阴极电子受体对微生物燃料电池性能的影响

以双室型微生物燃料电池为试验装置,比较铁氰化钾、重铬酸钾、高锰酸钾作为阴极电子受体时微生物燃料电池的电压和功率输出。结果表明,高锰酸钾与重铬酸钾混合电子受体对微生物燃料电池性能的提高没有显著效果,不如两者的单独表现;高锰酸钾对应的最高输出电压可达1 160 mV,但很不稳定,会很快下降到600 mV左右,在实际应用中有一定障碍;在酸性条件(pH=3.0)下,重铬酸钾的开路电压为1 081.2 mV,最大输出功率密度为35.1 W/m3,电池内阻为170.27Ω,而且表现稳定,是理想的阴极电子受体。     

微生物燃料电池运行影响因素的研究

研究自行设计的微生物燃料电池在常温常压下,以厌氧污泥为接种源,以葡萄糖为底物原料,以不同溶液作为电子受体的条件下测试其稳定运行的影响因素与工艺条件。实验结果表明:该微生物燃料电池可稳定运行约30d,并在注入新的底物后,电压又快速回升至稳定电压。以铁氰化钾溶液作为电子受体,输出电压可达0.75V,输出功率为2100mW/m~2;以高锰酸钾溶液作为电子受体,输出电压为1.023V,输出功率为2638mW/m~2。     

泡沫镍空气阴极微生物燃料电池的产电特性

研究了泡沫镍阴极的制备和对单室微生物燃料电池产电性能的影响。研究发现,当阴极PTFE扩散层超过4+1层时,MFC的功率密度随扩散层数增加而逐渐下降;当阴极扩散层为五层(4+1层)时,微生物燃料电池最大功率密度最大,达到31.3 W/m3,电池的库仑效率为25%;当使用7+1层PTFE扩散层时,电池功率下降到25.6 W/m3;泡沫镍阴极厚度对阴极性能影响不大;研究发现,滚压后再涂一层扩散层能够抑制泡沫镍阴极的长期运行的析盐。     

碳粉催化剂镍基体空气阴极微生物燃料电池特性研究

试验以泡沫镍材料作为空气阴极MFC的电极材料,并利用碳粉作为催化剂,在1.24 A/m2的电流密度下获得了214 mW/m2的最大功率密度输出。电位分析结果表明,阴极开路电位为+12 mV,阳极开路电位为-466 mV。采用改变外阻的调节方式,获得了18.6%~57.8%的库伦效率。试验结果表明,碳粉可以作为催化剂材料在泡沫镍基体空气阴极MFC系统中使用。     

单室空气阴极微生物燃料电池处理模拟生活废水同步产电研究

以某生活污水处理站厌氧池活性污泥为混合菌种,以葡萄糖为模拟生活废水,构建单室微生物燃料电池.利用微生物燃料电池实验生活废水降解与同步产电.实验结果表明:当葡萄糖浓度控制10mmol·L-1,pH值为7,温度控制在35℃时,其输出电压最大为0.486V,COD去除率最高为46.11％.微生物燃料电池(MFC)具有最佳的电化学性能.     

微生物燃料电池阳极材料研究进展

微生物燃料电池（microbial fuel cell,MFC）是一种新型的生物电化学装置,能将可生物降解有机物中的化学能直接转化成电能,而阳极材料性能是影响MFC性能的重要因素之一。通过对阳极材料进行改性和修饰可以有效地增大其比表面积、生物相容性等,以提高其微生物负载率和电子传递速率,进而提高MFC的产电性能。本文全面介绍和总结了近年来国内外关于微生物燃料电池阳极材料的研究进展,分析微生物燃料电池阳极材料在规模放大应用中存在的问题,并对微生物燃料电池阳极材料今后的发展方向进行了展望。     

活性炭与TiO_2混合催化镍基体生物阴极微生物燃料电池性能研究

以发泡镍为基体,柱状活性炭颗粒和Ti O2粉末均匀混合后作为催化剂涂覆在电极表面。将此复合电极作为双室生物阴极型MFC的电极,研究MFC的产电性能。结果表明:在运行周期内,系统最大输出电压可达到698.1 m V,稳定在500 m V以上的高电压输出时间为18 d;单位质子膜面积上可获得最大功率密度为183.33W/m4,质子膜的使用量明显减少,从而大大降低了MFC的产电成本。同时,阳极室对原生活污水COD去除率可达到74%,而库伦效率也可达到68.9%。试验结果表明,活性炭和Ti O2混合涂覆镍基体电极对双室生物阴极型MFC产电的催化效果良好。     

