Study of Arrowroot Starch-Based Polymer Electrolytes and Its Application in MFC

Microbial fuel cell (MFC), a biochemical-catalyzed system which generates electricity by oxidizing biodegradable organic matter in the presence of either fermentative bacteria or enzymes, is a growing technology for electricity generation. It is a dual functioning technology which not only generates electricity but also treats wastewater, thereby addressing two major problems of the present world. As the technology is an emerging one, there are numerous challenges to be confronted. One of the vital components of the MFC is the proton exchange membrane (PEM), and it is due to the high cost of this membrane that MFC technology is still running at laboratory scale. In the present study, a starch-based electrolyte film is used as PEM. Electrochemical behavior exhibited by the starch electrolyte is studied and on using it as PEM in MFC it is found to exhibit power density of approximate to 16 mW m(-2) and the current density of approximate to 85 mA m(-2). One of the main advantages of the material is its cost which is approximately INR approximate to 940 per square foot compared to INR 70 000 per square foot of Nafion (the most popular membrane).