Biocatalyzed hydrogen production in a continuous flow microbial fuel cell with a gas phase cathode

Abstract

Biocatalyzed hydrogen production in a continuous flow microbial fuel cell with a gas phase cathode Tartakovsky, B.; Manuel, M.-F.; Neburchilov, V.; Wang, H.; Guiot, S. R.Contact us / Contactez nous: nparc.cisti@nrc-cnrc.gc.ca. abstractA single liquid chamber microbial fuel cell (MFC) with a gas-collection compartment was continuously operated under electrically assisted conditions for hydrogen production. Graphite felt was used for anode construction, while the cathode was made of Pd/Pt coated Toray carbon fiber paper with a catalyst loading of 0.5 mg cm −2 . To achieve hydrogen production, the MFC was connected to a power supply and operated at voltages in a range of 0.5-1.3 V. Either acetate or glucose was used as a source of carbon. At an acetate load of1.67g(L A d) −1 , the volumetric rate of hydrogen production reached 0.98 L STP (L A d) −1 when a voltage of 1.16 V was applied. This corresponded to a hydrogen yield of 2 mol (mol-acetate) −1 with a 50% conversion efficiency. Throughout the experiment, MFC efficiency was adversely affected by the metabolic activity of methanogenic microorganisms, which competed with exoelectrogenic microorganisms for the carbon source and consumed part of the hydrogen produced at the cathode.Crown

Optimizing the electrode size and arrangement in a microbial electrolysis cell

“…The carbon source stock solution contained (in g L À1 ): sodium acetate (55.2), yeast extract (0.8), NH 4 Cl (18.7), KCl (148), K 2 HPO 4 (64), and KH 2 PO 4 (40.6). The dilution water contained 1 mL of a trace metals (TM) stock solution prepared according to Tartakovsky et al (2008). The carbon source solution was fed at a rate of 5-10 mL d À1 with a syringe pump.…”

Hydrogen production in a microbial electrolysis cell with nickel-based gas diffusion cathodes

“…The anode and cathode were separated by a 0.7 mm thick J-cloth, as suggested by Fan et al [19]. More details on MEC design can be found elsewhere [11,20].…”

“…MEC temperature was maintained at 30 • C by a heating plate secured on the anodic compartment side of the MEC. More details on MEC operation can be found elsewhere [11,20].…”

“…using Pt-based cathodes [10][11][12][13]. However from a cost perspective this poses a major disadvantage as platinum or platinum group metals are scarce and expensive.…”

Electrodeposition of nickel particles on a gas diffusion cathode for hydrogen production in a microbial electrolysis cell

“…Gas composition was measured using a 6890 Series gas chromatograph (Hewlett Packard, Wilmington, DE, USA). More details can be found elsewhere [5].…”