From April 10th to 12th, 2024, the Mi-Hy consortium gathered at the University of Southampton in the United Kingdom to actively participate at the microbial Fuel Cell workshop hosted by Prof. Ioannis Ieropoulus. Participants came from KU Leuven, SONY CSL, Biofaction, CSIC and University of West England.
On the first day, attendees enjoyed a lab tour of the University of Southampton’s Water and Environmental Engineering Group, where Prof. Ioannis Ieroploulos leads as the Professor of Environmental Engineering. Additionally, Prof. Neil Willey from the University of West England provided guidance on setting up a hydroponics unit, showcasing the potential of combining microbial fuel cells and hydroponics. This approach can convert nitrogen and excess CO2 from waste water into edible plants such as vegetables and herbs. Discussions also covered nutrient requirements for hydroponic plants and plans to replace commercial unsustainable nutrient solutions with treated waste water from microbial fuel cells (MFC).
The hands-on activities of the Mi-Hy workshop continued on the second day, where participants had the opportunity to build two different types of MFC that use bacteria to convert waste water into electric energy under Prof. Ieropoulus’s guidance. Conversations focused into various designs of microbial fuel cells, analyzing their respective advantages and disadvantages. Following the design discussions, the MFCs were filled with a specialized mixture of optimized microorganisms and waste water as a feed source.
The workshop concluded on the third day with a comprehensive evaluation of the nine microbial fuel cells assembled the day before. The assessment highlighted the successful operation of all nine MFCs, generating enough electricity from waste water to power a small electronic device, a weather station that is usually powered by two AAA batteries.
This result vividly demonstrated the potential for powering electronic devices using urine and other waste water streams. Additionally, a valuable byproduct of MFCs is treated waste water, serving as a safe and renewable nutrient source, particularly nitrogen, for hydroponic plants.
Looking ahead, the workshop has set the stage for continued experimentation and enhancement of MFC-hydroponics units across various partner sites. The Mi-Hy project is committed to integrating these solutions to transform waste water treatment, food production, and energy generation. By combining MFCs with hydroponics, the project aims to revolutionize waste water treatment by recycling nitrogen and CO2 with food production and electric energy generation.
The workshop was important to allow all Mi-Hy project partners to learn how to set up and maintain MFCs and hydroponics, as they will have similar combined MFC-hydroponics units at various project partner locations to experiment and further improve the design set up and full integration of the different components.
🔗 For more information about Mi-Hy, visit https://www.mi-hy.eu/
