Introduction Technology for electrical power generation using enzyme catalysts, established four decades ago, has recently received increased attention associated with demand for micro-scale and implantable power supplies. The main challenges, namely the fragility of enzyme molecules, characteristic low current density, and poor fundamental understanding of redox biocatalysis, are currently bei...

Biofuel cells typically yield lower power and are more difficult to fabricate than conventional fuel cells using inorganic catalysts. This work presents a glucose/O2 microfluidic biofuel cell (MBFC) featuring pyrolyzed photoresist film (PPF) electrodes made on silicon wafers using a rapid thermal process, and subsequently encapsulated by rapid prototyping techniques into a double-Y-shaped micro...

Microalgae, which accumulate considerable carbohydrates, are a potential source of glucose for biofuel fermentation. In this study, we investigated the enzymatic hydrolysis efficiency wet microalgal biomass compared with freeze-dried and oven-dried biomasses, both without an acidic pretreatment. With dilute sulfuric acid pretreatment followed by amy (α-amylase amyloglucosidase) cellulase hydrol...

The purpose of this chapter is to review recent work in biofuel cells -that is, fuel cells relying at least in part on enzymatic catalysis for their activity. The chapter is divided into three sections: (1) a brief review of the principles common to fuel cells (both biological and non-biological), supported with a bibliography of more comprehensive treatments, (2) an overview of the literature ...

Biofuel cells have been widely used to generate bioelectricity. Early biofuel cells employ a semi-permeable membrane to separate the anodic and cathodic compartments. The impact of different membrane materials and compositions has also been explored. Some membrane materials are employed strictly as membrane separators, while some have gained significant attention in the immobilization of enzyme...

Research and development efforts for biofuel production are targeted at converting plant biomass into renewable liquid fuels. Major obstacles for biofuel production include lack of biofuel crop domestication, low oil yields from crop plants as well as recalcitrance of lignocellulose to chemical and enzymatic breakdown. Researchers are expanding the genetic and genomic resources available for cr...

A busca contínua por fontes alternativas de energia, imposta por interesses econômicos e ambientais, tem motivado investigações sobre alternativas limpas e eficientes para a produção de energia. As células a combustível são uma estratégia potencialmente eficaz para a conversão de energia. As biocélulas a combustível constituem uma subclasse das células a combustível, que possuem grande potencia...