In-situ modified titanium suboxides with polyaniline/graphene as anode to enhance biovoltage production of microbial fuel cell

Microbial fuel cell (MFC) has been the focus of much investigation in the search for harvesting electricity from various organic matters. The electrode material plays a key role in boosting MFC performance. Most studies, however, in the field of MFC electrode material has only focused on carbonaceous materials. The finding indicates that titanium suboxides (Ti₄O₇, TS) can provide a new alternative for achieving better performance. Polyaniline (PANI) together with graphene is chosen to in-situ modify TS (TSGP). The MFC reactor with TSGP anode achieves the highest voltage with 980 mV, and produces a peak power density of 2073 mW/m², which is 2.9 and 12.7 times those with the carbon cloth control. The rather intriguing result could be due to the fact that TSGP has the high conductivity and large electrochemical active surface area, greatly improving the charge transfer efficiency and the bacterial biofilm loading. This study has gone some way towards exploring the conducting ceramics materials in MFC.     

Carbon nanotube/polyaniline composite as anode material for microbial fuel cells

A carbon nanotube (CNT)/polyaniline (PANI) composite is evaluated as an anode material for high-power microbial fuel cells (MFCs). Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) are employed to characterize the chemical composition and morphology of plain PANI and the CNT/PANI composite. The electrocatalytic behaviour of the composite anode is investigated by means of electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) and discharge experiments. The current generation profile and constant current discharge curves of anodes made from plain PANI, 1 wt.% and 20 wt.% CNT in CNT–PANI composites reveal that the performance of the composite anodes is superior. The 20 wt.% CNT composite anode has the highest electrochemical activity and its maximum power density is 42 mW m⁻² with Escherichia coli as the microbial catalyst. In comparison with the reported performance of different anodes used in E. coli-based MFCs, the CNT/PANI composite anode is excellent and is promising for MFC applications.     

A graphene modified anode to improve the performance of microbial fuel cells

Graphene with a Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET) specific surface area of 264 m² g⁻¹ has been used as anodic catalyst of microbial fuel cells (MFCs) based on Escherichia coli (ATCC 25922). The electrochemical activities of plain stainless steel mesh (SSM), polytetra?uoroethylene (PTFE) modified SSM (PMS) and graphene modified SSM (GMS) have been investigated by cyclic voltammetry (CV), discharge experiment and polarization curve measurement. The GMS shows better electrochemical performance than those of SSM and PMS. The MFC equipped with GMS anode delivers a maximum power density of 2668 mW m⁻², which is 18 times larger than that obtained from the MFC with the SSM anode and is 17 times larger than that obtained from the MFC with the PMS anode. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) results indicate that the increase in power generation could be attributed to the high surface area of anode and an increase in the number of bacteria attached to anode.     

Enhancing the performance of photo-bioelectrochemical fuel cell using graphene oxide/cobalt/polypyrrole composite modified photo-biocathode in the presence of antibiotic

Photo-bioelectrochemical fuel cell (PBFC) holds a great potential to harvest sustainable electrical energy from wastewater, but low power output limits its applications due to poor electrochemical performance of photo-biocathode. Additionally, antibiotics are ubiquitous in wastewater streams, but little is known regarding their effects on photo-biocathode performance of the PBFC. This study attempted to increase power output of PBFC through improvement of the photo-biocathode performance by modifying the biocathode with graphene oxide/cobalt/polypyrrole (GO/Co/PPy) composite in the presence of oxytetracycline. The GO/Co/PPy composite modified electrode fabricated by one-step electropolymerization method exhibited more excellent catalytic activity toward oxygen reduction compared to Co-alone and Co/PPy modified electrode. The PBFC with GO/Co/PPy composite modified biocathode produced a maximum power density of 19 mW/m², which was almost 4-fold higher than that produced with the bare biocathode (4.9 mW/m²) due to improved bio-electrocatalytic performance of the bicathode by the GO/Co/PPy composite. The maximum power density of the PBFC was further increased 4.6 (105.5 mW/m²), 3.7 (88.7 mW/m²), 2.9 (74.6 mW/m²) and 1.9 (56 mW/m²) fold by exposure to 5, 10, 20, and 50 mg/L OTC, respectively. The further increases in power was due to reduced cathode's charge transfer resistance using degradation products of OTC as mediators and OTC-stimulated growth of species with extracellular electron transfer ability. However, the photosynthesis and growth of alga was negatively affected by OTC concentration higher than 10 mg/L, resulting performance deterioration of bicathode.     

