted Mixed Mediator Combination
Author(s) -
Wilkinson Stuart,
Klar Jason,
Applegarth Shawn
Publication year - 2006
Publication title -
electroanalysis
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.574
H-Index - 128
eISSN - 1521-4109
pISSN - 1040-0397
DOI - 10.1002/elan.200603621
Subject(s) - mediator , mediation , yeast , microbial fuel cell , chemistry , biochemical engineering , computer science , computational biology , microbiology and biotechnology , biology , biochemistry , engineering , electrode , anode , political science , law
A study of how mediators might interact with the catabolic pathways of yeast was undertaken with a view towards improving the performance of microbial fuel cells. This work suggests that no single mediator is ideally suited to the task, and that a carefully selected mixture of two targeted mediators (Methylene Blue and Neutral Red) might be optimal. To test this hypothesis a yeast‐catalyzed microbial fuel cell was built and empirically evaluated under different mediation conditions. The results clearly show that a judicious mix of the two mediators can indeed achieve significantly superior performance, in terms of power‐density, than when either mediator is used singly at the same overall concentration.