scholarly journals Controlling the Carbon-Bio Interface via Glycan Functional Adlayers for Applications in Microbial Fuel Cell Bioanodes

Molecules ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 26 (16) ◽  
pp. 4755
Author(s):  
Alessandro Iannaci ◽  
Adam Myles ◽  
Timothé Philippon ◽  
Frédéric Barrière ◽  
Eoin M. Scanlan ◽  
...  

Surface modification of electrodes with glycans was investigated as a strategy for modulating the development of electrocatalytic biofilms for microbial fuel cell applications. Covalent attachment of phenyl-mannoside and phenyl-lactoside adlayers on graphite rod electrodes was achieved via electrochemically assisted grafting of aryldiazonium cations from solution. To test the effects of the specific bio-functionalities, modified and unmodified graphite rods were used as anodes in two-chamber microbial fuel cell devices. Devices were set up with wastewater as inoculum and acetate as nutrient and their performance, in terms of output potential (open circuit and 1 kΩ load) and peak power output, was monitored over two months. The presence of glycans was found to lead to significant differences in startup times and peak power outputs. Lactosides were found to inhibit the development of biofilms when compared to bare graphite. Mannosides were found, instead, to promote exoelectrogenic biofilm adhesion and anode colonization, a finding that is supported by quartz crystal microbalance experiments in inoculum media. These differences were observed despite both adlayers possessing thickness in the nm range and similar hydrophilic character. This suggests that specific glycan-mediated bioaffinity interactions can be leveraged to direct the development of biotic electrocatalysts in bioelectrochemical systems and microbial fuel cell devices.

2012 ◽  
Vol 512-515 ◽  
pp. 1520-1524 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yu Zhao ◽  
Xiao Bin Wang ◽  
Peng Li ◽  
Yan Ping Sun

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.


2016 ◽  
Vol 3 (10) ◽  
pp. 160249 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paolo Bombelli ◽  
Ross J. Dennis ◽  
Fabienne Felder ◽  
Matt B. Cooper ◽  
Durgaprasad Madras Rajaraman Iyer ◽  
...  

Plant microbial fuel cells are a recently developed technology that exploits photosynthesis in vascular plants by harnessing solar energy and generating electrical power. In this study, the model moss species Physcomitrella patens , and other environmental samples of mosses, have been used to develop a non-vascular bryophyte microbial fuel cell (bryoMFC). A novel three-dimensional anodic matrix was successfully created and characterized and was further tested in a bryoMFC to determine the capacity of mosses to generate electrical power. The importance of anodophilic microorganisms in the bryoMFC was also determined. It was found that the non-sterile bryoMFCs operated with P. patens delivered over an order of magnitude higher peak power output (2.6 ± 0.6 µW m −2 ) than bryoMFCs kept in near-sterile conditions (0.2 ± 0.1 µW m −2 ). These results confirm the importance of the microbial populations for delivering electrons to the anode in a bryoMFC. When the bryoMFCs were operated with environmental samples of moss (non-sterile) the peak power output reached 6.7 ± 0.6 mW m −2 . The bryoMFCs operated with environmental samples of moss were able to power a commercial radio receiver or an environmental sensor (LCD desktop weather station).


2017 ◽  
Vol 13 (18) ◽  
pp. 242
Author(s):  
Adegunloye D. V ◽  
Olotu T. M

Generating electricity using microbial fuel cell powered by benthic mud collected from two locations in Akure was carried out. The locations were Riverbed of FUTA and Apatapiti area of Akure. This was achieved by building anode and cathode containers connected together by a salt bridge and an external circuit was made to transfer the electrons from the anode to the cathode. Bacteria and fungi were isolated from the benthic mud for eight days using standard microbiological techniques. Lactobacillus plantarum, Escherichia coli, Bacillus subtilis, Enterobacter aerogenes, Trichoderma sp, Mucor sp and Alterania sp; Lactobacillus plantarum, Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Bacillus subtilis, Myrothecium sp and Geotrichum candidum were bacteria and fungi isolated from the benthic mud of Apatapiti area and Riverbed of Futa, Akure respectively. This was used for the generation of electricity using unsterilized mud sample and the control setup was sterilized mud from same source. The set-up was monitored every 24hrous to determine the voltage and current generated. The pH, concentration and temperature were measured. The temperature remains constant throughout the experiment. The set-up were operated at a normal temperature of 27oC and 29oC for Riverbed of FUTA and Apatapiti area of Akure respectively. The peak voltage was between 182.5V and 192.5V and current produced from the main set-up was between 0.3A to 0.53A for Futa river bed while for Apatapiti area of Akure the peak voltage and current were 192.5V and 0.3A respectively. Higher microbial population, current and voltage were observed to be generated in River bed of Futa than Apatapiti area. The difference in the voltage and current and the control set-up shows that anaerobic microorganisms are capable of producing electricity from microbial fuel cell under appropriate conditions.


