Hydrogen production in a microbial electrolysis cell with nickel-based gas diffusion cathodes

Abstract

Gas diffusion cathodes with Ni alloy and Ni catalysts manufactured by chemical deposition were tested for H 2 production in a microbial electrolysis cell (MEC). In a continuous flow MEC, multi-component cathodes containing Ni, Mo, Cr, and Fe, at a total catalyst load of 1 mg cm −2 on carbon support demonstrated stable H 2 production at rates of 2.8 – 3.7 L L R − 1 d − 1 with only 5% methane in the gas stream. Furthermore, a Ni-only gas diffusion cathode, with a Ni load of 0.6 mg cm −2, demonstrated a H 2 production rate of 4.1 L L R − 1 d − 1 . Overall, H 2 production was found to be proportional to the Ni load implying that inexpensive gas diffusion cathodes prepared by chemical deposition of Ni can be successfully used for continuous production of H 2 in a MEC.