IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jeners/v12y2019i6p1034-d214584.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Comparative Evaluation of Coated and Non-Coated Carbon Electrodes in a Microbial Fuel Cell for Treatment of Municipal Sludge

Author

Listed:
  • Arpita Nandy

    (Department of Chemistry, University of Calgary, 2500 University Drive, NW, Calgary, AB T2N 1N4, Canada)

  • Mohita Sharma

    (Petroleum Microbiology Research Group, Department of Biological Sciences, University of Calgary, 2500 University Drive, NW, Calgary, AB T2N 1N4, Canada)

  • Senthil Velan Venkatesan

    (Department of Chemistry, University of Calgary, 2500 University Drive, NW, Calgary, AB T2N 1N4, Canada)

  • Nicole Taylor

    (Petroleum Microbiology Research Group, Department of Biological Sciences, University of Calgary, 2500 University Drive, NW, Calgary, AB T2N 1N4, Canada)

  • Lisa Gieg

    (Petroleum Microbiology Research Group, Department of Biological Sciences, University of Calgary, 2500 University Drive, NW, Calgary, AB T2N 1N4, Canada)

  • Venkataraman Thangadurai

    (Department of Chemistry, University of Calgary, 2500 University Drive, NW, Calgary, AB T2N 1N4, Canada)

Abstract

This study aims to provide insight into the cost-effective catalyst on power generation in a microbial fuel cell (MFC) for treatment of municipal sludge. Power production from MFCs with carbon, Fe 2 O 3 , and Pt electrodes were compared. The MFC with no coating on carbon generated the least power density (6.72 mW·m −2 ) while the MFC with Fe 2 O 3 -coating on carbon anodes and carbon cathodes generated a 78% higher power output (30.18 mW·m −2 ). The third MFC with Fe 2 O 3 -coated carbon anodes and Pt on carbon as the cathode catalyst generated the highest power density (73.16 mW·m −2 ) at room temperature. Although the power generated with a conventional Pt catalyst was more than two-fold higher than Fe 2 O 3 , this study suggests that Fe 2 O 3 can be investigated further as an efficient, low-cost, and alternative catalyst of Pt, which can be optimized for improving performance of MFCs. Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) and cyclic voltammetry (CV) results demonstrated reduced resistance of MFCs and better charge transfer between biofilm and electrodes containing coated anodes compared to non-coated anodes. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) was used to analyze biofilm morphology and microbial community analysis was performed using 16S rRNA gene sequencing, which revealed the presence of known anaerobic fermenters and methanogens that may play a key role in energy generation in the MFCs.

Suggested Citation

  • Arpita Nandy & Mohita Sharma & Senthil Velan Venkatesan & Nicole Taylor & Lisa Gieg & Venkataraman Thangadurai, 2019. "Comparative Evaluation of Coated and Non-Coated Carbon Electrodes in a Microbial Fuel Cell for Treatment of Municipal Sludge," Energies, MDPI, vol. 12(6), pages 1-14, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jeners:v:12:y:2019:i:6:p:1034-:d:214584
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/12/6/1034/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/12/6/1034/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Bajracharya, Suman & Sharma, Mohita & Mohanakrishna, Gunda & Dominguez Benneton, Xochitl & Strik, David P.B.T.B. & Sarma, Priyangshu M. & Pant, Deepak, 2016. "An overview on emerging bioelectrochemical systems (BESs): Technology for sustainable electricity, waste remediation, resource recovery, chemical production and beyond," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 98(C), pages 153-170.
    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. Hongjun Ni & Kaixuan Wang & Shuaishuai Lv & Xingxing Wang & Lu Zhuo & Jiaqiao Zhang, 2020. "Effects of Concentration Variations on the Performance and Microbial Community in Microbial Fuel Cell Using Swine Wastewater," Energies, MDPI, vol. 13(9), pages 1-11, May.
    2. Roya Morovati & Mohammad Hoseini & Abooalfazl Azhdarpoor & Mansooreh Dehghani & Mohammad Ali Baghapour & Saeed Yousefinejad, 2022. "Removal of Diclofenac Sodium from Wastewater in Microbial Fuel Cell by Anode Modified with MnCo 2 O 4," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(21), pages 1-17, October.
    3. Hongjun Ni & Kaixuan Wang & Shuaishuai Lv & Xingxing Wang & Jiaqiao Zhang & Lu Zhuo & Fei Li, 2020. "Effects of Modified Anodes on the Performance and Microbial Community of Microbial Fuel Cells Using Swine Wastewater," Energies, MDPI, vol. 13(15), pages 1-13, August.