Basic properties of a liquid tin anode solid oxide fuel cell

An unconventional high temperature fuel cell system, the liquid tin anode solid oxide fuel cell (LTA-SOFC), is discussed. A thermodynamic analysis of a solid oxide fuel cell with a liquid metal anode is developed. Pertinent thermochemical and thermophysical properties of liquid tin in particular are detailed. An experimental setup for analysis of LTA-SOFC anode kinetics is described, and data for a planar cell under hydrogen indicated an effective oxygen diffusion coefficient of 5.3 × 10⁻⁵ cm² s⁻¹ at 800 °C and 8.9 × 10⁻⁵ cm² s⁻¹ at 900 °C. This value is similar to previously reported literature values for liquid tin. The oxygen conductivity through the tin, calculated from measured diffusion coefficients and theoretical oxygen solubility limits, is found to be on the same order of that of yttria-stabilized zirconia (YSZ), a traditional SOFC electrolyte material. As such, the ohmic loss due to oxygen transport through the tin layer must be considered in practical system cell design since the tin layer will usually be at least as thick as the electrolyte.     

Power generation from furfural using the microbial fuel cell

Furfural is a typical inhibitor in the ethanol fermentation process using lignocellulosic hydrolysates as raw materials. In the literature, no report has shown that furfural can be utilized as the fuel to produce electricity in the microbial fuel cell (MFC), a device that uses microbes to convert organic compounds to generate electricity. In this study, we demonstrated that electricity was successfully generated using furfural as the sole fuel in both the ferricyanide-cathode MFC and the air-cathode MFC. In the ferricyanide-cathode MFC, the maximum power densities reached 45.4, 81.4, and 103 W m⁻³, respectively, when 1000 mg L⁻¹ glucose, a mixture of 200 mg L⁻¹ glucose and 5 mM furfural, and 6.68 mM furfural were used as the fuels in the anode solution. The corresponding Coulombic efficiencies (CE) were 4.0, 7.1, and 10.2% for the three treatments, respectively. For pure furfural as the fuel, the removal efficiency of furfural reached up to 95% within 12 h. In the air-cathode MFC using 6.68 mM furfural as the fuel, the maximum values of power density and CE were 361 mW m⁻² (18 W m⁻³) and 30.3%, respectively, and the COD removal was about 68% at the end of the experiment (about 30 h). Increase in furfural concentrations from 6.68 to 20 mM resulted in increase in the maximum power densities from 361 to 368 mW m⁻², and decrease in CEs from 30.3 to 20.6%. These results indicated that some toxic and biorefractory organics such as furfural might still be suitable resources for electricity generation using the MFC technology.     

An insight of bioelectricity production in mediator less microbial fuel cell using mesoporous Cobalt Ferrite anode

Microbial Fuel Cells (MFCs) are an alternative sustainable approach that utilizes the bacteria present in waste water as a bio-catalyst and produce electricity. Herein, Cobalt Ferrite (CF) is fabricated hydrothermally and deposited over graphite sheet to envision a cost-effective MFC anode. The intrinsic biocompatibility, together with mesoporous structure of CF greatly enhanced the microbial colonization. A comparative time dependent study of kinetic activity of CF/Graphite in domestic waste water and artificial waste water is reported. Electrochemical characterization (CV & EIS) indicated the process of active bio film formation on anode from day 1st to day 20th and then restricted bio film till day 30th. Improved extracellular electron transfer of exoelectrogens due to the variable valence state and high redox stability of CF, facilitated the MFC to deliver an excellent power density (1856 mW m⁻²) with the maximum anodic half–cell potential of 0.65 V in waste water. High capacitance (280%) and appropriate pore size (9.3 nm) of CF formed a capacitive bridge for an effective flow of electrons generated by the electro active bacteria. Therefore, use of noble metal free, low cost anodic material Cobalt Ferrite with long-term cell stability makes it a promising and sustainable power source for commercial application.     

