Saccharomyces cerevisiae present in common Baker’s yeast was used in a microbial fuel cell in which glucose was the carbon source. Methylene blue was used as the electronophore in the anode compartment, while potassium ferricyanide and methylene blue were tested as electron acceptors in the cathode compartment. Microbes in a mediator-free environment were used as the control. The experiment was performed in both open and closed circuit configurations under different loads ranging from 100 kΩ to 400Ω. The eukaryotic S. cerevisiae-based fuel cell showed improved performance when methylene blue and ferricyanide were used as electron mediators, rendering a maximum power generation of 146.71±7.7 mW/m³. The fuel cell generated a maximum open circuit voltage of 383.6±1.5 mV and recorded a maximum efficiency of 28±1.8 % under 100 kΩ of external load.

Biofuels such as ethanol and biodiesel derived from living plants or animal matter can be used directly in their neat forms or as blends with their fossil counterparts in internal combustion engines. Although the properties and performance of neat biofuels have been extensively reported, this is not the case for many blends. The purpose of this review is to analyze different forms of biofuel blends that are under research and development comparing their utility and performance in the two primary classes of engines, i.e., spark ignition and compression ignition engines. The fuel properties, performance and emission characteristics, advantages and disadvantages of various fuel blends are compared and discussed. The analysis reveals certain blends possess better overall fuel properties and yield better overall performance than the neat or fossil forms.

The removal of glycerol by adsorption from biodiesel washwaters has been studied at room temperature using various adsorbent materials, including activated carbons, clay minerals, and natural and synthetic zeolites. Activated carbon exhibited the best adsorption for glycerol among the examined materials. Glycerol adsorption isotherms are obtained on activated carbons after treatment under different conditions. The Langmuir isotherm coefficients and the first‐order desorption kinetic parameters for glycerol on a coconut activated carbon were determined by fitting the experimental data. The adsorption of glycerol was increased by removing the functional groups from the carbon surface at high temperatures under N₂ atmosphere, and was decreased by increasing surface functional groups through HNO₃ oxidation. Compared with water, glycerol tends to adsorb more favourably on a hydrophobic carbon surface than on a hydrophilic one.