    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. Karamanev, Dimitre & Pupkevich, Victor & Penev, Kalin & Glibin, Vassili & Gohil, Jay & Vajihinejad, Vahid, 2017. "Biological conversion of hydrogen to electricity for energy storage," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 129(C), pages 237-245.
    2. Jadhav, Dipak A. & Ghosh Ray, Sreemoyee & Ghangrekar, Makarand M., 2017. "Third generation in bio-electrochemical system research – A systematic review on mechanisms for recovery of valuable by-products from wastewater," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 76(C), pages 1022-1031.
    3. 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.
    4. Hu, Jianjun & Zhang, Quanguo & Lee, Duu-Jong & Ngo, Huu Hao, 2018. "Feasible use of microbial fuel cells for pollution treatment," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 129(PB), pages 824-829.
    5. Anusha Ganta & Yasser Bashir & Sovik Das, 2022. "Dairy Wastewater as a Potential Feedstock for Valuable Production with Concurrent Wastewater Treatment through Microbial Electrochemical Technologies," Energies, MDPI, vol. 15(23), pages 1-34, November.
    6. Kabutey, Felix Tetteh & Zhao, Qingliang & Wei, Liangliang & Ding, Jing & Antwi, Philip & Quashie, Frank Koblah & Wang, Weiye, 2019. "An overview of plant microbial fuel cells (PMFCs): Configurations and applications," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 110(C), pages 402-414.
    7. Raúl Santiago Muñoz-Aguilar & Daniele Molognoni & Pau Bosch-Jimenez & Eduard Borràs & Mónica Della Pirriera & Álvaro Luna, 2018. "Design, Operation, Modeling and Grid Integration of Power-to-Gas Bioelectrochemical Systems," Energies, MDPI, vol. 11(8), pages 1-15, July.
    8. Rubén Rodríguez-Alegre & Alba Ceballos-Escalera & Daniele Molognoni & Pau Bosch-Jimenez & David Galí & Edxon Licon & Monica Della Pirriera & Julia Garcia-Montaño & Eduard Borràs, 2019. "Integration of Membrane Contactors and Bioelectrochemical Systems for CO 2 Conversion to CH 4," Energies, MDPI, vol. 12(3), pages 1-19, January.
    9. Gómez Camacho, Carlos E. & Romano, Francesco I. & Ruggeri, Bernardo, 2018. "Macro approach analysis of dark biohydrogen production in the presence of zero valent powered Fe°," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 159(C), pages 525-533.
    10. Fischer, Fabian, 2018. "Photoelectrode, photovoltaic and photosynthetic microbial fuel cells," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 90(C), pages 16-27.
    11. Jiang-Hao Tian & Rémy Lacroix & Asim Ali Yaqoob & Chrystelle Bureau & Cédric Midoux & Elie Desmond-Le Quéméner & Théodore Bouchez, 2023. "Study of a Pilot Scale Microbial Electrosynthesis Reactor for Organic Waste Biorefinery," Energies, MDPI, vol. 16(2), pages 1-21, January.
    12. Jiseon You & Lauren Wallis & Nevena Radisavljevic & Grzegorz Pasternak & Vincenzo M. Sglavo & Martin M Hanczyc & John Greenman & Ioannis Ieropoulos, 2019. "A Comprehensive Study of Custom-Made Ceramic Separators for Microbial Fuel Cells: Towards “Living” Bricks," Energies, MDPI, vol. 12(21), pages 1-13, October.
    13. AlSayed, Ahmed & Soliman, Moomen & Eldyasti, Ahmed, 2020. "Microbial fuel cells for municipal wastewater treatment: From technology fundamentals to full-scale development," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 134(C).
    14. Wu, Shiqiang & Patil, Sunil A. & Chen, Shuiliang, 2018. "Auto-feeding microbial fuel cell inspired by transpiration of plants," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 225(C), pages 934-939.
    15. Jiang, Minhua & Xu, Tao & Chen, Shuiliang, 2020. "A mechanical rechargeable small-size microbial fuel cell with long-term and stable power output," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 260(C).
    16. Simeng Li & Gang Chen & Aavudai Anandhi, 2018. "Applications of Emerging Bioelectrochemical Technologies in Agricultural Systems: A Current Review," Energies, MDPI, vol. 11(11), pages 1-21, October.
    17. Ullah, Zia & Zeshan,, 2024. "Effect of catholyte on performance of photosynthetic microbial fuel cell for wastewater treatment and energy recovery," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 221(C).
    18. Ma, Lei & Zhou, Lei & Ruan, Meng-Ya & Gu, Ji-Dong & Mu, Bo-Zhong, 2019. "Simultaneous methanogenesis and acetogenesis from the greenhouse carbon dioxide by an enrichment culture supplemented with zero-valent iron," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 132(C), pages 861-870.
    19. Jayabalan, Tamilmani & Manickam, Matheswaran & Naina Mohamed, Samsudeen, 2020. "NiCo2O4-graphene nanocomposites in sugar industry wastewater fed microbial electrolysis cell for enhanced biohydrogen production," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 154(C), pages 1144-1152.
    20. Yadav, Ashish & Verma, Nishith, 2019. "Efficient hydrogen production using Ni-graphene oxide-dispersed laser-engraved 3D carbon micropillars as electrodes for microbial electrolytic cell," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 138(C), pages 628-638.

    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:gam:jeners:v:12:y:2019:i:6:p:1034-:d:214584. 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: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    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.