A Viable Electrode Material for Use in Microbial Fuel Cells for Tropical Regions

Energies

Felix Offei⁴  Anders Thygesen³  Moses Mensah⁴  Kwame Tabbicca⁴  Dinesh Fernando¹  Irina Petrushina²  Geoffrey Daniel¹ 

[1] Department of Forest Products, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Uppsala SE-75651, Sweden;Department of Energy Conversion and Storage, Technical University of Denmark, Building 207, Lyngby DK-2800, Denmark;;Center for Bioprocess Engineering, Department of Chemical and Biochemical Engineering, Technical University of Denmark, Søltofts Plads 229, Lyngby DK-2800, DenmarkDepartment of Chemical Engineering, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi, Ghana;

关键词: activated carbon;    palm kernel shells;    nanowires;    maximum power density;   

DOI  :  10.3390/en9010035

来源: mdpi

【 摘 要 】

Electrode materials are critical for microbial fuel cells (MFC) since they influence the construction and operational costs. This study introduces a simple and efficient electrode material in the form of palm kernel shell activated carbon (AC) obtained in tropical regions. The novel introduction of this material is also targeted at introducing an inexpensive and durable electrode material, which can be produced in rural communities to improve the viability of MFCs. The maximum voltage and power density obtained (under 1000 Ω load) using an H-shaped MFC with AC as both anode and cathode electrode material was 0.66 V and 1.74 W/m³, respectively. The power generated by AC was as high as 86% of the value obtained with the extensively used carbon paper. Scanning electron microscopy and Denaturing Gradient Gel Electrophoresis (DGGE) analysis of AC anode biofilms confirmed that electrogenic bacteria were present on the electrode surface for substrate oxidation and the formation of nanowires.

【 授权许可】

CC BY   
© 2016 by the authors; licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.