Impact of reactor architecture and design parameters on the performance of microbial electrolysis cells revealed by the electrode potential slope analysis

Abstract

Microbial electrolysis cells (MECs) are appealing for recovering the chemical energy contained in domestic and industrial liquid wastes as hydrogen gas. Despite several years of research in the field, there is still a lack of critical analysis of how the reactor architecture dictates the electrochemical performance of the cell. In this study, internal resistance and onset voltage from the electrode potential slope analysis (EPS) were used in combination with current density, hydrogen production rate, reactor packing density, electrode spacing, membrane type and composition from 23 different studies to identify the reactor design parameters that primarily govern electrochemical performance of MECs. Using anion exchange membranes resulted in smaller internal resistances (AEM Rint= 41± 40 mΩ m2) and larger current density (18 ± 14 A m−2) compared to single chamber reactors (SC Rint= 68 ± 58 mΩ m2; 22 ± 16 A m−2) or MECs with cation exchange membranes (CEM Rint= 376 ± 280 mΩ m2; 3.0 ± 2.1 A m−2). Higher electrochemical performance for AEM- and SC-MECs translated in larger hydrogen gas production rates (0.122 mLH2 C−1 for AEM vs 0.117 mLH2 C−1 for SC), but only when inhibitors against hydrogen scavengers were added in single chamber systems (0.080 mLH2 C−1 for SC without inhibitors). Following membrane type and composition, maintaining a small electrode spacing was the most critical parameter to improve MEC performance, indicating that the low conductivity of the media primarily limit performance by increasing ohmic resistance. Reactor volume and electrode surface area negatively correlated with internal resistance and current density, indicating that better performance of scaled-up reactors can likely be obtained by stacking multiple smaller units rather than just increasing reactor size. Although challenges remain in the implementation of MECs for hydrogen production from liquid wastes, advances in electrochemical engineering of the reactors can facilitate scale up and performance prediction at scale.