There is no doubt about how crucial to have sustainable energy in this era. Researchers focus on fuel cells because of their high efficiency, environmental friendliness, and independence from limited sources, etc. Microbial fuel cell (MFC) is a promising technology that responds to the demand of sustainable energy. MFCs, similar to other fuel cells, use catalysts and produce electricity through chemical reactions during substrate break-down. In this case, MFCs use bacteria as the catalysts to break down the organic matter. There have been control studies on fuel cells, specifically on hydrogen fuel cells, for various purposes. Because MFCs are still not well understood, similar control studies have not been adequately conducted. In this study, a control-oriented mathematical model for MFC dynamics is developed and analyzed. An MFC system is designed and developed, which has successfully demonstrated production of electricity. Experiments are conducted to identify the model parameters and validate the model. For the MFC prototype, \textit{G. sulfurreducens} strain PCA is used as the pure bacteria culture with the acetate as the substrate. The MFC used in this study adopts a membrane-less single-chamber configuration, and utilizes an air-cathode and a carbon-brush anode.Once the model is developed, the behavior of an MFC is analyzed using system theory. In particular, the equilibria of the system in the continuous mode, where the MFC is fed with the substrate at a constant rate are computed. Furthermore, Jacobian analysis and phase portraits are used to understand the stability properties of the equilibria.
Read
