IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/energy/v71y2014icp615-623.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Streamlining of commercial Berl saddles: A new material to improve the performance of microbial fuel cells

Author

Listed:
  • Hidalgo, Diana
  • Tommasi, Tonia
  • Cauda, Valentina
  • Porro, Samuele
  • Chiodoni, Angelica
  • Bejtka, Katarzyna
  • Ruggeri, Bernardo

Abstract

Microbial fuel cell (MFC) is an upcoming technology that allows oxidizing organic matter to generate current by microorganism's activity. To render MFCs a cost-effective and energy sustainable technology, low-cost materials can be employed as support for bacteria growth and proliferation. With this purpose in mind, ceramic Berl saddles were opportunely covered by a thin and conductive carbon layer, thus obtaining an innovative low-cost anode material able to efficiently recover the electrons released by bacteria metabolisms. The conductive layer was obtained by using α-d-glucose deposition process within the following steps: impregnation, caramelization, and pyrolysis. In this way, a homogenous coating of polycrystalline graphitic carbon was successfully obtained and characterized by several methods. The carbon-coated Berl saddles were then tested as anode material in a two-compartment MFC prototype, in batch mode and using Saccharomyces cerevisiae as active microorganisms. The MFC performances were evaluated using electrochemical techniques. The carbon-coated Berl saddles showed a maximum power density of 130 mW m−2 (29.6 mA L−1) which is about 2–3 times higher than the values reported in literature by using commercial anode materials. In particular, we have carefully estimated the production and process costs of these carbon-coated Berl saddles used in our MFC prototype, obtaining a value comparable to the commercial carbon felt employed in the same MFC apparatus. All these results confirm that our innovative carbon-coated Berl saddles not only satisfy the electrical requirements, but also favor an optimal bacteria adhesion and can be produced as a low-cost anode for scaling-up MFC.

