Overview on the developments of microbial fuel cells

Oliveira, Vânia; Simões, Manuel; Melo, L. F.

doi:10.1016/j.bej.2013.01.012

Cited by 329 publications

(164 citation statements)

References 110 publications

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“…In MFCs, the hydrodynamic effect is very significant because the major composition of anolyte is water and the physical effect of fluid motion can influence the MFC performance and behavior of biofilm microbial communities [23]. Nowadays, flow rate and recirculation rate are vital flow parameters in continuous and recirculation mode MFCs due to two reasons, first, the flow rate and recirculation rate can be easily set by peristaltic pump; second, the effect of these parameters is equally important as that of the effects of shear stress [23][24][25][26].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Nowadays, flow rate and recirculation rate are vital flow parameters in continuous and recirculation mode MFCs due to two reasons, first, the flow rate and recirculation rate can be easily set by peristaltic pump; second, the effect of these parameters is equally important as that of the effects of shear stress [23][24][25][26]. Increasing the flow/recirculation rate could enhance the shear rate [27,28].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Effect of Wall Boundary Layer Thickness on Power Performance of a Recirculation Microbial Fuel Cell

2018

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Abstract:Hydrodynamic boundary layer is a significant phenomenon occurring in a flow through a bluff body, and this includes the flow motion and mass transfer. Thus, it could affect the biofilm formation and the mass transfer of substrates in microbial fuel cells (MFCs). Therefore, understanding the role of hydrodynamic boundary layer thicknesses in MFCs is truly important. In this study, three hydrodynamic boundary layers of thickness 1.6, 4.1, and 5 cm were applied to the recirculation mode membrane-less MFC to investigate the electricity production performance. The results showed that the thin hydrodynamic boundary could enhance the voltage output of MFC due to the strong shear rate effect. Thus, a maximum voltage of 21 mV was obtained in the MFC with a hydrodynamic boundary layer thickness of 1.6 cm, and this voltage output obtained was 15 times higher than that of MFC with 5 cm hydrodynamic boundary layer thickness. Moreover, the charge transfer resistance of anode decreased with decreasing hydrodynamic boundary layer thickness. The charge transfer resistance of MFC with hydrodynamic boundary layer of thickness 1.6 cm was 39 Ω, which was 0.79 times lesser than that of MFC with 5 cm thickness. These observations would be useful for enhancing the performance of recirculation mode MFCs.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effect of Wall Boundary Layer Thickness on Power Performance of a Recirculation Microbial Fuel Cell

2018

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“…Nafion has been widely used as separator for MFCs [5] , and has large advantage of being very selective for stability. However, continuous operation of MFC with Nafion causes alkalinization at the cathode as a result of consumption of protons, and acidification is observed on the anode side due to the continuous accumulation of protons, which result from slow and incomplete proton diffusion and migration through the membrane [6] . The driving force of a typical MFC using glucose as fuel can be articulated at anode and cathode, respectively, as follows [7] .…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Influence of pH Spitting on the Internal Resistance in Microbial Fuel Cells

Zhang¹,

Hui²,

Han³

2015

Proceedings of the 2015 International Conference on Mechatronics, Electronic, Industrial and Control Engineering

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Abstract-Membrane separator in microbial fuel cell (MFCs) is one of the main factors that could significantly affect the performance of MFC. Proton exchange membranes (PEMs) are typically used in two-chamber microbial fuel cells to separate the anode and cathode chambers while to allow the transfer of protons from anode to the cathode. However, protons will accumulate in the anode chamber, and therefore and the pH balance will be broken if the MFC works for a long time. In this study, effects of two types of separator membranes (Proton Exchange Membrane; 0.45μm Synthetic Fabric Membrane) on the pH spitting and MFC performance were investigated. Membrane internal resistance, membrane biofouling and oxygen diffusion were also analyzed. The fouling layer attached on membranes consisted of microorganisms was demonstrated from imaging analysis coupled with SEM. We found that pH splitting might influence MFC internal resistance more than biofouling. This was attributed to the proton transfer process, which was influenced by cathode pH value.

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“…Low PH values in the anode are due to the accumulation of protons in the cathode and their slow migration through the membrane. On the other hand, alkalinization is observed in the cathode as a result of continuous consumption of protons by the oxygen-reducing reaction as well as low proton replacement from the anodic oxidation reaction (Oliveira et al 2013). The cathodic chamber was thus filled with phosphate buffer solution.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Investigation into effects of cathode aeration on output current characteristics in a tubular microbial fuel cell

Amari

Vahdati

Ebadi

2015

Int. J. Environ. Sci. Technol.

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This work is mainly focused on studying the effects of cathode aeration in a tubular mediator-less microbial fuel cell. COD removal efficiency and the effect of closing the circuit are among other parameters investigated. A new combination of electrodes, i.e., platinumcoated titanium as the cathode and chrome-/vanadiumcoated stainless steel as the anode, is used in this work. Aeration of the cathode chamber is carried out by addition of oxygen, which plays the role of final electron-acceptor terminal. When the cathode chamber is aerated, the maximum achievable voltage and current are 630 mV and 1.06 mA, respectively. When the cathode operates under anaerobic conditions, COD reduced by only 40 % after 90 h, as opposed to 90 % achieved with cathode aeration, in which case more than 36 % of COD is removed in the first 8 h, while the rest of it is eliminated over a much longer period of time (i.e., 82 h). The best curve fitting for COD removal follows a logarithmic pattern, indicating higher removal levels when more substrate is available. Closing the circuit is followed by a plunge in voltage, which is attributable to the ohmic resistance.

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Overview on the developments of microbial fuel cells

Cited by 329 publications

References 110 publications

Effect of Wall Boundary Layer Thickness on Power Performance of a Recirculation Microbial Fuel Cell

Effect of Wall Boundary Layer Thickness on Power Performance of a Recirculation Microbial Fuel Cell

The Influence of pH Spitting on the Internal Resistance in Microbial Fuel Cells

Investigation into effects of cathode aeration on output current characteristics in a tubular microbial fuel cell

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