USA As Represented by Secretary of the Navy

University of Southern California

Lewis Hsu

David Bart Chadwick

Yolanda Meriah Arias-Thode

Alex G Phipps

Maxwell Mayekawa Kerber

Jeffrey Kagan

Matthew Lanford Bond

Kenneth E Richter

Gregory Wayne Anderson

David Bartholomew Chadwick

David G Garmire

Kenneth H Nealson

Richard C Ordonez

Cody K Hayashi

Massoud Pirbazari

Wayne Po-wen Liu

Joshua Bianchi

Andrew Higier

Bart Chadwick

Ryan John Halonen

Joseph F Schnecker, Jr

Y Meriah Arias-Thode

An electrical network including a power source, a flyback converter, a microcontroller, a PID controller, a voltage boost converter, a pulse width modulator integrated circuit, and a battery. The power source produces a charge with a voltage ranging from about 0.1V to about 0.8V and a power ranging from about 0.3 mW to about 100 mW. The flyback converter functions in discontinuous current mode. The microcontroller monitors the power source voltage, calculates a voltage response, and outputs a control signal for the voltage. The PID controller is a digital PID controller, an analog PID controller, or a combination thereof. The voltage boost converter utilizes the power source voltage and power to provide higher voltage power to the electrical network. The pulse width modulator integrated circuit sets a duty cycle and frequency for the flyback converter. The battery stores excess charge produced by the power source.

Electrical network with flyback energy harvesting device

A benthic microbial fuel cell comprising: a nonconductive frame having an upper end and a lower end; a plurality of anodes, wherein each anode is a conductive plate having a top section and a bottom edge; a plurality of conductive, threaded rods disposed perpendicularly to the anode plates and configured to secure the top sections of the anodes to the lower end of the frame and to hold the plates in a substantially parallel orientation with respect to each other such that none of the plates are in direct contact with each other; and a plurality of cathodes, wherein each cathode is made of carbon cloth connected to the upper end of the frame.

Readily-deployable microbial fuel cell

A method for using a graphene field-effect transistor (GFET) as a reconfigurable circuit, the method comprising the following steps: depositing a liquid dielectric over a graphene channel of the GFET; applying an activation energy via a first electric field across the liquid dielectric and the graphene channel to electrochemically produce chemical species within the liquid dielectric such that the chemical species accumulate at, and molecularly bond with, the graphene channel thereby decreasing a conductivity of the graphene channel; and applying a deactivation energy via a second electric field of opposite polarity to the first electric field to remove interaction between the chemical species and the graphene channel to increase the conductivity of the graphene channel.

Reconfigurable graphene devices via electrical double layer gating

A device for capturing energy, with an anode base, a rigid body, a pressure housing, a cathode array, and a wire. The anode base is connected to the rigid body, the pressure housing is connected to the rigid body, and the cathode array is connected to the rigid body. The first wire is electrically connected to the cathode array. The second wire is electrically connected to the anode base.

Self-contained and scalable microbial fuel cell array with grid-based anode and bottle brush cathode power sensors underwater

A system comprising a series of at least two benthic microbial fuel cells (BMFC), wherein each BMFC comprises an anode electrically connected to a cathode, and wherein for each BMFC there is a first and second comparator configured to monitor BMFC voltage to determine if the voltage falls below one of two present thresholds. The output of the first comparator is electrically connected to the BMFC via a switch and the output of the second comparator is electrically connected to a pulse width monitor (PWM) block via a switch. A DC/DC converter is electrically coupled to each BMFC and configured to transfer energy stored in each BMFC to a battery, wherein the DC/DC converter is driven by the PWM block.

Method for self-assessing microbial fuel cell electronics for energy harvesting

A method for improving power production comprising the steps of providing an existing linear array benthic microbial fuel cell system having an anode and a plurality of cathodes, wherein the anode is an insulated underwater cable buried beneath seafloor sediment, and wherein the plurality of cathodes are configured to be buoyant and to rise above the sea floor, wrapping the insulated underwater cable with carbon fiber bundles and a current collector, wherein the carbon fiber is coated with a binder, securing the carbon fiber bundles and current collector with a web of synthetic fiber, fraying the carbon fiber bundles, creating exposed carbon ends on the cable and removing the binder.

System and method for improving power production in linear array benthic microbial fuel cells

A self-burying microbial fuel cell can include a housing with conductive elements. An anode and cathode can be integrated into the housing at respective proximal and distal ends. A self-burying means for partially burying the microbial fuel cell in a submerged environment is included, so that the anode is buried but the cathode is exposed to the submerged environment can be included. The self-burying means can include omni-directional vibrating device located within the housing, a plurality of intake ports formed in the housing for a pump within the housing. The pump outputs into a longitudinal fluid conduit that extends through the housing and exits at the distal end of the housing. When the vibrating device activates at the same time as the pump, temporary slurry can be formed at the extreme distal end of the device, and the vibrating action causes the microbial fuel cell to become partially buried.

Self-burying sediment energy harvester

A microbial fuel cell comprising: an anode; an anode chamber configured to house the anode and an oxygen-reduced, nutrient-rich solution from a sediment bottom of a natural water body, wherein the anode chamber shields the anode from surrounding oxygen-rich water; a cathode disposed outside the anode chamber in the oxygen-rich water and electrically coupled in series to the anode via an electrical load; and an agitator configured to periodically agitate the sediment bottom to increase the quantity of nutrients in the nutrient-rich solution.

Microbial fuel cell with sediment agitator

A microbial fuel cell includes an anode compartment with an anode and an anode biocatalyst and a cathode compartment with a cathode and a cathode biocatalyst, with a membrane positioned between the anode compartment and the cathode compartment, and an electrical pathway between the anode and the cathode. The anode biocatalyst is capable of catalyzing oxidation of an organic substance, and the cathode biocatalyst is capable of catalyzing reduction of an inorganic substance. The reduced organic substance can form a precipitate, thereby removing the inorganic substance from solution. In some cases, the anode biocatalyst is capable of catalyzing oxidation of an inorganic substance, and the cathode biocatalyst is capable of catalyzing reduction of an organic or inorganic substance.

Growing community of inventors

Lomita, CA, United States of America

Lewis Hsu