Development of Microbial Fuel Cell Using Onion Skin as Disposable Membrane

Microbial fuel cells (MFCs) are promising technologies for generating bioelectricity from organic waste through microbial catalysis. However, the high cost of membranes used in MFCs remains one of the major concerns limiting their widespread application. In this study, a low-cost and readily available bio-membrane fabricated from onion skin was developed and applied as the membrane component in MFCs. By using Shewanella oneidensis MR-1 as the model exoeletrogen, the onion skin membrane equipped MFC delivered even higher bioelectricity output (~133 mW/m2) compared to that equipped with the costly Nafion membrane (~74 mW/m2). This research demostrated that it is possible to use onion membrane as a cost-effective alternative to Nafion membrane for bioelectrochemical systems.