Machines | Microbial Fuel Cell -- M.Tyler Huggins

US Biochar Conference 2013 Track: Benefits and Uses - Biochar in Renewable Energy Tuesday, October 15th Speaker - M.Tyler Huggins Microbial Fuel Cell -- M.Tyler Huggins, University of Colorado The high cost of electrode materials is one major challenge facing the full scale application of the microbial fuel cell (MFC) technology. We demonstrate here for the first time that high temperature (800°C) biochar can be a cost effective and sustainable alternative to traditional granular activated carbon (GAC) and graphite granules (GG) as MFC electrode materials. Using locally available waste-biomass, exothermic manufacturing process, and end of life agricultural benefit, biochar can be manufactured for around 51-365 US$ tonne-1, up to 10 times cheaper than GAC (500-2500 US$ tonne-1) or GG (500-800 US$ tonne-1) and have significantly greater life cycle advantages. The use of biochar as the MFC anode rings in a new era of alternative electrode material options with economic and environmental benefits. Mitchell Tyler Huggins is the Co-founder/Senior Sustainability Engineer at Full Sustainability Consulting, a Research Bio-engineer for the U.S. Department of Defense, and a Research Engineer at the University of Colorado Denver focusing on clean tech development in water/waste-water treatment, environmental remediation and bio-energy production.