MADMEC 2007:
MIT and Dow Materials Engineering Contest
"Materials Solutions for Alternative Energy"

Team Name: BIOVOLT

Team Members:
Ethan Crumlin G, Andrew Hoy '10, Joseph Walish DMSE G,
Peter Weigele (consultant), John Craven '10, Gerardo Jose la O' DMSE G, and Jungik Kim (consultant) with two biofuel cell prototypes.

Abstract:
BioVolt is building a prototype device that will generate electricity from cellulosic biomass for houehold use in off-grid locations and less economically developed countries. Cellulose-based organic materials account for a significant amount of the energy production in numerous developing countries and in some rural locations of western nations. These organic materials are currently utilized in vastly inefficient combustion processes that lead to harmful smoke pollution and have become a primary factor in respiratory infections, particularly for the youth. Our prototype unit, the BV1, will use anaerobic organisms to digest cellulose and convert it to electricity and water in a microbial fuel cell. In one side of the fuel cell, microorganisms break down the cellulose to its component sugars. The sugars are oxidized by the bacteria and the resulting electrons are then respired to a graphite anode. The oxidation of sugars also liberates protons, which pass through an electrolyte membrane and react with the electrons and oxygen at an air cathode. The reaction of electrons, protons and oxygen at the cathode side yields water and completes a series of reactions sustaining electricity generation.