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A Greener World One Scoop of Mud at a Time! |
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A Greener World One Scoop of Mud at a Time! |
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Our whole science fair project consisted of building cheap and reusable two chamber microbial fuel cells. These cells consist of an anode chamber containing mud in an anaerobic environment, and a cathode chamber containing a saline solution, connected together with a salt bridge. The bacteria in this mud are supposedly electrochemically active and produce energy. We wanted to prove that if we could indeed generate energy through a microbial fuel cell, then we have found a cheap and eco-friendly way to create energy. We constructed a control cell that contained chemicals: Copper nitrate and Zinc Nitrate which were sure to produce a current, thus showing us that the fuel cell design would conduct a current if it was given the power. We then created other cells which contained mud that we collected from Deer Lake and from other locations for comparison. Our data showed that our control worked; therefore our fuel cell is effective in producing a voltage and a current. In the end, our fuel cells that contained mud also produced energy. Not only did we end up creating a voltage ranging from 100-300mV (about 1/5 of a volt), but we made a cell from inexpensive and recyclable materials. We used materials such as plastic milk jugs, plastic tubes, insulated copper wires and a saline solution that could be re-used or recycled for building other cells. We proved our hypothesis, showing that there was a cheap and eco-friendly way to create a microbial fuel cell that could produce clean electricity. We also built parallel circuits of these fuel cells and tried to power a diode, to see if the voltage was higher. Even though it seems that it does not produce a lot of power, if we continue future research and development, we are bound to find a breakthrough. With that being said, the crisis of global warming is steadily growing as a concern in the minds the human population. Finding greener alternatives for our daily lives, is starting to become a trend. Creating greener energy will be adding to methods such as wind power, solar power and hydro power. Who doesn't want a greener world? We could help if we used one scoop of mud at a time.