Comparative Evaluation of Coated and Non-Coated Carbon Electrodes in a Microbial Fuel Cell for Treatment of Municipal Sludge

Arpita Nandy, Mohita Sharma, Senthil Velan Venkatesan, Nicole Taylor, Lisa Gieg and Venkataraman Thangadurai
Additional contact information
Arpita Nandy: Department of Chemistry, University of Calgary, 2500 University Drive, NW, Calgary, AB T2N 1N4, Canada
Mohita Sharma: Petroleum Microbiology Research Group, Department of Biological Sciences, University of Calgary, 2500 University Drive, NW, Calgary, AB T2N 1N4, Canada
Senthil Velan Venkatesan: Department of Chemistry, University of Calgary, 2500 University Drive, NW, Calgary, AB T2N 1N4, Canada
Nicole Taylor: Petroleum Microbiology Research Group, Department of Biological Sciences, University of Calgary, 2500 University Drive, NW, Calgary, AB T2N 1N4, Canada
Lisa Gieg: Petroleum Microbiology Research Group, Department of Biological Sciences, University of Calgary, 2500 University Drive, NW, Calgary, AB T2N 1N4, Canada
Venkataraman Thangadurai: Department of Chemistry, University of Calgary, 2500 University Drive, NW, Calgary, AB T2N 1N4, Canada

Energies, 2019, vol. 12, issue 6, 1-14

Abstract: This study aims to provide insight into the cost-effective catalyst on power generation in a microbial fuel cell (MFC) for treatment of municipal sludge. Power production from MFCs with carbon, Fe 2 O 3 , and Pt electrodes were compared. The MFC with no coating on carbon generated the least power density (6.72 mW·m ?2 ) while the MFC with Fe 2 O 3 -coating on carbon anodes and carbon cathodes generated a 78% higher power output (30.18 mW·m ?2 ). The third MFC with Fe 2 O 3 -coated carbon anodes and Pt on carbon as the cathode catalyst generated the highest power density (73.16 mW·m ?2 ) at room temperature. Although the power generated with a conventional Pt catalyst was more than two-fold higher than Fe 2 O 3 , this study suggests that Fe 2 O 3 can be investigated further as an efficient, low-cost, and alternative catalyst of Pt, which can be optimized for improving performance of MFCs. Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) and cyclic voltammetry (CV) results demonstrated reduced resistance of MFCs and better charge transfer between biofilm and electrodes containing coated anodes compared to non-coated anodes. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) was used to analyze biofilm morphology and microbial community analysis was performed using 16S rRNA gene sequencing, which revealed the presence of known anaerobic fermenters and methanogens that may play a key role in energy generation in the MFCs.

Keywords: Fe 2 O 3; catalyst coating; microbial fuel cell (MFC); bioelectrochemistry; power production; electro-active biofilms; wastewater treatment; sustainable (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 (3)

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