2017 ◽  
Vol 76 (1) ◽  
pp. 28-34 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lei Xu ◽  
Yaqian Zhao ◽  
Tongyue Wang ◽  
Ranbin Liu ◽  
Fei Gao

To improve the sustainability of constructed wetlands (CWs), a novel tiered wetland system integrated with a microbial fuel cell (MFC) was developed in this study. Compared to the single stage CW, chemical oxygen demand (COD) removal efficiency was improved from 83.2% to 88.7%. More significantly, this tiered system significantly enhanced total nitrogen removal efficiency (an increase from 53.1% to 75.4%). In terms of MFC integration, a gradually decreased performance in electricity production was observed during its 3 months of operation (the voltage dropped from nearly 600 mV to less than 300 mV), which resulted in a reduction of power density from around 2 W/m3 to less than 0.5 W/m3. The deterioration in performance of the air-cathode is the main reason behind this, since the electrode potential of the cathode under open circuit reduced from 348.5 mV to 49.5 mV while the anode potential kept constant at around −400 mV. However, in spite of its electrical performance reduction, it was proved that MFC integration enhanced COD removal and the nitrification process. Further work is needed to improve the stability and feasibility of this new system.


Author(s):  
Pinchas Schechner ◽  
Eugenia Bubis ◽  
Hana Faiger ◽  
Eyal Zussman ◽  
Ehud Kroll

This work adds more experimental evidence regarding the feasibility of using glucose to fuel fuel-cells with anodes that have a high area-to-volume ratio. Electrospinning was used to fabricate sub-micrometer size fibrous electrocatalytic anode membranes for the oxidation of glucose in an alkaline fuel cell (AFC). The fibers of the membranes were made of polyacrylonitrile (PAN) and coated with silver by electroless plating. The anodes were tested while installed in a membranless fuel cell. The results presented include the open circuit voltage, OCV, the polarization curve, the power density as a function of the current density, and the peak power density, PPD. The measurements were performed with constant concentrations of glucose, 0.8 M, and KOH electrolyte solution, 1M. The performance of the anodes was found to improve as the diameter of the silver-plated fibers decreased. The highest PPD of 0.28 mW/cm2 was obtained with an anode made of plated fibers having a mean fiber diameter of 130 nanometers. We conclude from the results that saccharides in general, and glucose in particular, can serve as fuels for fuel cells, and that silver-plated polymeric electrospun electrodes have advantages due to their large surface area.


2016 ◽  
Vol 138 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
SenthilKumar Masimalai ◽  
Sasikumar Nandagopal

This paper aims at studying the combined effect of oxygen enrichment and dual fueling on performance, emission, and combustion characteristics of a mono cylinder diesel engine using a blend of cashew nut shell pyro oil (CSO) and conventional diesel oil (called BD—base diesel) as fuel. Experiments were initially conducted using 100% BD as fuel at variable power output conditions. Subsequently, experiments were repeated with CSO40D60 (blend of 40% of CSO and 60% of BD by volume) at different power outputs. In the third phase, the engine was run with oxygen enrichment of 24% by volume in the intake air using CSO40D60 as fuel. Finally, the engine was operated in dual fuel mode of operation with the oxygen concentrations of 24% using CSO40D60 as pilot fuel and ethanol as the primary inducted fuel. Ethanol induction was made up to the maximum possible limit until misfire or knock. The brake thermal efficiency (BTE) was found as 25% with CSO40D60 29.5% and 30.5% with BD at the rated power output of 3.7 kW. The smoke number was noted as 55 filter smoke number (FSN) and 40 FSN, respectively, with CSO40D60 and BD. Hydrocarbon (HC) and carbon monoxide (CO) emissions were found to be higher with CSO40D60 as compared to BD. Ignition delay (ID) and combustion duration (CD) were also noted to be higher with CSO40D60 at all power outputs. Combined oxygen enrichment and ethanol induction sufficiently increased the BTE using CSO40D60 as fuel at all power outputs. At peak power output, the BTE was noted as 34.5%. The lowest smoke number of 36 FSN was found for 24% of oxygen with 34.3% of ethanol energy share at peak power output with CSO40D60 as fuel, whereas it was 40 FSN with BD and 55 FSN with CSO40D60 for 21% of oxygen. Significant improvement in heat release rates was observed by combining ethanol induction and oxygen enrichment techniques using CSO40D60 as fuel. Overall, it is concluded that by combining oxygen enrichment and ethanol induction superior performance and reduced emissions can be achieved at all power outputs using CSO40D60 as fuel.


