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This study investigates the impact of different types of carbon nanotubes (CNTs) on microbial fuel cell (MFC) performance, finding that multi-walled CNTs with hydroxyl groups provide better results than single-walled CNTs.

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What they did

System
MFC

What worked

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Abstract

The microbial fuel cell (MFC) is an innovative technology for producing electricity directly from biodegradable organic matter using bacteria. Among all the influenceable factors, anode materials play a crucial role in electricity generation. Recently, carbon nanotubes (CNTs) have exhibited promising properties as electrode material due to their unique structural, and physical and chemical properties. In this study, the impacts of CNT types in CNT-based anodes were investigated to determine their effect on both efficiency of wastewater treatment and power generation. The CNTs, namely single-walled CNT with carboxyl group (SWCNT), multi-walled CNT with carboxyl group (MWCNT-COOH) and multi-walled CNT with hydroxyl group (MWCNT-OH) were used to fabricate CNT-based anodes by a filtration method. Overall, MWCNTs provided better results than SWCNTs, especially in the presence of the -OH groups. The highest power and treatment efficiencies in MFC were achieved with an anode made of MWCNT-OH filtered on Poreflon membrane; the open circuit voltage attained was 0.75 V and the maximum power density averaged 167 mW/m², which was 130% higher than that obtained with plain carbon cloth. In addition, MWCNT-OH is more cost-effective, further suggesting its potential to replace plain carbon cloth generally used for the MFC anode.

Key findings

  • MWCNT-OH anodes provided the highest power and treatment efficiencies in MFC.
  • The maximum power density achieved with MWCNT-OH anodes was 167 mW/m², 130% higher than plain carbon cloth.
  • MWCNT-OH anodes also achieved an open circuit voltage of 0.75 V.

Keywords

Microbial fuel cellAnodeCarbon nanotubeCarbon fibersPower densityChemical engineering

Identifiers

DOI
10.2166/wst.2014.102
Journal
Water Science and Technology
Year
2014