SECTION C: ENGINEERING
Currently the most important challenges of energy development is the incorporation of renewable energy sources using various technologies, of these systems includes different alternatives, the generation of energy from biomass is one of them. One form of these microorganism-catalyzed electrochemical bioreactor systems for the generation of energy forms using biomass as a substrate are microbial fuel cells, that according to their structural characteristics, produce bioelectricity as a certain nutritional requirement considered potentially polluting is degraded. However, The low levels of voltage and power density generated in a fuel cell limit their large-scale applicability. This research aims to evaluate graphene and magnetite as electron exchange membranes to improve voltage stability and efficiency in the generation of bioelectricity, for this, representative samples of high Andean moor soil from Canton Colta were taken for its use as inoculum, through a system of three clusters finally obtaining a composite sample. The substrate used was a 50:50 mixture of fruits (orange: Citrus sinensis, banana: Musa acuminata L. and apple: Pyrus malus L.) and vegetables (pea: Pisum sativum L., bean: Vicia faba L., squash: Cucurbita Duchesne maximum) in a decomposed state. Physicochemical characteristics of the inoculum and percentages of Carbon, Nitrogen, Hydrogen and Sulfur of the substrate were analyzed. The graphene membrane was obtained by direct exfoliation of graphite oxide, previously treated in an ultrasonic bath, on a carbon fiber fabric. Magnetite was synthesized from FeCl2 and FeCl3. The voltage values generated by twelve cells were monitored, three for each membrane variation (graphene, magnetite, white and white with magnet) for fifteen consecutive days as a Bach reactor. The results were statistically analyzed taking average values and considering the difference between treatments. The efficiency of the materials used as membranes was established through a comparison of power density and degradation of its content. The average voltage obtained was 131mV given by graphene membrane cells, the power density of 9.17mW / m2 and a substrate degradation of 8.60% (N), 35.29% (C), 24.49% (H) and 12, 16% (S), concluding that the graphene membrane has higher performance since it achieved a power density 42 times higher in relation to magnetite.
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