Enhanced electricity generation for biocathode microbial fuel cell by in situ microbial-induced reduction of graphene oxide and polarity reversion

A simple effective and environmentally friendly pathway to form graphene modified biocathode was induced by polarity reversion of graphene modified bioanode, which was made by in situ microbial-induced reduction of graphene oxide (GO). Graphene assembled by microbes showed that D/G intensity increased from 0.84 to 0.91 and C/O atomic ratio added from 2.13 to 4.45, indicating GO was reduced largely. The graphene modified biocathode exhibited crumples that grown on the lamellar and glossy surface and was capable of improving catalytic reduction of oxygen. Microbial fuel cell (MFC) fabricated with graphene modified biocathode obtained 1.22 times in maximum power density, 0.21 times in interfacial charge transfer resistance, and recorded an obvious redox peaks at ?0.50 V (vs. SCE) than control biocathode MFC. Geobacter, Clostridium, Pseudomonas, Geothrix and Hydrogenophaga belonged to exoelectrogens occupied 17.53% in graphene modified biocathode, 2.07% in control biocathode in genus level. This study provided a new insight into the feasibility to make microbes self-assembled graphene to improve electrochemical performance of biocathode MFC.     

Microbial fuel cell performance of multiwall carbon nanotubes on carbon cloth as electrodes

Microbial fuel cell (MFC), which can produce electricity during treatment of wastewater, has become one of the emerging technologies in the field of environmental protection and energy recovery. Of all parts of MFC, the electrode materials play a crucial role in the electricity generation. In this study, we investigate the performance of carbon nanotube (CNT) modified carbon cloth electrodes in single-chamber MFC. The MFC is first inoculated with bacteria in wastewater and then its capability of using acetate sodium as fuel is examined. The results show that the MFC with CNT coated onto carbon cloth electrode improves the power density. In this study, the obtained maximum power density is 65 mW m⁻², the highest chemical oxygen demand (COD) removal efficiency is 95%, and the maximum Coulombic efficiency is 67%. Compared with other reported studies, the CNT/carbon cloth composite electrode has demonstrated high potential for the use of MFC.     

Facile reconstruction of microbial fuel cell (MFC) anode with enhanced exoelectrogens selection for intensified electricity generation

The present work emphasized on the enhancement of microbial fuel cell (MFC) anode through the utilization of conductive polymer. The conductive polymer, poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) (PEDOT) was coated with varied concentrations onto graphite felt base anodes. The findings demonstrated that the optimum loading of 2.5 mg/cm² recorded maximum current density of 3.5 A/m² and coulombic efficiency of 51%. Higher loading of PEDOT enhanced the electrochemical characteristics of the anodes but exhibited unfavorable functionality. The charge transfer resistance of the modified anodes, R_a decreased significantly compared to the control anode after biofilm formation. The successful application of palm oil mill effluent (POME) wastewater as substrate indicates that the optimum anode was effective in degrading high organic wastewater. Exoelectrogens were found to be distributed mainly on the anodic biofilm. The microbial diversity of the anodes varied greatly from the inoculum and Geobacter was identified as the prevailing exoelectrogen responsible for the power generation.     

The effect of nitric acid,ethylenediamine, and diethanolamine modified polyaniline nanoparticles anode electrode in a microbial fuel cell

Anode materials are important in the power generation of microbial fuel cell. In this study, polyaniline was used as a conducting polymer anode in two chambers MFC. XPS and SEM were used for the characterization of functional groups of anode materials and the morphology. The power generation of microbial fuel cell was elevated by the modification of anode by nitric acid, ethylenediamine, and diethanolamine. The time that MFC reaches its maximum power generation was shortened by modification. Moreover the SEM photos prove that, it causes better attachment of microorganisms as biocatalysts on electrode surface. The best performance of among the MFCs with different anode electrodes, was the system working by polyaniline modified by ethylenediamine as that generated power of 136.2 mW/m² with a 21.3% Coulombic efficiency.     

Electricity generation in microbial fuel cell systems with Thiobacillus ferrooxidans as the cathode microorganism

Microbial fuel cells (MFC) are systems that enable biochemical activities of bacteria to generate the electricity. These systems are of great interest because of their designs that enable biological activity in organic wastes to be transformed into direct electrical energy. In order to increase the commercial usage of MFCs, it is necessary to increase the power output of the system. So as to improve MFC performance, used material selection, the pH value of the used bacterial medium and the choice of the appropriate substrate are very important. In this study, oxidation bacteria Thiobacillus ferrooxidans on the cathode and mixed culture bacteria on the anode of MFC were used. Different anode and cathode pH values were examined in MFC. Best open circuit potential result (0.8 V) was obtained at anode pH 8 and cathode pH 2 conditions. In addition, three different substrates had been used in the anode. In the conditions of acetate the most stable and high valued curve was obtained. The open circuit potential had reached 0.726 V, and power density had reached 0.88 mW/cm².     

