Abstract
This study aims to provide insight into the cost-effective catalyst on power generation in a microbial fuel cell (MFC) for treatment of municipal sludge. Power production from MFCs with carbon, Fe2O3, and Pt electrodes were compared. The MFC with no coating on carbon generated the least power density (6.72 mW·m−2) while the MFC with Fe2O3-coating on carbon anodes and carbon cathodes generated a 78% higher power output (30.18 mW·m−2). The third MFC with Fe2O3-coated carbon anodes and Pt on carbon as the cathode catalyst generated the highest power density (73.16 mW·m−2) at room temperature. Although the power generated with a conventional Pt catalyst was more than two-fold higher than Fe2O3, this study suggests that Fe2O3 can be investigated further as an efficient, low-cost, and alternative catalyst of Pt, which can be optimized for improving performance of MFCs. Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) and cyclic voltammetry (CV) results demonstrated reduced resistance of MFCs and better charge transfer between biofilm and electrodes containing coated anodes compared to non-coated anodes. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) was used to analyze biofilm morphology and microbial community analysis was performed using 16S rRNA gene sequencing, which revealed the presence of known anaerobic fermenters and methanogens that may play a key role in energy generation in the MFCs.
Highlights
Microbial fuel cells (MFC) are an emerging source of renewable energy because of their ability to generate “clean energy” from wastewater, using microorganisms
The electrons travel to the cathode through an outer circuit, while protons are selectively transferred to the cathode through a proton exchange membrane (PEM)
cyclic voltammetry (CV),power density (PD), and CV, Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) were monitored for three cycles
Summary
Microbial fuel cells (MFC) are an emerging source of renewable energy because of their ability to generate “clean energy” from wastewater, using microorganisms. The process of electricity generation begins with oxidation of organic matter at the anode to generate electrons, protons, and other by-products, like CO2, through microbial metabolic processes. The terminal electron acceptor (TEA) present at the cathode is reduced and a potential gradient is generated between the two chambers, resulting in power production [1,2]. MFC technology is a low cost, sustainable, and promising waste management tool that has prompted extensive laboratory scale research on various parameters. Researchers have achieved chemical oxygen demand (COD) removal efficiencies of more than 90% [3], but the lower columbic efficiency (CE) and power density (PD) are the reason for its limited efficiency, compared to other
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