Effects of surface functional groups of coal-tar-pitch-derived nanoporous carbon anodes on microbial fuel cell performance

Yu-Chen Liu, Yu-Hsuan Hung, Sutarsis,, Chia-Chieh Hsu, Chung-Sheng Ni, Tzu-Yin Liu, Jeng-Kuei Chang and Han-Yi Chen

Renewable Energy, 2021, vol. 171, issue C, 87-94

Abstract: Coal tar pitch, the residue generated from distillation of coal tar, is cheap, abundant, and carbon enriched. This paper evaluates the effects of the surface modification of coal-tar pitch-derived nanoporous carbons (NPCs) as anode materials on the performance of Escherichia coli (E. coli)-based microbial fuel cells (MFCs) for the first time. The coal-tar pitch precursors are heated under N2 to 450 °C (450O) and 750 °C (750X) to obtain NPCs with different concentrations of oxygen-containing functional groups. 750X is, thereafter, doped with nitrogen atoms to generate a nitrogen-doped NPCs (750N). More biofilm is formed on the 750N anode than the 750X or 450O anode because of the higher electrical conductivity and biocompatibility of 750N. As a result, a higher power output of MFC is obtained when the 750N anode is used. The maximum power density of 750N is 3772 mW m−2, while that of 750X and 450O are 2876 mW m−2 and 3562 mW m−2, respectively, demonstrating that 750N is a potential sustainable anode material for high-performance MFC applications.

Keywords: Microbial fuel cell; Coal-tar-pitch-derived nanoporous carbon; Anode; Sustainable; Escherichia coli (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:renene:v:171:y:2021:i:c:p:87-94

DOI: 10.1016/j.renene.2021.01.149

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