Nanostructured polyaniline-coated anode for improving microbial fuel cell power output

2013 ◽  
Vol 67 (8) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ali Mehdinia ◽  
Minodokht Dejaloud ◽  
Ali Jabbari
Keyword(s):  
Fuel Cell ◽  
Microbial Fuel Cell ◽  
Glassy Carbon ◽  
Electrochemical Impedance ◽  
Anode Surface ◽  
Carbon Anode ◽  
Pani Film ◽  
Anode Modification ◽  
Power Densities ◽  
Electrochemical Polymerisation

AbstractAn approach for improving the power generation of a dual-chamber microbial fuel cell by using a nanostructured polyaniline (PANI)-modified glassy carbon anode was investigated. Modification of the glassy carbon anode was achieved by the electrochemical polymerisation of aniline in 1 M H2SO4 solution. The MFC reactor showed power densities of 0.082 mW cm−2 and 0.031 mW cm−2 for the nano- and microstructured PANI anode, respectively. The results from electron microscopy scanning confirmed formation of the nanostructured PANI film on the anode surface and the results from electrochemical experiments confirmed that the electrochemical activity of the anode was significantly enhanced after modification by nanostructured PANI. Electrochemical impedance spectroscopic results proved that the charge transfer would be facilitated after anode modification with nanostructured PANI.

scholarly journals A Carbon-Cloth Anode Electroplated with Iron Nanostructure for Microbial Fuel Cell Operated with Real Wastewater

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (16) ◽  
pp. 6538 ◽  
Author(s):  
Enas Taha Sayed ◽  
Hussain Alawadhi ◽  
Khaled Elsaid ◽  
A. G. Olabi ◽  
Maryam Adel Almakrani ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Electron Transfer ◽  
Fuel Cell ◽  
Microbial Fuel Cell ◽  
Electrochemical Impedance ◽  
Open Circuit ◽  
Anode Surface ◽  
Carbon Cloth ◽  
Steady State Current ◽  
Real Wastewater ◽  
Improved Performance

Microbial fuel cell (MFC) is an emerging method for extracting energy from wastewater. The power generated from such systems is low due to the sluggish electron transfer from the inside of the biocatalyst to the anode surface. One strategy for enhancing the electron transfer rate is anode modification. In this study, iron nanostructure was synthesized on a carbon cloth (CC) via a simple electroplating technique, and later investigated as a bio-anode in an MFC operated with real wastewater. The performance of an MFC with a nano-layer of iron was compared to that using bare CC. The results demonstrated that the open-circuit voltage increased from 600 mV in the case of bare CC to 800 mV in the case of the iron modified CC, showing a 33% increase in OCV. This increase in OCV can be credited to the decrease in the anode potential from 0.16 V vs. Ag/AgCl in the case of bare CC, to −0.01 V vs. Ag/AgCl in the case of the modified CC. The power output in the case of the modified electrode was 80 mW/m2—two times that of the MFC using the bare CC. Furthermore, the steady-state current in the case of the iron modified carbon cloth was two times that of the bare CC electrode. The improved performance was correlated to the enhanced electron transfer between the microorganisms and the iron-plated surface, along with the increase of the anode surface- as confirmed from the electrochemical impedance spectroscopy and the surface morphology, respectively.

scholarly journals Lack of Electricity Production by Pelobacter carbinolicus Indicates that the Capacity for Fe(III) Oxide Reduction Does Not Necessarily Confer Electron Transfer Ability to Fuel Cell Anodes

2007 ◽  
Vol 73 (16) ◽  
pp. 5347-5353 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hanno Richter ◽  
Martin Lanthier ◽  
Kelly P. Nevin ◽  
Derek R. Lovley
Keyword(s):  
Electron Transfer ◽  
Fuel Cells ◽  
Fuel Cell ◽  
Microbial Fuel Cell ◽  
Microbial Fuel Cells ◽  
Electron Donors ◽  
Rrna Genes ◽  
Anode Surface ◽  
Oxide Reduction ◽  
Fuel Cell Anodes

