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Enhancement of Power Output by using Alginate Immobilized Algae in Biophotovoltaic Devices

Ng FL 1 , Phang SM 2 , Periasamy V 3 , Yunus K 4 , Fisher AC 4

Affiliations 

  • 1 Institute of Ocean and Earth Sciences (IOES), University of Malaya, 50603, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. fonglee_ng@yahoo.com
  • 2 Institute of Ocean and Earth Sciences (IOES), University of Malaya, 50603, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. phang@um.edu.my
  • 3 Low Dimensional Materials Research Centre (LDMRC), Department of Physics, University of Malaya, 50603, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
  • 4 Department of Chemical Engineering and Biotechnology, University of Cambridge, Philipa Fawcett Drive, CB3 0AS, Cambridge, United Kingdom
Sci Rep, 2017 Nov 24;7(1):16237.
PMID: 29176639 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-017-16530-y

Abstract

We report for the first time a photosynthetically active algae immobilized in alginate gel within a fuel cell design for generation of bioelectricity. The algal-alginate biofilm was utilized within a biophotovoltaics (BPV) device developed for direct bioelectricity generation from photosynthesis. A peak power output of 0.289 mWm-2 with an increase of 18% in power output compared to conventional suspension culture BPV device was observed. The increase in maximum power density was correlated to the maximum relative electron transport rate (rETRm). The semi-dry type of photosynthetically active biofilm proposed in this work may offer significantly improved performances in terms of fuel cell design, bioelectricity generation, oxygen production and CO2 reduction.

* Title and MeSH Headings from MEDLINE®/PubMed®, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine.

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