利用微生物燃料电池生产氢气

美国宾夕法尼亚州的环境工程师利用新型的微生物燃料电池，研究出了一种直接通过微生物制造氢气的方法，而且数量是传统发酵途径制氢法的4倍，     

微生物燃料电池产电性能试验研究

以双室微生物燃料电池为研究对象,考察了电极间距、电极面积比和阳极室填充活性炭颗粒,阳极室填充液浓度、pH值、流通速度对微生物燃料电池输出电压和功率密度的影响,通过分析建立最优双室微生物燃料电池模型。研究结果表明,微生物燃料电池的最大输出电压为544.3 mV,最大功率密度为341.38 mW/m2,在微生物燃料电池运行1 500 min后,利用极化曲线法测定电池的内阻为375Ω。     

单室微生物燃料电池产电特性研究

采用石墨板为阴极构建了单室空气阴极微生物燃料电池(MFC),以混合菌种接种,并以乙酸钠和碳酸氢钠为碳源,研究了该MFC在间歇运行条件下的产电性能、电池内阻情况和COD去除率。结果表明,最高输出电压随着周期数增加而增加,由0.075 9 V上升到0.200 6 V,最大输出功率密度为34.80 mW/m2;在一个运行周期内,电池内阻随着时间的延长而逐渐增大,由376.6Ω上升到682.0Ω,电池内阻的增大将导致输出电压降低。COD去除率由起始的49.23%达到最大值86.99%,说明此单室空气阴极微生物燃料电池在产电的同时处理污水的效果也较好。     

Effect of cathode electron-receiver on the performance of microbial fuel cells

Performance of cathode electron receivers has direct effect on the voltage and power density of MFC. This paper explored the electrical performance of MFC with potassium permanganate, ferricyanide solution and dissolved oxygen (DO) as cathode electron receivers. The results showed that the internal resistance of MFC with DO depends on catalyst and is higher than that of MFC with potassium permanganate and potassium ferricyanide solution. The maximum volume power density is 4.35 W/m³, and the smallest internal resistance is only about 54 Ω. In case of DO, the internal resistance and power density is different depending on the catalyst and is not too much related to the membranes.     

Power generation using polyaniline/multi‐walled carbon nanotubes as an alternative cathode catalyst in microbial fuel cells

Optimization of the cathode catalyst is critical to the study of microbial fuel cells (MFCs). By using the open circuit voltage and power density as evaluation standards, this study focused on the use of polyaniline (PANI)/multi‐walled carbon nanotube (MWNT) composites as cathode catalysts for the replacement of platinum (Pt) in an air‐cathode MFC, which was fed with synthetic wastewater. Scanning electron microscopy and linear scan voltammogram methods were used to evaluate the morphology and electrocatalytic activity of cathodes. A maximum power density of 476 mW/m² was obtained with a 75% wt PANI/MWNT composite cathode, which was higher than the maximum power density of 367 mW/m² obtained with a pure MWNT cathode but lower than the maximum power density of 541 mW/m² obtained with a Pt/C cathode. Thus, the use of PANI/MWNT composites may be a suitable alternative to a Pt/C catalyst in MFCs. PANI/MWNT composites were initially used as cathodic catalysts to replace Pt/C catalysts, which enhanced the power generation of MFCs and substantially reduced their cost. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Power generation using an activated carbon fiber felt cathode in an upflow microbial fuel cell

An activated carbon fiber felt (ACFF) cathode lacking metal catalysts is used in an upflow microbial fuel cell (UMFC). The maximum power density with the ACFF cathode is 315 mW m⁻², compared to lower values with cathodes made of plain carbon paper (67 mW m⁻²), carbon felt (77 mW m⁻²), or platinum-coated carbon paper (124 mW m⁻², 0.2 mg-Pt cm⁻²). The addition of platinum to the ACFF cathode (0.2 mg-Pt cm⁻²) increases the maximum power density to 391 mW m⁻². Power production is further increased to 784 mW m⁻² by increasing the cathode surface area and shaping it into a tubular form. With ACFF cutting into granules, the maximum power is 481 mW m⁻² (0.5 cm granules), and 667 mW m⁻² (1.0 cm granules). These results show that ACFF cathodes lacking metal catalysts can be used to substantially increase power production in UMFC compared to traditional materials lacking a precious metal catalyst.     

Comprehensive characterization of a cost-effective microbial fuel cell with Pt-free catalyst cathode and slip-casted ceramic membrane

This work reports a new procedure for low-cost Microbial Fuel Cells (MFCs) manufacture, based on the optimization of the most expensive MFC components: separator and cathode. For the first time, tubular MFC clay separators were fabricated by slip-casting, which allowed to reach the lowest thickness reported to date (1.55 mm), with a minimum cost (0.43 €·m^?2). On the other hand, a novel cathode was fabricated by using commercial CuO based catalyst and Carbon Mesh (CM). The new cathode showed a power density of 110 mW m^?2, more than 40% higher than other Cu based cathodes for Ceramic-MFCs (C-MFCs) studied in the literature. The proposed cell was operated for more than 6 months, with a power reduction of 29.4%, contrasting with Pt-cathodes (deactivation of almost 50% during the first month). A deep economic analysis showed a cost of 0.51 €/cell when energetic optimization and a semi-industrial production were considered, one of the lowest for C-MFCs ever reported.     