ABSTRACT The ability of Pelobacter carbinolicus to oxidize electron donors with electron transfer to the anodes of microbial fuel cells was evaluated because microorganisms closely related to Pelobacter species are generally abundant on the anodes of microbial fuel cells harvesting electricity from aquatic sediments. P. carbinolicus could not produce current in a microbial fuel cell with electron donors which support Fe(III) oxide reduction by this organism. Current was produced using a coculture of P. carbinolicus and Geobacter sulfurreducens with ethanol as the fuel. Ethanol consumption was associated with the transitory accumulation of acetate and hydrogen. G. sulfurreducens alone could not metabolize ethanol, suggesting that P. carbinolicus grew in the fuel cell by converting ethanol to hydrogen and acetate, which G. sulfurreducens oxidized with electron transfer to the anode. Up to 83% of the electrons available in ethanol were recovered as electricity and in the metabolic intermediate acetate. Hydrogen consumption by G. sulfurreducens was important for ethanol metabolism by P. carbinolicus. Confocal microscopy and analysis of 16S rRNA genes revealed that half of the cells growing on the anode surface were P. carbinolicus, but there was a nearly equal number of planktonic cells of P. carbinolicus. In contrast, G. sulfurreducens was primarily attached to the anode. P. carbinolicus represents the first Fe(III) oxide-reducing microorganism found to be unable to produce current in a microbial fuel cell, providing the first suggestion that the mechanisms for extracellular electron transfer to Fe(III) oxides and fuel cell anodes may be different.

Effect of Anode Surface Roughness on Power Generation in Microbial Fuel Cells

2012 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zhou Ye ◽  
Junbo Hou ◽  
Michael W. Ellis ◽  
Bahareh Behkam
Keyword(s):  
Surface Roughness ◽  
Fuel Cells ◽  
Glassy Carbon ◽  
Microbial Fuel Cells ◽  
Electrochemical Impedance ◽  
Charge Transfer Resistance ◽  
Electrode System ◽  
Anode Surface ◽  
Transfer Resistance ◽  
Rough Electrode

A three-electrode system was used to study the effect of anode surface roughness on the performance of microbial fuel cells (MFCs). Two glassy carbon plates were polished to uniform roughness of the orders of magnitude of 10s of nm and 100s of nm. Atomic force microscopy (AFM) was used to quantify the roughness as well as the 3D topography of the surfaces. Multiple electrochemical methods including potentiostatic tests, potentiodynamic tests, and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) were utilized to monitor the performance of the glassy carbon electrodes. After 275 hours of experimentation, the current density generated by the rough electrode was much higher than that generated by the smooth one. Furthermore, the charge-transfer resistance of the rough electrode was lower than that of the smooth one. The better electrochemical performance of the rough surface may be due to denser biofilm grown on the surface, which was observed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM).

The Influence of Mediator Concentration on the Performance of Microbial Fuel Cell

2012 ◽  
Vol 512-515 ◽  
pp. 1520-1524 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yu Zhao ◽  
Xiao Bin Wang ◽  
Peng Li ◽  
Yan Ping Sun
Keyword(s):  
Methylene Blue ◽  
Fuel Cell ◽  
Microbial Fuel Cell ◽  
Power Density ◽  
Peak Power ◽  
Electrochemical Impedance ◽  
Peak Power Output ◽  
Anode Potential ◽  
High Concentration ◽  
Peak Power Density

Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS), cyclic voltammetry (CV), power density and anode potential are used to characterize the mediator microbial fuel cell at different methylene blue (MB) concentrations. At lower MB concentration between 9.98×10-3 mmol/L and 1.66×10-1 mmol/L, the increased power density is enabled by using high mediator concentrations. Higher peak power density of 159.6 mw/m2 is observed compared with the peak power density of 36.0 mw/m2. But MB at too high concentration is disadvantageous to the perform of MFC. At the MB concentration of 2.50×10-1 mmol/L, the peak power output is just 128.4 mw/m2, which is lower than 159.6 mw/m2 at MB concentration of 1.66×10-1 mmol/L.

A single chamber packed bed microbial fuel cell biosensor for measuring organic content of wastewater

2009 ◽  
Vol 60 (11) ◽  
pp. 2879-2887 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mirella Di Lorenzo ◽  
Tom P. Curtis ◽  
Ian M. Head ◽  
Sharon B. Velasquez-Orta ◽  
Keith Scott
Keyword(s):  
Fuel Cell ◽  
Surface Area ◽  
Microbial Fuel Cell ◽  
Packed Bed ◽  
Organic Content ◽  
Anode Surface ◽  
Carbon Cloth ◽  
Single Chamber ◽  
Steady State Current ◽  
Bed Thickness

This study reports an investigation of the effect of the anode surface area on the performance of a single chamber microbial fuel cell (SCMFC) based biosensor for measuring the organic content of wastewater. A packed bed of graphite granules was used as the anode. The surface area of the anode was changed by altering the granule bed thickness (0.3 cm and 1 cm). The anode surface area was found to play a role in the dynamic response of the system. For a granule bed thickness of 1 cm and with an external resistance of 500 Ω, the response time (defined as the time required to achieve 95% of the steady-state current) was reduced by approximately 65% in comparison to a SCMFC biosensor with a carbon cloth anode.

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