Abstract
Microbial fuel cells (MFCs) can evolve in a viable technology if environmentally sound materials are developed and became available at low cost for these devices. This is especially important not only for the designing of large wastewater treatment systems, but also for the fabrication of low-cost, single-use devices. In this work we synthesized membranes by a simple procedure involving easily-biodegradable and economic materials such as poly (vinyl alcohol) (PVA), chitosan (CS) and the composite PVA:CS. Membranes were chemical and physically characterized and compared to Nafion®. Performance was studied using the membrane as separator in a typical H-Type MFCs showing that PVA:CS membrane outperform Nafion® 4 times (power production) while being 75 times more economic. We found that performance in MFC depends over interactions among several membrane characteristics such as oxygen permeability and ion conductivity. Moreover, we design a paper-based micro-scale MFC, which was used as a toxicity assay using 16 μL samples containing formaldehyde as a model toxicant. The PVA:CS membrane presented here can offer low environmental impact and become a very interesting option for point of need single-use analytical devices, especially in low-income countries where burning is used as disposal method, and toxic fluoride fumes (from Nafion®) can be released to the environment.
Highlights
Microbial fuel cells (MFCs) are well known bio-electrochemical systems (BES) that can be used to understand how microorganisms manage redox process to sustain life
Three types of membranes cross linked with sulphonic groups (PVA, CS and PVA:CS) were synthetized and characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), Ion exchange capacity (IEC), SEM, EIS, water uptake, oxygen diffusion, and tested as proton exchange membrane (PEM) in MFC systems
In contrast to the PVA:CS membrane, it could be appreciated that CS membrane display a heterogenic pore distribution which could affect the reproducibility of measurements; another issue where PVA:CS membranes outperform CS membranes is in regard to the stability CS shows at acidic pHs, which can rapidly damage devices made with this membrane
Summary
Microbial fuel cells (MFCs) are well known bio-electrochemical systems (BES) that can be used to understand how microorganisms manage redox process to sustain life. MFCs can be used as a biotechnological tool, helpful in industrial and environmental areas. During the last decades, applied research involving MFC and same related technology as microbial electrolysis cells (MECs) was mainly focused in energy production (mostly electricity and hydrogen) and wastewater treatment processes, using both heterotrophic bacteria as biological catalysts and organic substrates as fuel [1]. Analytical applications of MFCs were developed as biosensors for biochemical oxygen demand (BOD), lactate and acetate determination, toxicity and metabolic biosensors and even as life detectors, among others [2,3,4]. A fuel cell transducer can be used for microbial-based assays, bioassays and biosensors, and for enzymatic-based analytical devices, where redox enzymes are typically employed [10]
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