Development and application of vanadium oxide/polyaniline composite as a novel cathode catalyst in microbial fuel cell

Polyaniline (Pani), vanadium oxide (V₂O₅), and Pani/V₂O₅ nanocomposite were fabricated and applied as a cathode catalyst in Microbial Fuel Cell (MFC) as an alternative to Pt (Platinum), which is a commonly used expensive cathode catalyst. The cathode catalysts were characterized using Cyclic Voltammetry and Linear Sweep Voltammetry to determine their oxygen reduction activity; furthermore, their structures were observed by X‐ray Diffraction, X‐ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy, Brunauer–Emmett–Teller, and Field‐Emission Scanning Electron Microscopy. The results showed that Pani/V₂O₅ produced a power density of 79.26 mW/m², which is higher than V₂O₅ by 65.31 mW/m² and Pani by 42.4 mW/m². Furthermore, the Coulombic Efficiency of the system using Pani/V₂O₅ (16%) was higher than V₂O₅ and Pani by 9.2 and 5.5%, respectively. Pani–V₂O₅ also produced approximately 10% more power than Pt, the best and most common cathode catalyst. It declares that Pani–V₂O₅ can be a suitable alternative for application in a MFC system. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Relation of anodic and cathodic performance to pH variations in membraneless microbial fuel cells

One-compartment (membraneless) microbial fuel cells (MFCs) are effective tools to test new bio-technology at a laboratory level. More efforts in MFC design and materials are necessary to move from laboratory tests to real applications.     

Power recovery with multi-anode/cathode microbial fuel cells suitable for future large-scale applications

Multi-anode/cathode microbial fuel cells (MFCs) incorporate multiple MFCs into a single unit, which maintain high power generation at a low cost and small space occupation for the scale-up MFC systems. The power production of multi-anode/cathode MFCs was similar to the total power production of multiple single-anode/cathode MFCs. The power density of a 4-anode/cathode MFC was 1184 mW/m³, which was 3.2 times as that of a single-anode/cathode MFC (350 mW/m³). The effect of chemical oxygen demand (COD) was studied as the preliminary factor affecting the MFC performance. The power density of MFCs increased with COD concentrations. Multi-anode/cathode MFCs exhibited higher power generation efficiencies than single-anode/cathode MFCs at high CODs. The power output of the 4-anode/cathode MFCs kept increasing from 200 mW/m³ to 1200 mW/m³ as COD increased from 500 mg/L to 3000 mg/L, while the single-anode/cathode MFC showed no increase in the power output at CODs above 1000 mg/L. In addition, the internal resistance (R_in) exhibited strong dependence on COD and electrode distance. The R_in decreased at high CODs and short electrode distances. The tests indicated that the multi-anode/cathode configuration efficiently enhanced the power generation.     

Ammonia inhibition and microbial adaptation in continuous single-chamber microbial fuel cells

Here, we report that a continuous single-chamber microbial fuel cell (MFC) is applicable to wastewaters containing a high nitrogen concentration using a process of adaptation. Continuous experiments are conducted to investigate the inhibitory effect of total ammonia nitrogen (TAN) on the MFC using influents with various concentrations of TAN ranged from 84 to 10,000 mg N L⁻¹. As the TAN concentration increases up to 3500 mg N L⁻¹, the maximum power density remains at 6.1 W m⁻³. However, as the concentration further increases, TAN significantly inhibits the maximum power density, which is reduced at saturation to 1.4 W m⁻³ at 10,000 mg N L⁻¹. We confirm that the adapted electrical performance of a continuous MFC can generate approximately 44% higher power density than the conductivity control. A comparative study reveals that the power densities obtained from a continuous MFC can sustain 7-fold higher TAN concentration than that of previous batch MFCs. TAN removal efficiencies are limited to less than 10%, whereas acetate removal efficiencies remain as high as 93-99%. The increased threshold TAN of the continuous MFC suggests that microbial acclimation in a continuous MFC can allow the electrochemical functioning of the anode-attached bacteria to resist ammonia inhibition.     

A bi-functional cathode structure for alkaline-acid direct ethanol fuel cells

An issue associated with the use of hydrogen peroxide as the oxidant in the so-called alkaline-acid direct ethanol fuel cell (AA-DEFC) is the problem of H₂O₂ decomposition, which causes a significant decrease in the cathode potential. The present work addresses this issue by developing a bi-functional cathode structure that is composed of the nickel-chromium (Ni-Cr) foam (functioning as the diffusion layer) with a highly dispersed gold particles (functioning as the catalyst layer) deposited onto the skeleton of the foam. This integrated cathode structure allows not only a reduction in H₂O₂ decomposition, but also an enhancement in the species transport in the cathode of the AA-DEFC. The fuel cell performance characterization shows that the use of the bi-functional cathode structure in the AA-DEFC enables the peak power density to be increased to 200 mW cm⁻² from 135 mW cm⁻² resulting from the use of the conventional cathode.