SIMPLIFIED: "High voltage generation from wastewater by microbial fuel cells equipped with a newly designed low voltage booster multiplier (LVBM)"

Article Link: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-020-75916-7#Sec6 

Note: The image above was taken from the original article.

This article explores the possible use of a low voltage booster multiplier, also referred to as an LVBM. To even start explaining what an LVBM is and why it is needed, we need to explore microbial fuel cells.

Microbial fuel cells, also called MFCs, are electrochemical systems that can basically turn organic waste into electricity and energy. The science behind these cells is very complicated but the electrons from organic compounds get transferred into an anode cathode system to produce electrical current. If you have absolutely no clue what MFCs are or have never even heard of them, you should know that they are a more sustainable way to produce energy by using organic waste. 

Unfortunately, MFCs do not generate a ton of electricity, at least nowhere enough for practical uses. This is because the voltage output of MFCs is very low. Therefore, this article tries to increase the voltage of a microbial fuel cell by creating the LVBM. The name says it all: low voltage booster multiplier is basically supposed to take the low voltage from the MFC and boost it. 

Here is how they did the experiment in a nutshell. They first obviously needed to create a microbial fuel cell. Afterwards, they created their own LVBM. Something called a transistor has to be used when creating the LVBM, which is a switch to turn electrical signals on and off. It is important to turn electrical signals on and off because the current will keep changing directions, causing alternating current (also called AC current, while direct current, which is when electrons only move in one direction, is shortened to DC current). Remember, current is the flow of electrons. Ultimately, after making the LVBM, they were testing different numbers of “boosts”. 

The findings were ultimately pretty intuitive. After using the LVBM, they were able to boost the voltage of the microbial fuel cell from 0.45 volts to 99 volts, which is a huge increase. Another note is that the LVBM can store energy because even when it was not connected to the MFC, it was still able to produce around 81 volts for 50 hours. Additionally, the LVBM system only costs $10, at least according to the article, meaning it is a very cost-effective system. Overall, the topic of LVBMs is still being explored but this article proves that the potential for LVBMs to significantly increase the voltage output of MFCs is high.