Suggested Citation

  • Hidalgo, Diana & Tommasi, Tonia & Cauda, Valentina & Porro, Samuele & Chiodoni, Angelica & Bejtka, Katarzyna & Ruggeri, Bernardo, 2014. "Streamlining of commercial Berl saddles: A new material to improve the performance of microbial fuel cells," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 71(C), pages 615-623.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:energy:v:71:y:2014:i:c:p:615-623
    DOI: 10.1016/j.energy.2014.05.012
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0360544214005611
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.energy.2014.05.012?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Oliveira, V.B. & Simões, M. & Melo, L.F. & Pinto, A.M.F.R., 2013. "A 1D mathematical model for a microbial fuel cell," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 61(C), pages 463-471.
    2. Ren, Hongbo & Zhou, Weisheng & Nakagami, Ken'ichi & Gao, Weijun, 2010. "Integrated design and evaluation of biomass energy system taking into consideration demand side characteristics," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 35(5), pages 2210-2222.
    3. Avasarala, Bharat & Haldar, Pradeep, 2013. "Durability and degradation mechanism of titanium nitride based electrocatalysts for PEM (proton exchange membrane) fuel cell applications," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 57(C), pages 545-553.
    4. Powell, E.E. & Hill, G.A., 2010. "Carbon dioxide neutral, integrated biofuel facility," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 35(12), pages 4582-4586.
    5. Kakaei, Karim & Gharibi, Hussien, 2014. "Palladium nanoparticle catalysts synthesis on graphene in sodium dodecyl sulfate for oxygen reduction reaction," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 65(C), pages 166-171.
    6. Yuan, Zhenyu & Fu, Wenting & Zhao, Yang & Li, Zipeng & Zhang, Yufeng & Liu, Xiaowei, 2013. "Investigation of μDMFC (micro direct methanol fuel cell) with self-adaptive flow rate," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 55(C), pages 1152-1158.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Ayyaru, Sivasankaran & Dharmalingam, Sangeetha, 2015. "A study of influence on nanocomposite membrane of sulfonated TiO2 and sulfonated polystyrene-ethylene-butylene-polystyrene for microbial fuel cell application," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 88(C), pages 202-208.
    2. Samir Bensaid & Bernardo Ruggeri & Guido Saracco, 2015. "Development of a Photosynthetic Microbial Electrochemical Cell (PMEC) Reactor Coupled with Dark Fermentation of Organic Wastes: Medium Term Perspectives," Energies, MDPI, vol. 8(1), pages 1-31, January.
    3. Silveira, Gustavo & de Aquino Neto, Sidney & Schneedorf, José Maurício, 2020. "Development, characterization and application of a low-cost single chamber microbial fuel cell based on hydraulic couplers," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 208(C).
    4. Liu, Shu-Hui & Fu, Sih-Hua & Chen, Chia-Ying & Lin, Chi-Wen, 2020. "Enhanced processing of exhaust gas and power generation by connecting mini-tubular microbial fuel cells in series with a biotrickling filter," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 156(C), pages 342-348.
    5. Nikhil, G.N. & Venkata Subhash, G. & Yeruva, Dileep Kumar & Venkata Mohan, S., 2015. "Synergistic yield of dual energy forms through biocatalyzed electrofermentation of waste: Stoichiometric analysis of electron and carbon distribution," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 88(C), pages 281-291.
    6. Ghasemi, Mostafa & Wan Daud, Wan Ramli & Alam, Javed & Ilbeygi, Hamid & Sedighi, Mehdi & Ismail, Ahmad Fauzi & Yazdi, Mohammad H. & Aljlil, Saad A., 2016. "Treatment of two different water resources in desalination and microbial fuel cell processes by poly sulfone/Sulfonated poly ether ether ketone hybrid membrane," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 96(C), pages 303-313.
    7. Jadhav, Dipak A. & Park, Sung-Gwan & Eisa, Tasnim & Mungray, Arvind K. & Madenli, Evrim Celik & Olabi, Abdul-Ghani & Abdelkareem, Mohammad Ali & Chae, Kyu-Jung, 2022. "Current outlook towards feasibility and sustainability of ceramic membranes for practical scalable applications of microbial fuel cells," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 167(C).
    8. Chen, Yingwen & Xu, Yuan & Chen, Liuliu & Li, Peiwen & Zhu, Shemin & Shen, Shubao, 2015. "Microbial electrolysis cells with polyaniline/multi-walled carbon nanotube-modified biocathodes," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 88(C), pages 377-384.
    9. Schilirò, T. & Tommasi, T. & Armato, C. & Hidalgo, D. & Traversi, D. & Bocchini, S. & Gilli, G. & Pirri, C.F., 2016. "The study of electrochemically active planktonic microbes in microbial fuel cells in relation to different carbon-based anode materials," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 106(C), pages 277-284.
    10. Ortiz-Martínez, V.M. & Salar-García, M.J. & Hernández-Fernández, F.J. & de los Ríos, A.P., 2015. "Development and characterization of a new embedded ionic liquid based membrane-cathode assembly for its application in single chamber microbial fuel cells," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 93(P2), pages 1748-1757.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Fang, Shuo & Zhang, Yufeng & Zou, Yuezhang & Sang, Shengtian & Liu, Xiaowei, 2017. "Structural design and analysis of a passive DMFC supplied with concentrated methanol solution," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 128(C), pages 50-61.