Simultaneous degradation of P-nitroaniline and electricity generation by using a microfiltration membrane dual-chamber microbial fuel cell

Microfiltration membrane, a potential alternative for traditional proton exchange membrane (PEM) due to its strong ability of proton transfer, cost-effectiveness, sustainability and high anti-pollution capability in microbial fuel cell (MFC). In this study, a novel MFC using bilayer microfiltration membrane as separator, inoculated sludge as biocatalyst and P-nitroaniline (PNA) as electron donor was successfully constructed to evaluate its performance. Furthermore, we also investigated the effects of initial PNA concentration, co-substrate (acetate) and cultivated microorganisms on MFC performance. Results showed that the maximum power density of 4.43, 3.05, 2.62 and 2.18 mW m^?2 was acquired with 50, 100, 150 and 300 mg L^?1 of PNA as substrate, respectively. However, with the addition of 500 mg L^?1 of acetate into reaction system contained 100 mg L^?1 of PNA, the higher power production of 6.24 mW m^?2 was obtained, which was 2.05 times higher than that using 100 mg L^?1 of PNA as the sole substrate. Meanwhile, the MFC working on cultivated microorganisms displayed a maximal power density of 7.32 mW m^?2 and a maximum PNA degradation efficiency of 54.75%. And after an electricity production cycle, the number of microbes in the anode chamber significantly increased. This study provides a promising technology for bioelectricity generation by biodegrading biorefractory pollutants in wastewater.     

Reduced graphene oxide/tin oxide composite as an enhanced anode material for lithium ion batteries prepared by homogenous coprecipitation

Reduced graphene oxide/tin oxide composite is prepared by homogenous coprecipitation. Characterizations show that tin oxide particles are anchored uniformly on the surface of reduced graphene oxide platelets. As an anode material for Li ion batteries, it has 2140 mAh g⁻¹ and 1080 mAh g⁻¹ capacities for the first discharge and charge, respectively, which is more than the theoretical capacity of tin oxide, and has good capacity retention with a capacity of 649 mAh g⁻¹ after 30 cycles. The simple synthesis method can be readily adapted to prepare other composites containing reduced graphene oxide as a conducting additive that, in addition to supporting metal oxide nanoparticles, can also provide additional Li binding sites to, perhaps, further enhance capacity.     

Facile preparation of binder-free NiO/MnO2-carbon felt anode to enhance electricity generation and dye wastewater degradation performances of microbial fuel cell

Binder-free NiO/MnO₂-carbon felt electrode is prepared with a facile two-step hydrothermal method. The NiO self-grown on the carbon felt is used as the skeleton structure to support the in-situ growth of MnO₂. Both the core and shell materials are excellent pseudocapacitance materials. The compositing of such pseudocapacitance metal oxides can produce synergistic effects, so that the modified electrode has a high capacitance. NiO/MnO₂-carbon felt electrode also possesses a high specific surface area, super hydrophilicity and good biocompatibility, which are conducive to the enrichment of typical exoelectrogen Geobacter. As the anode, NiO/MnO₂-carbon felt electrode can effectively improve the electricity generation and methyl orange (MO) wastewater degradation performances of microbial fuel cell (MFC). The highest output voltage and the maximum power density of MFC with NiO/MnO₂-carbon felt anode are respectively 652 mV and 628 mW m^?2, which are much higher than those of MFC with MnO₂-carbon felt anode (613 mV, 544 mW m^?2), NiO-carbon felt anode (504 mV, 197 mW m^?2) and unmodified carbon felt anode (423 mV, 162 mW m^?2). The decolourization efficiency and the chemical oxygen demand (COD) removal rate of MO for MFC with NiO/MnO₂-carbon felt anode are respectively 92.5% and 58.2% at 48 h.     

Facile scalable manufacture of improved electrodes using structured surface coatings of nickel oxide as cathode and reduced graphene oxide as anode for evaluation in a prototype development on microbial fuel cells

Improvement of the microbial fuel cell performance is highly required in energy production associated with domestic sewage treatment. For this objective, metal electrodes coated with specific materials for anode and cathode were manufactured. Materials such as reduced graphene oxide (rGO) as an anode, with high electrical conductivity, and structured nickel oxide (sNiO), which act as air cathode, could be the key to obtaining substantial improvements in the production of energy and treatment of domestic sewage. In this work, simple methods were developed to coat the stainless steel meshes with rGO and sNiO, used in MFC prototypes. The results show that the methodologies developed for the coating of the electrodes aid to improve the performance of the MFC in the delivery of potential, current density and power density up to 220%, 140% and 700% respectively, compared to the blank stainless steel electrodes; while the COD levels in the water purified by the MFC with covered electrodes reached a decrease of 36% compared to the same system without covered electrodes. Additionally, the built MFCs prototypes were tested as a power supply for a digital clock and an LED light.     

