Degradation and power generation performance of modified-anode microbial fuel cells for kitchen wastewater

Abstract

Microbial fuel cells (MFCs) are innovative devices that simultaneously generate electricity and treat wastewater. The performance of MFCs heavily relies on the anode, which serves as the site for the enrichment, electron generation, and transfer of electricity-producing microorganisms. In this study, Researcher investigated the impact of modified electrode materials (Fe3N-Fe3C/CF) loaded with iron nitride and iron carbide nanoparticles at different temperatures on MFC performance, employing carbon felts as anodes. Our results reveal a significant enhancement in the electrical performance of the modified carbon felt anode compared to conventional carbon felt. Notably, when the modified electrode was prepared at 850 °C, the output voltage of the microbial fuel cell assembled with the modified electrode was significantly increased, and its maximum power density increased from 28.57 MW m−2 to 58.86 MW m−2. These findings highlight the potential of high-performance anode materials, as demonstrated in this study, to serve as a reference for enhancing MFC performance.