    2. Fang, Shuo & Zhang, Yufeng & Ma, Zezhong & Sang, Shengtian & Liu, Xiaowei, 2016. "Systemic modeling and analysis of DMFC stack for behavior prediction in system-level application," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 112(C), pages 1015-1023.
    3. Mirzaei, Farokh & Parnian, Mohammad Javad & Rowshanzamir, Soosan, 2017. "Durability investigation and performance study of hydrothermal synthesized platinum-multi walled carbon nanotube nanocomposite catalyst for proton exchange membrane fuel cell," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 138(C), pages 696-705.
    4. Xinxin Liu & Nan Li & Feng Liu & Hailin Mu & Longxi Li & Xiaoyu Liu, 2021. "Optimal Design on Fossil-to-Renewable Energy Transition of Regional Integrated Energy Systems under CO 2 Emission Abatement Control: A Case Study in Dalian, China," Energies, MDPI, vol. 14(10), pages 1-25, May.
    5. Liu, Guangmin & Qiao, Lina & Zhang, Hong & Zhao, Dan & Su, Xudong, 2014. "The effects of illumination factors on the growth and HCO3− fixation of microalgae in an experiment culture system," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 78(C), pages 40-47.
    6. Li, Li & Zheng, Keqing & Ni, Meng & Leung, Michael K.H. & Xuan, Jin, 2015. "Partial modification of flow-through porous electrodes in microfluidic fuel cell," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 88(C), pages 563-571.
    7. Kiyani, Roya & Rowshanzamir, Soosan & Parnian, Mohammad Javad, 2016. "Nitrogen doped graphene supported palladium-cobalt as a promising catalyst for methanol oxidation reaction: Synthesis, characterization and electrocatalytic performance," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 113(C), pages 1162-1173.
    8. Theofilos Kamperidis & Asimina Tremouli & Antonis Peppas & Gerasimos Lyberatos, 2022. "A 2D Modelling Approach for Predicting the Response of a Two-Chamber Microbial Fuel Cell to Substrate Concentration and Electrolyte Conductivity Changes," Energies, MDPI, vol. 15(4), pages 1-15, February.
    9. Ismail, M.S. & Ingham, D.B. & Ma, L. & Hughes, K.J. & Pourkashanian, M., 2017. "Effects of catalyst agglomerate shape in polymer electrolyte fuel cells investigated by a multi-scale modelling framework," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 122(C), pages 420-430.
    10. Pérez-Fortes, Mar & Laínez-Aguirre, José Miguel & Arranz-Piera, Pol & Velo, Enrique & Puigjaner, Luis, 2012. "Design of regional and sustainable bio-based networks for electricity generation using a multi-objective MILP approach," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 44(1), pages 79-95.
    11. Sona Kazemi & Melissa Barazandegan & Madjid Mohseni & Khalid Fatih, 2016. "Systematic Study of Separators in Air-Breathing Flat-Plate Microbial Fuel Cells—Part 2: Numerical Modeling," Energies, MDPI, vol. 9(2), pages 1-16, January.
    12. Shen, Yung-Chi & Chou, Chiyang James & Lin, Grace T.R., 2011. "The portfolio of renewable energy sources for achieving the three E policy goals," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 36(5), pages 2589-2598.
    13. Zhengang Zhao & Fan Zhang & Yanhui Zhang & Dacheng Zhang, 2021. "Performance Optimization of μ DMFC with Foamed Stainless Steel Cathode Current Collector," Energies, MDPI, vol. 14(20), pages 1-13, October.
    14. Yuan, Wenjing & Xie, Anjian & Chen, Ping & Huang, Fangzhi & Li, Shikuo & Shen, Yuhua, 2018. "Combustion reaction-derived nitrogen-doped porous carbon as an effective metal-Free catalyst for the oxygen reduction reaction," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 152(C), pages 333-340.
    15. Marquant, Julien F. & Evins, Ralph & Bollinger, L. Andrew & Carmeliet, Jan, 2017. "A holarchic approach for multi-scale distributed energy system optimisation," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 208(C), pages 935-953.
    16. Roudbari, Mohsen Najafi & Ojani, Reza & Raoof, Jahan Bakhsh, 2019. "Performance improvement of polymer fuel cell by simultaneously inspection of catalyst loading, catalyst content and ionomer using home-made cathodic half-cell and response surface method," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 173(C), pages 151-161.
    17. Oliveira, V.B. & Simões, M. & Melo, L.F. & Pinto, A.M.F.R., 2013. "A 1D mathematical model for a microbial fuel cell," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 61(C), pages 463-471.
    18. Ren, Hongbo & Zhou, Weisheng & Gao, Weijun & Wu, Qiong, 2011. "Promotion of energy conservation in developing countries through the combination of ESCO and CDM: A case study of introducing distributed energy resources into Chinese urban areas," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 39(12), pages 8125-8136.
    19. Md. Bedarul Alam & Reino Pulkki & Chander Shahi & Thakur Upadhyay, 2012. "Modeling Woody Biomass Procurement for Bioenergy Production at the Atikokan Generating Station in Northwestern Ontario, Canada," Energies, MDPI, vol. 5(12), pages 1-21, December.
    20. Ortiz-Martínez, V.M. & Salar-García, M.J. & Touati, K. & Hernández-Fernández, F.J. & de los Ríos, A.P. & Belhoucine, F. & Berrabbah, A. Alioua, 2016. "Assessment of spinel-type mixed valence Cu/Co and Ni/Co-based oxides for power production in single-chamber microbial fuel cells," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 113(C), pages 1241-1249.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:energy:v:71:y:2014:i:c:p:615-623. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.journals.elsevier.com/energy .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.