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A passive air-breathing flat-plate microbial fuel cell (FPMFC) configuration was introduced to address high cost and ohmic loss issues in MFCs. The FPMFC showed improved power generation in continuous operation with a proton exchange membrane (PEM) present. The study examined electricity generation in the FPMFC in batch and continuous modes.

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What they did

System
MFC

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Abstract

Abstract BACKGROUND High cost and ohmic loss are two issues that microbial fuel cells ( MFC ) face before becoming economically viable. To address the high cost and ohmic loss issues, a flat‐plate MFC ( FPMFC ) configuration applying a passive air‐breathing cathode and a three‐dimensional anode was introduced. Electricity generation was examined in the FPMFC through operation in the presence and absence of a proton exchange membrane ( PEM ), and in batch and continuous modes. RESULTS Continuous operation of the FPMFC in the presence of a PEM favored power generation, mainly due to elimination of oxygen and biomass in the anode. Peak power density of 18 Wm ‐3 was produced in the presence of a PEM (ohmic resistance 40 Ω cm 2 ), which was more than 5‐fold higher than that with J‐cloth. During batch operation, the power density increased and reached maximum in the third batch (18 W m ‐3 at 60 A m ‐3 ). Greater stability was observed during continuous operation resulting in a 2.5‐fold increase in peak power density (44 W m ‐3 at 146 A m ‐3 ). CONCLUSION The passive air‐breathing FPMFC showed promising performance, offering a more economically viable configuration than the conventional FPMFCs using active (air, ferricyanide, and ferric iron) cathodes. © 2014 Crown copyright. Journal of Chemical Technology & Biotechnology © 2014 Society of Chemical Industry

Key findings

  • Continuous operation of the FPMFC in the presence of a PEM favored power generation.
  • Peak power generation was achieved in the presence of a PEM.
  • The FPMFC showed improved performance compared to traditional MFCs.

Keywords

Microbial fuel cellAnodeCathodePower densityOhmic contactElectricity generation

Identifiers

DOI
10.1002/jctb.4325
Journal
Journal of Chemical Technology & Biotechnology
Year
2014