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Abstract
Microbial Fuel Cells (MFCs) employ microbial electroactive species to convert chemical energy stored in organic matter, into electricity. The properties of MFCs have made the technology attractive for bioenergy production. However, a challenge to the mass production of MFCs is the time-consuming assembly process, which could perhaps be overcome using additive manufacturing (AM) processes. AM or 3D-printing has played an increasingly important role in advancing MFC technology, by substituting essential structural components with 3D-printed parts. This was precisely the line of work in the EVOBLISS project, which investigated materials that can be extruded from the EVOBOT platform for a monolithically printed MFC. The development of such inexpensive, eco-friendly, printable electrode material is described below. The electrode in examination (PTFE_FREE_AC), is a cathode made of alginate and activated carbon, and was tested against an off-the-shelf sintered carbon (AC_BLOCK) and a widely used activated carbon electrode (PTFE_AC). The results showed that the MFCs using PTFE_FREE_AC cathodes performed better compared to the PTFE_AC or AC_BLOCK, producing maximum power levels of 286 μW, 98 μW and 85 μW, respectively. In conclusion, this experiment demonstrated the development of an air-dried, extrudable (3D-printed) electrode material successfully incorporated in an MFC system and acting as a cathode electrode.
Highlights
Microbial Fuel Cells (MFCs) are bio-electrochemical transducers that use the metabolic activity of microorganisms to convert chemical energy into electricity [1]
This paper aims to describe the development of an inexpensive, conductive, eco-friendly and printable alginate–based electrode, which can be extruded from the EvoBot platform and report on the advances of this material as a cathode electrode on air-breathing cathodes
At the initial stages of the experiment, the MFC triplicates were inoculated with tryptone and yeast extract (TYE)-supplemented activated sludge
Summary
Microbial Fuel Cells (MFCs) are bio-electrochemical transducers that use the metabolic activity of microorganisms to convert chemical energy (stored in organic matter) into electricity [1]. MFCs can utilise a vast collection of organic compounds, including organic waste, due to the diverse metabolism of the bacterial communities within the biotic anode [2]. This characteristic has led to a rapidly expanding international interest around the subject of MFCs for their ability to treat wastewater and harvest green energy [3]. Even though MFC research interest has bloomed over the past 20 years [4], it was, more than 100 years ago when the fundamental MFC concept was first reported by Potter [5].
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