Scalable membrane-less microbial electrolysis cell with multiple compact electrode assemblies for high performance hydrogen production

Abstract

Bioelectrochemical hydrogen production via microbial electrolysis cells (MECs) is a promising method for sustainable energy production and decarbonization of energy systems. However, the application of MECs is limited by the electrochemical performance, scalability, and the cost associated with expensive materials. In this study, a scalable MEC (500 mL) with novel compact electrode assemblies and high electrode surface area to volume ratio (160 m2/m3) was designed and constructed. The use of membranes, precious metal catalyst, and current collectors with high costs was avoided. A high current density at the steady state of 49.5 ± 5.3 A/m2 was achieved using acetate as the substrate with phosphate buffer under the applied voltage of 1.01 V. The corresponding volumetric current density was 3948 ± 422 A/m3. The compact electrode assembly design limited methane production rate to 3.9 ± 0.2 L/L/D, while achieving a hydrogen production rate of 33.7 ± 1.7 L/L/D. With the suppression of microbial hydrogen consumption, the hydrogen production rate was 39.8 ± 1.9 L/L/D, higher by almost one order of magnitude than those of MECs with scaling up attempts. The compact electrode configuration reduced internal resistance to 88.5 ± 4.4 Ω cm2. The energy efficiency based on input electricity was 146 ± 7 % to 189 ± 9 % within the applied voltage range of 0.71 to 1.05 V. The results in this study demonstrated successful scaling up of high performance small MECs and offered a new possible approach of scaling up MECs by stacking high-performance subunits, with no trade-offs on electrochemical performance.