Incorporating graphene oxide to improve the performance of Nafion-mordenite composite membranes for a direct methanol fuel cell

The proton exchange membrane is one of the critical parts of a direct methanol fuel cell. High proton conductivity and low methanol permeability are required. To enhance the performance of a direct methanol fuel cell, graphene oxide was incorporated to Nafion-mordenite composite membranes to enhance the compatibility and to decrease methanol permeability. It was found that the membrane with silane grafted on graphene oxide-treated mordenite with a graphene oxide content of 0.05% presented the highest proton conductivity (0.0560 S·cm⁻¹, 0.0738 S·cm⁻¹ and 0.08645 S·cm⁻¹ at 30, 50, and 70 °C, respectively). This was about 1.6-fold of the recast Nafion and commercial Nafion 117 and was about 1.5-fold of that without graphene oxide incorporation. Finally, the operating condition was optimized using response surface methodology and the maximum power density was investigated. Power density of about 4-fold higher than that of Nafion 117 was obtained in this work at 1.84 M and 72 °C with a %Error between the model prediction and the fuel cell experiment of 0.082%.     

Increasing power generation of microbial fuel cells with a nano-CeO2 modified anode

Nano-CeO₂ was used to modify the carbon felt anode in microbial fuel cell (MFC). The MFC with the modified anode obtained the higher closed circuit voltage resulting from the lower anode potential, the higher maximum power density (2.94 W m^?2), and the lower internal resistance (77.1 Ω). Cyclic voltammetry (CV) results implied that the bioelectrochemical activity of exoelectrogens was promoted by nano-CeO₂. Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) results revealed that the anodic charge transfer resistance of the MFC decreased with modified anode. This study demonstrates that the nano-CeO₂ can be an effective anodic catalyst for enhancing the power generation of MFC.     

Treatment of carbon fiber brush anodes for improving power generation in air-cathode microbial fuel cells

Carbon brush electrodes have been used to provide high surface areas for bacterial growth and high power densities in microbial fuel cells (MFCs). A high-temperature ammonia gas treatment has been used to enhance power generation, but less energy-intensive methods are needed for treating these electrodes in practice. Three different treatment methods are examined here for enhancing power generation of carbon fiber brushes: acid soaking (CF-A), heating (CF-H), and a combination of both processes (CF-AH). The combined heat and acid treatment improve power production to 1370 mW m⁻², which is 34% larger than the untreated control (CF-C, 1020 mW m⁻²). This power density is 25% higher than using only acid treatment (1100 mW m⁻²) and 7% higher than that using only heat treatment (1280 mW m⁻²). XPS analysis of the treated and untreated anode materials indicates that power increases are related to higher N1s/C1s ratios and a lower C-O composition. These findings demonstrate efficient and simple methods for improving power generation using graphite fiber brushes, and provide insight into reasons for improving performance that may help to further increase power through other graphite fiber modifications.     

Electrophoretic deposition of graphene oxide on carbon brush as bioanode for microbial fuel cell operated with real wastewater

Microbial fuel cell (MFC) is a promising technology for simultaneous wastewater treatment and energy harvesting. The properties of the anode material play a critical role in the performance of the MFC. In this study, graphene oxide was prepared by a modified hummer's method. A thin layer of graphene oxide was incorporated on the carbon brush using an electrophoretic technique. The deoxygenated graphene oxide formed on the surface of the carbon brush (RGO-CB) was investigated as a bio-anode in MFC operated with real wastewater. The performance of the MFC using the RGO-CB was compared with that using plain carbon brush anode (PCB). Results showed that electrophoretic deposition of graphene oxide on the surface of carbon brush significantly enhanced the performance of the MFC, where the power density increased more than 10 times (from 33 mWm^?2 to 381 mWm^?2). Although the COD removal was nearly similar for the two MFCs, i.e., with PCB and RGO-CB; the columbic efficiency significantly increased in the case of RGO-CB anode. The improved performance in the case of the modified electrode was related to the role of the graphene in improving the electron transfer from the microorganism to the anode surface, as confirmed from the electrochemical impedance spectroscopy measurements.