Carbon Nanotube/Pt Cathode Nanocomposite Electrode in Microbial Fuel Cells for Wastewater Treatment and Bioenergy Production

Mostafa Ghasemi,Mehdi Sedighi,Yie Hua Tan

doi:10.3390/su13148057

Mostafa Ghasemi, Mehdi Sedighi + Show 1 more

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https://doi.org/10.3390/su13148057

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Abstract

In this paper, we reported the fabrication, characterization, and application of carbon nanotube (CNT)-platinum nanocomposite as a novel generation of cathode catalyst in microbial fuel cells (MFCs) for sustainable energy production and wastewater treatment. The efficiency of the carbon nanocomposites was compared by platinum (Pt), which is the most effective and common cathode catalyst. This nanocomposite is utilized to benefit from the catalytic properties of CNTs and reduce the amount of required Pt, as it is an expensive catalyst. The CNT/Pt nanocomposites were synthesized via a chemical reduction technique and the electrodes were characterized by field emission scanning electron microscopy, electronic dispersive X-Ray analysis, and transmission electron microscopy. The nanocomposites were applied as cathode catalysts in the MFC to obtain polarization curve and coulombic efficiency (CE) results. The catalytic properties of electrodes were tested by linear sweep voltammetry. The CNT/Pt at the concentration of 0.3 mg/cm2 had the highest performance in terms of CE (47.16%), internal resistance (551 Ω), COD removal (88.9%), and power generation (143 mW/m2). In contrast, for the electrode with 0.5 mg/L of Pt catalyst, CE, internal resistance, COD removal, and power generation were 19%, 810 Ω, 96%, and 84.1 mW/m2, respectively. So, it has been found that carbon nanocomposite cathode electrodes had better performance for sustainable clean energy production and COD removal by MFC.

Highlights

Published: 19 July 2021Climate change and the risk of running out of non-renewable energy has made scientists think about clean alternative types of fuels [1,2,3]
The uniform dispersion of Pt nanoparticles in the carbon nanotube (CNT) can be observed in the Transmission electronic microscopy (TEM) image, where the dark spots indicate the presence of Pt
Pt nanoparticles on the CNT surface [35]

Summary

Introduction

Published: 19 July 2021Climate change and the risk of running out of non-renewable energy has made scientists think about clean alternative types of fuels [1,2,3]. The microbial fuel cells (MFC) are an apparatus that converts the chemical energy of biodegradable organic compounds to electricity and hydrogen, which are the clean and renewable types of energy [6,7]. This means that an MFC can utilize the organic compound of waste and produce energy, treating wastewater [8,9,10,11] and producing energy simultaneously [7]. MFCs consist of two chambers, namely cathode, and anode divided by a separator or proton exchange membrane (PEM) [12,13]. According to the Publisher’s Note: MDPI stays neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations

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