Electricity generation with simultaneous wastewater treatment by a microbial fuel cell (MFC) with Cu and Cu–Au electrodes

Abstract

BACKGROUND: A microbial fuel cell (MFC) consisting of anaerobic and aerobic chambers separated by a salt-agar slab was used for electricity generation with simultaneous wastewater treatment where copper and gold covered copper wires were used as anode and cathode, respectively. The electrons produced from degradation of carbohydrates in anaerobic chamber traveled through the copper wire generating electricity and the protons were transferred from cathode to anode through the salt-agar slab. Variation of the current intensity (mA) and the electrical power (mW) were investigated as function of the surface area of anode and also the chemical oxygen demand (COD) content of the synthetic wastewater.

Separators used in microbial electrochemical technologies: Current status and future prospects

“…Agar is often added to prevent the intermixing of fluids. For example, a salt bridge consisting of a 2% KCl-containing agar (10%) layer sandwiched between two perforated plexi-glass plates has used as a separator in an MFC (Kargi and Eker, 2007). In addition, oxygen diffusion is almost undetectable in an agar salt bridge (Min et al, 2005).…”

Characterization of an open biocathode microbial fuel cell for electricity generation and effluent polish

“…While it is common to use Pt as a cathode catalyst, other polymer binders were tested for their roles as membranes, such as perfluorosulfonic acid (Nafion), poly tetrafluoroethylene (PTFE), as well as the noble-metal free electrocatalyst, cobalt tetramethylphenylporphyrin (CoTMPP), etc [13,14]. Furthermore, many researchers have also added alternative oxidants, that is, artificial electron redox mediators, such as ferricyanide, neutral red, thionin or methyl viologen, into the cathode compartment to assist cathodic reaction [8,9]. Unfortunately, due to the high cost and potential pollution, it is evident that none of these are realistic for practical application, even though these modifications could significantly improve cathode performance.…”

“…Various electrode materials have been investigated, such as carbon paper, carbon felt, carbon brush, carbon fiber, graphite of various types, Pt, Cu, CuAu, tungsten carbide, etc. [8][9][10][11][12]. While it is common to use Pt as a cathode catalyst, other polymer binders were tested for their roles as membranes, such as perfluorosulfonic acid (Nafion), poly tetrafluoroethylene (PTFE), as well as the noble-metal free electrocatalyst, cobalt tetramethylphenylporphyrin (CoTMPP), etc [13,14].…”

Electricity generation and brewery wastewater treatment from sequential anode-cathode microbial fuel cell

“…A variety of readily degradable compounds such as glucose and acetate, and various types of wastewater such as domestic, starching and paper recycling plant wastewater, have operated successfully as substrate in MFC (Melhuish et al, 2006;Freguia et al, 2007;Kargi and Eker, 2007;Liu and Li, 2007;Min and Angelidaki, 2008;Venkata-Mohan et al, 2008). Most could achieve a considerable chemical oxygen demand (COD) removal efficiency accompanied with electricity generation.…”