2015 ◽  
Vol 645-646 ◽  
pp. 724-729 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ting Ting Wang ◽  
Yi Bo Zeng ◽  
Zu Guang Zhao ◽  
Hang Guo

Micro direct formic acid fuel cell (DFAFC) is currently one of the promising technologies to power micro/nano devices and systems. Compared with micro direct methanol fuel cell (DMFC), micro (DFAFC) can have higher proton conductivity and energy density, and crossover of formic acid through Nafion membrane is significantly less than methanol. In this paper, a micro DFAFC has been developed. Polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) is chosen as the material for fluid flow plates in both cathode and anode of the micro DFAFC in order to simplify its structure and improve its packaging performance. The developed micro DFAFC has been tested and results show that its input concentration of formic acid solution can reach up to 10mol/L with its peak power output of 13.6mW/cm2 and maximum output current of 97.66mA/cm2.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Akansha Shrivastava ◽  
Mamta Pal ◽  
Rakesh Kumar Sharma

Abstract Production of bioethanol and bioelectricity is a promising approach through microbial electrochemical technology. Sugars are metabolized by yeast to produces ethanol, CO2 and energy. Surplus electrons produced during the fermentation can be transferred through the circuit to generate electricity in a Microbial fuel cell (MFC). In the present study, a membrane less single chambered microbial fuel cell was developed for simultaneous production of bioethanol and bioelectricity. Pichia fermentans along with a well-known ethanol producing yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae was allowed to ferment glucose. S. cerevisiae demonstrated maximum open circuit voltage (OCV) 0.287 ± 0.009 V and power density 4.473 mW m− 2 on 15th day, with a maximum ethanol yield of 5.6% (v/v) on 12th day. P. fermentans demonstrated a maximum OCV of 0.318 ± 0.0039 V and power density of 8.299 mW m− 2 on 15th day with ethanol yield of 4.7 % (v/v) on 12th day. Coulombic efficiency (CE) increased gradually from 0.002–0.471 % and 0.012–0.089 % in the case of S. cerevisiae and P. fermentans, respectively, during 15 days of experiment. Thus, the result indicated that Single chambered fuel cell can be explored for its potential applications for ethanol production along with clean energy generation.


2014 ◽  
Vol 69 (9) ◽  
pp. 1900-1910 ◽  
Author(s):  
N. Thepsuparungsikul ◽  
T. C. Ng ◽  
O. Lefebvre ◽  
H. Y. Ng

The microbial fuel cell (MFC) is an innovative technology for producing electricity directly from biodegradable organic matter using bacteria. Among all the influenceable factors, anode materials play a crucial role in electricity generation. Recently, carbon nanotubes (CNTs) have exhibited promising properties as electrode material due to their unique structural, and physical and chemical properties. In this study, the impacts of CNT types in CNT-based anodes were investigated to determine their effect on both efficiency of wastewater treatment and power generation. The CNTs, namely single-walled CNT with carboxyl group (SWCNT), multi-walled CNT with carboxyl group (MWCNT-COOH) and multi-walled CNT with hydroxyl group (MWCNT-OH) were used to fabricate CNT-based anodes by a filtration method. Overall, MWCNTs provided better results than SWCNTs, especially in the presence of the -OH groups. The highest power and treatment efficiencies in MFC were achieved with an anode made of MWCNT-OH filtered on Poreflon membrane; the open circuit voltage attained was 0.75 V and the maximum power density averaged 167 mW/m2, which was 130% higher than that obtained with plain carbon cloth. In addition, MWCNT-OH is more cost-effective, further suggesting its potential to replace plain carbon cloth generally used for the MFC anode.


2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (16) ◽  
pp. 6538 ◽  
Author(s):  
Enas Taha Sayed ◽  
Hussain Alawadhi ◽  
Khaled Elsaid ◽  
A. G. Olabi ◽  
Maryam Adel Almakrani ◽  
...  

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.


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