Abstract
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.
Highlights
Given the current energy and water challenges facing the world today, new technology should be developed with the aim of facing these problems
The electroplating technique was used for modifying the carbon cloth with a thin layer of an iron nanostructure
The synthesized iron coated carbon cloth Fe-CC was investigated as an anode for an Microbial fuel cell (MFC) operated with real wastewater
Summary
Given the current energy and water challenges facing the world today, new technology should be developed with the aim of facing these problems. The main step in this type of fuel cell is the transfer of the produced electrons from the inside of the microorganism to the anode surface [37]. The application of iron oxide nanoparticles prepared by a chemical route followed by depositing the nanoparticles on the surface of a graphite electrode, resulted in the increased performance of the MFC, due to the improvement of the electron transfer between the nanoparticles and the microorganisms [61]. A thin layer of nanostructured iron was synthesized on a carbon cloth CC via a simple electroplating technique This electrode was used as an anode for MFC, operated with real wastewater without any modifications or additives.
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