The Effect of Anode Material on the Performance of a Hydrogen Producing Microbial Electrolysis Cell, Operating with Synthetic and Real Wastewaters

Ilias Apostolopoulos, Georgios Bampos, Amaia Soto Beobide, Stefanos Dailianis, George Voyiatzis, Symeon Bebelis, Gerasimos Lyberatos and Georgia Antonopoulou
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Ilias Apostolopoulos: Institute of Chemical Engineering Sciences, Platani, GR 26504 Patras, Greece
Georgios Bampos: Institute of Chemical Engineering Sciences, Platani, GR 26504 Patras, Greece
Amaia Soto Beobide: Institute of Chemical Engineering Sciences, Platani, GR 26504 Patras, Greece
Stefanos Dailianis: Department of Biology, Section of Animal Biology, University of Patras, GR 26500 Patras, Greece
George Voyiatzis: Institute of Chemical Engineering Sciences, Platani, GR 26504 Patras, Greece
Symeon Bebelis: Department of Chemical Engineering, University of Patras, GR 26500 Patras, Greece
Gerasimos Lyberatos: Institute of Chemical Engineering Sciences, Platani, GR 26504 Patras, Greece
Georgia Antonopoulou: Institute of Chemical Engineering Sciences, Platani, GR 26504 Patras, Greece

Energies, 2021, vol. 14, issue 24, 1-20

Abstract: The aim of the study was to assess the effect of anode materials, namely a carbon nanotube (CNT)-buckypaper and a commercial carbon paper (CP) on the performance of a two-chamber microbial electrolysis cell (MEC), in terms of hydrogen production and main electrochemical characteristics. The experiments were performed using both acetate-based synthetic wastewater and real wastewater, specifically the effluent of a dark fermentative hydrogenogenic reactor (fermentation effluent), using cheese whey (CW) as substrate. The results showed that CP led to higher hydrogen production efficiency and current density compared to the CNT-buckypaper anode, which was attributed to the better colonization of the CP electrode with electroactive microorganisms, due to the negative effects of CNT-based materials on the bacteria metabolism. By using the fermentation effluent as substrate, a two-stage process is developed, where dark fermentation (DF) of CW for hydrogen production occurs in the first step, while the DF effluent is used as substrate in the MEC, in the second step, to further increase hydrogen production. By coupling DF-MEC, a dual environmental benefit is provided, combining sustainable bioenergy generation together with wastewater treatment, a fact that is also reinforced by the toxicity data of the current study.

Keywords: microbial electrolysis cell; hydrogen; carbon nanotubes; dark fermentation effluent; toxicity assessment; electrochemical characterization (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q Q0 Q4 Q40 Q41 Q42 Q43 Q47 Q48 Q49 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
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