Microbial fuel cells: From fundamentals to applications. A review

An overview on emerging bioelectrochemical systems (BESs): Technology for sustainable electricity, waste remediation, resource recovery, chemical production and beyond

Microbial fuel cells (MFCs) have attracted considerable interest due to their potential in renewable electrical power generation using the broad diversity of biomass and organic substrates. However, the difficulties in achieving high power densities and commercially affordable electrode materials have limited their industrial applications to date. Carbon materials, which can exhibit a wide range of different morphologies and structures, usually possess physiological activity to interact with microorganisms and are therefore fast-emerging electrode materials. As the anode, carbon materials can significantly promote interfacial microbial colonization and accelerate the formation of extracellular biofilms, which eventually promotes the electrical power density by providing a conductive microenvironment for extracellular electron transfer. As the cathode, carbon-based materials can function as catalysts for the oxygen-reduction reaction, showing satisfying activities and efficiencies nowadays even reaching the performance of Pt catalysts. Here, first, recent advancements on the design of carbon materials for anodes in MFCs are summarized, and the influence of structure and surface functionalization of different types of carbon materials on microorganism immobilization and electrochemical performance is elucidated. Then, synthetic strategies and structures of typical carbon-based cathodes in MFCs are briefly presented. Furthermore, future applications of carbon-electrode-based MFC devices in the energy, environmental, and biological fields are discussed, and the emerging challenges in transferring them from laboratory to industrial scale are described.

Carbon-Based Microbial-Fuel-Cell Electrodes: From Conductive Supports to Active Catalysts.

Microbial fuel cells (MFCs) as an energy-efficient wastewater treatment technology have attracted increasing interest in the past decade. Cathode catalysts for the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) present a major challenge for the practical applications of MFCs. An ideal cathode catalyst should be scalable, durable, and cost-effective. A variety of non-precious metal catalysts have been developed for MFC applications, including carbon-based catalysts, metal-based catalysts, metal–carbon hybrids, metal–nitrogen–carbon complexes, and biocatalysts. This paper comprehensively reviews these materials with emphasis on their synthesis, performance, durability, and cost. It is anticipated that insights offered in this review could facilitate the development of ORR catalysts for MFC applications towards energy-efficient wastewater treatment.

/pdf/oxygen-reduction-reaction-catalysts-used-in-microbial-fuel-32l0mlry4v.pdf

Oxygen reduction reaction catalysts used in microbial fuel cells for energy-efficient wastewater treatment: a review

Bibliometric analysis of global research trends on microbial fuel cells using Scopus database

Activated carbon (AC) air cathodes were constructed using variable amounts of carbon (43–171 mg cm−2) and an inexpensive binder (10 wt% polytetrafluoroethylene, PTFE), and with or without a porous cloth wipe-based diffusion layer (DL) that was sealed with PDMS. The cathodes with the highest AC loading of 171 mg cm−2, and no diffusion layer, produced 1255 ± 75 mW m−2 and did not appreciably vary in performance after 1.5 months of operation. Slightly higher power densities were initially obtained using 100 mg cm−2 of AC (1310 ± 70 mW m−2) and a PDMS/wipe diffusion layer, although the performance of this cathode decreased to 1050 ± 70 mW m−2 after 1.5 months, and 1010 ± 190 mW m−2 after 5 months. AC loadings of 43 mg cm−2 and 100 mg cm−2 did not appreciably affect performance (with diffusion layers). MFCs with the Pt catalyst and Nafion binder initially produced 1295 ± 13 mW m−2, but the performance decreased to 930 ± 50 mW m−2 after 1.5 months, and then to 890 ± 20 mW m−2 after 5 months. Cathode performance was optimized for all cathodes by using the least amount of PTFE binder (10%, in tests using up to 40%). These results provide a method to construct cathodes for MFCs that use only inexpensive AC and a PTFE, while producing power densities similar to those of Pt/C cathodes. The methods used here to make these cathodes will enable further tests on carbon materials in order to optimize and extend the lifetime of AC cathodes in MFCs.

/pdf/development-and-evaluation-of-carbon-and-binder-loading-in-1pm6olx1w4.pdf

Development and evaluation of carbon and binder loading in low-cost activated carbon cathodes for air-cathode microbial fuel cells

Electrochemical analysis of separators used in single-chamber, air-cathode microbial fuel cells

Power generation using carbon mesh cathodes with different diffusion layers in microbial fuel cells

Fluorinated quaternary ammonium-containing polymers were used as catalyst binders in microbial fuel cell (MFC) cathodes. The performance of the cathodes was examined and compared to NAFION® and other sulfonated aromatic cathode catalyst binders using linear sweep voltammetry (LSV), impedance spectroscopy, and performance tests in single chamber air-cathode MFCs. The cathodes with quaternary ammonium functionalized fluorinated poly(arylene ether) (Q-FPAE) binders showed similar current density and charge transfer resistance (Rct) to cathodes with NAFION® binders. Cathodes containing either of these fluorinated binders exhibited better electrochemical responses than cathodes with sulfonated or quaternary ammonium-functionalized RADEL® poly(sulfone) (S-Radel or Q-Radel) binders. After 19 cycles (19 d), the power densities of all the MFCs declined compared to the initial cycles due to biofouling at the cathode. MFC cathodes with fluorinated polymer binders (1445 mW m−2, Q-FPAE-1.4-H; 1397 mW m−2, Q-FPAE-1.4-Cl; 1277 mW m−2, NAFION®; and 1256 mW m−2, Q-FPAE-1.0-Cl) had better performance than those with non-fluorinated polymer binders (880 mW m−2, S-Radel; 670 mW m−2, Q-Radel). There was a 15% increase in the power density using the Q-FPAE binder with a 40% higher ion exchange capacity (Q-FPAE-1.4-H compared to Q-FPAE-1.0-Cl) after 19 cycles of operation, but there was no effect on the power production due to counter ions in the binder (Cl−vs. HCO3−). The highest-performance cathodes (NAFION® and Q-FPAE binders) had the lowest charge transfer resistances (Rct) in fresh and in fouled cathodes despite the presence of thick biofilms on the surface of the electrodes. These results show that fluorinated binders may decrease the penetration of the biofilm and associated biopolymers into the cathode structure, which helps to combat MFC performance loss over time.

/pdf/cationic-fluorinated-polymer-binders-for-microbial-fuel-cell-1cwkg08r3m.pdf

Cationic fluorinated polymer binders for microbial fuel cell cathodes

The use of cloth fabric diffusion layers for scalable microbial fuel cells

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