A Comprehensive Study of Custom-Made Ceramic Separators for Microbial Fuel Cells: Towards “Living” Bricks

Jiseon You, Lauren Wallis, Nevena Radisavljevic, Grzegorz Pasternak, Vincenzo M. Sglavo, Martin M Hanczyc, John Greenman and Ioannis Ieropoulos
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Jiseon You: Bristol BioEnergy Centre, University of the West of England, Bristol BS16 1QY, UK
Lauren Wallis: Bristol BioEnergy Centre, University of the West of England, Bristol BS16 1QY, UK
Nevena Radisavljevic: Laboratory for Artificial Biology, Department of Cellular, Computational and Integrative Biology (CIBIO), University of Trento, Via Sommarive 9, 38123 Povo TN, Italy
Grzegorz Pasternak: Laboratory for Artificial Biology, Department of Cellular, Computational and Integrative Biology (CIBIO), University of Trento, Via Sommarive 9, 38123 Povo TN, Italy
Vincenzo M. Sglavo: Department of Industrial Engineering, University of Trento, via Sommarive 9, 38123 Trento, Italy
Martin M Hanczyc: Laboratory for Artificial Biology, Department of Cellular, Computational and Integrative Biology (CIBIO), University of Trento, Via Sommarive 9, 38123 Povo TN, Italy
John Greenman: Bristol BioEnergy Centre, University of the West of England, Bristol BS16 1QY, UK
Ioannis Ieropoulos: Bristol BioEnergy Centre, University of the West of England, Bristol BS16 1QY, UK

Energies, 2019, vol. 12, issue 21, 1-13

Abstract: Towards the commercialisation of microbial fuel cell (MFC) technology, well-performing, cost-effective, and sustainable separators are being developed. Ceramic is one of the promising materials for this purpose. In this study, ceramic separators made of three different clay types were tested to investigate the effect of ceramic material properties on their performance. The best-performing ceramic separators were white ceramic-based spotty membranes, which produced maximum power outputs of 717.7 ± 29.9 µW (white ceramic-based with brown spots, 71.8 W·m −3 ) and 715.3 ± 73.0 µW (white ceramic-based with red spots, 71.5 W·m −3 ). For single material ceramic types, red ceramic separator generated the highest power output of 670.5 ± 64. 8 µW (67.1 W·m −3 ). Porosity investigation revealed that white and red ceramics are more porous and have smaller pores compared to brown ceramic. Brown ceramic separators underperformed initially but seem more favourable for long-term operation due to bigger pores and thus less tendency of membrane fouling. This study presents ways to enhance the function of ceramic separators in MFCs such as the novel spotty design as well as fine-tuning of porosity and pore size.

Keywords: microbial fuel cell; low-cost ceramics; separator; membrane; porosity; pore size; water absorption; mercury intrusion (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: 2019
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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