Nicolas Degrenne
Ampère laboratory, Lyon, France
Abstract
Microbial fuel cells (MFCs) convert organic matter into electrical
energy through the action of electrogenic bacteria. Reported power densities are
usually in the order of few mW/liter at an output voltage of few hundreds of mV.
MFCs are candidate to supply low-power electronic devices in specific
environments (human body, lakes, wastewater treatment plants…).
Power management circuits for MFCs have to step-up voltages while
enabling maximum power point tracking.
A first option is
the use of regulated step-up DC/DC converters. Inductive DC/DC converters enable
eased regulation whereas capacitive DC/DC converters enable full integration. A
main limitation of standard designs is the minimum start-up voltage. A
transformer-based start-up circuit permits autonomous operation at voltages as
low as 100mV with standard of-the-shelf discrete components.
Another option to step-up voltages is the association of MFCs in series.
In this case, the use of voltage balancing circuits enable more efficient energy
harvesting from MFCs that have different electrical characteristics.
Biographical Sketch
Nicolas Degrenne studied electrical engineering at
INSA Lyon (France) from 2002 to 2008. He realized an internship with CERN,
Geneva (Switzerland) in 2006 and with NXP (Philips Semiconductor) in 2007,
Eindhoven (Netherlands). He graduated in 2008 with a specialization in
integrated power-electronics.
Since 2009, he pursues a
PhD with Ampère Laboratory in Lyon on the subject of power management from
microbial fuel cells (MFCs). It includes the characterization of MFCs and the
design of power management circuits to harvest their energy.