Abstract
The maximum performance of microbial fuel cells (MFCs) is significantly affected by the reduction reactions in the cathode, but their optimum condition is not fully understood yet. The air-cathode MFC operations with different separators (Nafion 117 and polypropylene (PP80) were evaluated at various relative humidity (RH) at the cathode chamber. Air cathode MFCs with a Nafion 117 separator at RH of 90 ± 2% produced the highest cell voltage of 0.35 V (600 Ω) and power density of 116 mW/m2. With a PP80 separator, the maximum power generation of 381 mW/m2 was obtained at a relatively lower RH of 30 ± 2%. The cyclic voltammogram and Tafel analysis indicated that the best performance of cathodic oxygen reduction reactions could be observed at 90% RH for Nafion and 50% RH for the PP80 separator. Additionally, the RH conditions also affected the anodic reactions and oxygen mass transfer rates to the anode chamber through the cathode and separators. This study suggests that the optimum RH condition at the cathode is important in order to obtain a high performance of MFC operations and needs to be controlled at different optimum levels depending on the characteristics of the separators.
Highlights
The increase in global population and energy consumption of fossil fuels has led to an environmental crisis with a rise in global temperatures
We have investigated the performance of a single chamber air cathode microbial fuel cell (MFC) with different separators (Nafion 117 and polypropylene (PP80)) and relative humidity (RH) conditions (30%, 50% and 90%) at the cathode
The voltage was measured during MFC operations with Nafion 117 and PP80 as the separators under three different relative humidity (RH) conditions
Summary
The increase in global population and energy consumption of fossil fuels has led to an environmental crisis with a rise in global temperatures. In this regard, the research community is in search of eco-friendly energy production technologies with sustainable processes. A microbial fuel cell (MFC) produces electric energy directly from the oxidation of organic matter in waste through the metabolic processes of electrochemically active microorganisms on anode electrode. The electrochemically active microbes such as shewanella oneidensis and Geobacter sulfurreducens along with other microbes in wastewater have been known to transfer electrons from organic wastes to the anode electrode for sustainable power generation [1,2,3]. Both the electrons and protons are combined with oxygen to form water
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