1. A SEMINAR REPORT
ON
“IMPROVED PRODUCTION OF ELECTRICITY
USING AN ITAC-MFC”
SUBMITTED ON THE PARTIAL FULFILLMENT FOR THE COURSE
OF
BACHELOR OF ENGINEERING IN CHEMICAL ENGINEERING
SUBMITTED BY
MISS. KAVITA JADHAV
UNDER THE GUIDANCE OF
Mrs. PRATIBHA GAWANDE
DATTA MEGHE COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING
DEPARTMENT OF CHEMICAL ENGINEERING
DATTA MEGHE COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING
AIROLI, NAVI MUMBAI-400708
(2011-12)

2. UNIVERSITY OF MUMBAI
DATTA MEGHE COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING
PLOT NO # 98, SECTOR NO.3, AIROLI, NAVI MUMBAI -400708
DEPARTMENT OF CHEMICAL ENGINEERING
CERTIFICATE
This is to certify that Miss Nitya Arunachalam Iyer (Roll No. 54) have successfully carried
out the seminar entitled “IMPROVED PRODUCTION OF ELECTRICITY USING AN
ITAC-MFC” in Semester No.VIII and submitted the project in partial fulfilment for the
award of Bachelor Of Engineering in Chemical Engineering in University Of Mumbai
during the Academic Year 2011-12.
INTERNAL PROJECT GUIDE HEAD OF DEPARTMENT
(Mrs. PRATIBHA GAWANDE) (Mrs. KALPANA DESHMUKH)
PROJECT HEAD PRINCIPAL
(Mr. SUNIL KULKARNI) (Dr. S D SAWARKAR)

3. ACKNOWLEDGMENT
I hereby extend our respectful gratitude to the Chemical Engineering Department of DATTA MEGHE
COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING for giving us the opportunity for carrying out the seminar of “IMPROVED
PRODUCTION OF ELECTRICITY USING AN ITAC-MFC” in the final year as per the curriculum of
the degree course of the Chemical Engineering.
I am indebted to Mrs. Pratibha Gawande Ma’am and Mr. Sunil Kulkarni Sir for all the personal attention
given to us and sharing their valuable knowledge and precious time in our seminar and precious time in our
seminar and without whose concern, advice and motivation it would have been difficult to carry out the
project.
I further extend my gratitude to Mrs. Kalpana Deshmukh Ma’am (Head of Chemical Engineering
Department) and all other staff members of the Chemical Engineering Department.
Miss NITYA ARUNACHALAM IYER

4. ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND:
Electricity can be generated directly from sewage sludge with a microbial fuel cell (MFC), combining
degradation of organic matter. This study constructed a novel insert-type air-cathode microbial fuel cell
(ITAC-MFC) as an alternative to a sediment-type MFC and a two-chambered MFC for the generation of
bioelectricity and the degradation of sewage sludge organic matter. Meanwhile, a pH adjustment was carried
out to enhance substrate bioavailability of sludge and to suppress methane production in the MFC.
RESULTS:
A maximum power density of 73 ± 5 mW m−2
was obtained at sludge pH 10.0, much higher than those of
33 ± 3 and 4 ± 0.5 mW m−2
obtained at pH 8.0 and 6.0, respectively. It was observed that the soluble
chemical oxygen demand (SCOD) of sewage sludge at pH 10.0 was almost three times greater than that at
pH 6.0. At the same time, the total chemical oxygen demand (TCOD) removal and coulombic efficiency
(CE) at pH 10.0 were also much higher than at the other two conditions.
CONCLUSIONS:
The results demonstrated that improved electricity production and organic degradation could be achieved by
maintaining the sludge pH at 10.0 in an MFC. ITAC-MFC offers an attractive alternative for the
environmentally-friendly removal of organic matter in sewage sludge.