Reconfigurable microbial fuel cell
AssigneeThe United States of America as represented by the Secretary of the Navy
InventorsWayne P. Liu, David Bartholomew Chadwick, Kenneth E. Richter, Adriane Q. Wotawa-Bergen, Jeffrey Asher Kagan
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Abstract
A microbial fuel cell comprising: a first cathode; at least two anodes electrically connected to each other and to the cathode in a reconfigurable manner; and a processor operatively coupled to the anodes and configured to monitor a parameter of each anode to determine if a given anode has been oxygen-contaminated, and further configured to convert an oxygen-contaminated anode into a second cathode by reconfiguring the electrical connections.
Claims13
A microbial fuel cell comprising:
- a first cathode;
- a load electrically connected to the first cathode;
- at least two anodes, wherein each anode is electrically connected, via processor-controlled switches, to the load and to the first cathode in a reconfigurable manner such that any of the anodes may be converted into cathodes;
- at least two oxygen barriers, one for each anode, wherein each oxygen barrier is an open container containing a portion of the sediment and a respective anode, and wherein each container is buried in the sediment such that the open container's opening faces away from the sea water;
- and
- a processor operatively coupled to the anodes and configured to monitor a voltage output by each anode as compared to a reference electrode to determine if any anode has been oxygen-contaminated, and further configured to open the processor-controlled switch that connects a given oxygen-contaminated anode to the load and to close the processor-controlled switch that connects the given oxygen-contaminated anode to the first cathode in order to convert the given oxygen-contaminated anode into a second cathode, wherein the fuel cell operates in an oceanic environment, and wherein the anodes are buried in sea-bed sediment, and the cathode is positioned in seawater.
A microbial fuel cell comprising:
- an array of discreet elements, each element comprising a cathode, an electrical load, and an anode, wherein the cathodes are positioned in a first environment and wherein the elements and the components within each element are electrically connected via processor-controlled switches, wherein each anode is electrically connected, via processor-controlled switches, to the respective load and to the respective cathode in a reconfigurable manner such that any of the anodes may be converted into additional cathodes;
- an array of oxygen barriers, one for each anode, wherein each oxygen barrier is a sealed container containing a portion of sediment and a respective anode, wherein the sediment has a lower concentration of oxygen than the first environment;
- a processor operatively coupled to the anodes and configured to monitor a voltage output by each anode as compared to a reference electrode to determine if any anode from any given element has been oxygen-contaminated, and further configured to open the processor-controlled switch that connects a given oxygen-contaminated anode to the respective load and to close the processor-controlled switch that connects the given oxygen-contaminated anode to the respective cathode in order to convert the given oxygen-contaminated anode into an additional cathode, wherein the fuel cell operates in an oceanic environment, and wherein the first environment is seawater.
A method for controlling power output from a microbial fuel cell comprising the following steps:
- monitoring, with a processor that is operatively coupled to each anode of an array of anodes, a parameter of each anode as compared to a reference electrode;
- determining, with the processor, if any given anode has been oxygen-contaminated;
- and
- converting the oxygen-contaminated anode into an additional cathode by opening, with the processor, a processor-controlled switch that connects the given oxygen-contaminated anode to a respective load and closing, with the processor, a processor-controlled switch that connects the given oxygen-contaminated anode to a respective cathode, wherein the anodes are surrounded by sea-bed sediment and the cathode is surrounded by seawater.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.