scholarly journals Minimalistic soil microbial fuel cells for bioremediation of recalcitrant pollutants

2022 ◽  
Vol 334 ◽  
pp. 08004
Author(s):  
Arpita Nandy ◽  
Bongkyu Kim ◽  
Mirella Di Lorenzo
Keyword(s):  
Fuel Cells ◽  
Organic Contaminants ◽  
Microbial Fuel Cells ◽  
Microbial Population ◽  
Carbon Materials ◽  
Low Cost ◽  
Soil Microbial ◽  
Sustainable Technologies ◽  
Global Issue ◽  
Enrichment Process

Increased human, agricultural and industrial activities along with improper waste disposal leads to high levels of soil contamination and accumulation of recalcitrant contaminants in the environment. This global issue demands the use of green and sustainable technologies and soil microbial fuel cells (SMFC) can be a potential solution. We adopted minimalistic designs, based on low-cost carbon materials without any expensive catalyst and membrane, which makes the SMFCs suitable for in-field applications. We investigated the ability of the indigenous microbial population of the soil to use organic contaminants as the source of carbon and the enrichment of the electroactive consortium was monitored over time onto the electrode surface of the SMFCs. We tested performance in soil contaminated with pesticide and soil contaminated with hydrocarbons and compare the microbial enrichment process with respect to the case of non-contaminated soil.

Carbon materials derived from waste tires as high-performance anodes in microbial fuel cells

2018 ◽  
Vol 618 ◽  
pp. 804-809 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wei Chen ◽  
Huajun Feng ◽  
Dongsheng Shen ◽  
Yufeng Jia ◽  
Na Li ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Fuel Cells ◽  
Microbial Fuel Cells ◽  
High Performance ◽  
Carbon Materials ◽  
Waste Tires

scholarly journals A Thin Layer of Activated Carbon Deposited on Polyurethane Cube Leads to New Conductive Bioanode for (Plant) Microbial Fuel Cell

Energies ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 13 (3) ◽  
pp. 574
Author(s):  
Emilius Sudirjo ◽  
Paola Y. Constantino Diaz ◽  
Matteo Cociancich ◽  
Rens Lisman ◽  
Christian Snik ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Fuel Cells ◽  
Activated Carbon ◽  
Field Test ◽  
Microbial Fuel Cells ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Electrode Materials ◽  
Low Cost ◽  
Three Dimensional ◽  
Polyurethane Foams ◽  
Electrochemically Active

Large-scale implementation of (plant) microbial fuel cells is greatly limited by high electrode costs. In this work, the potential of exploiting electrochemically active self-assembled biofilms in fabricating three-dimensional bioelectrodes for (plant) microbial fuel cells with minimum use of electrode materials was studied. Three-dimensional robust bioanodes were successfully developed with inexpensive polyurethane foams (PU) and activated carbon (AC). The PU/AC electrode bases were fabricated via a water-based sorption of AC particles on the surface of the PU cubes. The electrical current was enhanced by growth of bacteria on the PU/AC bioanode while sole current collectors produced minor current. Growth and electrochemical activity of the biofilm were shown with SEM imaging and DNA sequencing of the microbial community. The electric conductivity of the PU/AC electrode enhanced over time during bioanode development. The maximum current and power density of an acetate fed MFC reached 3 mA·m−2 projected surface area of anode compartment and 22 mW·m−3 anode compartment. The field test of the Plant-MFC reached a maximum performance of 0.9 mW·m−2 plant growth area (PGA) at a current density of 5.6 mA·m−2 PGA. A paddy field test showed that the PU/AC electrode was suitable as an anode material in combination with a graphite felt cathode. Finally, this study offers insights on the role of electrochemically active biofilms as natural enhancers of the conductivity of electrodes and as transformers of inert low-cost electrode materials into living electron acceptors.

scholarly journals The change in biotic and abiotic soil components influenced by paddy soil microbial fuel cells loaded with various resistances

2018 ◽  
Vol 19 (1) ◽  
pp. 106-115 ◽  
Author(s):  
Williamson Gustave ◽  
Zhao-Feng Yuan ◽  
Raju Sekar ◽  
Yu-Xiang Ren ◽  
Hu-Cheng Chang ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Fuel Cells ◽  
Paddy Soil ◽  
Microbial Fuel Cells ◽  
Soil Microbial ◽  
Soil Components

scholarly journals Natural Wolframite Used as Cathode Photocatalyst for Improving the Performance of Microbial Fuel Cells

2018 ◽  
Vol 8 (12) ◽  
pp. 2504
Author(s):  
Junxian Shi ◽  
Anhuai Lu ◽  
Haibin Chu ◽  
Hongyu Wu ◽  
Hongrui Ding
Keyword(s):  
Fuel Cells ◽  
Power Density ◽  
Microbial Fuel Cells ◽  
Environmental Remediation ◽  
Low Cost ◽  
Reduction Process ◽  
Maximum Power ◽  
Maximum Power Density ◽  
Graphite Cathode ◽  
Vis Spectroscopy

Developing simple and cheap electrocatalysts or photocatalysts for cathodes to increase the oxygen reduction process is a key factor for better utilization of microbial fuel cells (MFCs). Here, we report the investigation of natural wolframite employed as a low-cost cathode photocatalyst to improve the performance of MFCs. The semiconducting wolframite was characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and Raman spectroscopy. The band gap and photo respond activities were determined by UV-vis spectroscopy and linear sweep voltammetry (LSV), respectively. Compared with the normal graphite cathode, when MFCs were equipped with a wolframite-coated cathode, the maximum power density was increased from 41.47 mW·m−2 to 95.51 mW·m−2. Notably, the maximum power density further improved to 135.57 mW·m−2 under light irradiation, which was 2.4 times higher than with a graphite cathode. Our research demonstrated that natural wolframite, a low-cost and abundant natural semiconducting mineral, showed promise as an effective photocathode catalyst which has great potential applications related to utilizing natural minerals in MFCs and for environmental remediation by MFCs in the future.

Nano-Fe3C@PGC as a novel low-cost anode electrocatalyst for superior performance microbial fuel cells

2019 ◽  
Vol 142 ◽  
pp. 111594 ◽  
Author(s):  
Meihua Hu ◽  
Xin Li ◽  
Juan Xiong ◽  
Lizhen Zeng ◽  
Yingshan Huang ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Fuel Cells ◽  
Microbial Fuel Cells ◽  
Low Cost ◽  
Superior Performance
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