Biffinger Justin C, Ray Ricky, Little Brenda, Ringeisen Bradley R
Chemistry Division, Naval Research Laboratory, 4555 Overlook Avenue, SW, Washington, District of Columbia 20375, USA.
Environ Sci Technol. 2007 Feb 15;41(4):1444-9. doi: 10.1021/es061634u.
The use of proton exchange membranes (PEMs) in biological fuel cells limits the diversity of novel designs for increasing output power or enabling autonomous function in unique environments. Here we show that selected nanoporous polymer filters (nylon, cellulose, or polycarbonate) can be used effectively in place of PEMs in a miniature microbial fuel cell (mini-MFC, device cross-section 2 cm2), generating a power density of 16 W/m3 with an uncoated graphite felt oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) cathode. The incorporation of polycarbonate or nylon membranes into biological fuel cell designs produced comparable power and durability to Nafion-117 membranes. Also, high power densities for novel larger (5 cm3 anode volume, 0.6 W/m3) and smaller (0.025 cm3 projected geometric volume, average power density 10 W/m3) chamberless and pumpless microbial fuel cells were observed. As an additional benefit, the nanoporous membranes isolated the anode from invading natural bacteria, increasing the potential applications for MFCs beyond aquatic sediment environments. This work is a practical solution for decreasing the cost of biological fuel cells while incorporating new features for powering long-term autonomous devices.
质子交换膜（PEMs）在生物燃料电池中的应用限制了用于提高输出功率或在独特环境中实现自主功能的新型设计的多样性。在此，我们展示了选定的纳米多孔聚合物过滤器（尼龙、纤维素或聚碳酸酯）可有效替代微型微生物燃料电池（微型MFC，器件横截面2平方厘米）中的PEMs，使用未涂覆的石墨毡氧还原反应（ORR）阴极时可产生16 W/m³的功率密度。将聚碳酸酯或尼龙膜纳入生物燃料电池设计中，产生的功率和耐久性与Nafion - 117膜相当。此外，还观察到新型更大（阳极体积5立方厘米，0.6 W/m³）和更小（投影几何体积0.025立方厘米，平均功率密度10 W/m³）的无腔无泵微生物燃料电池具有高功率密度。另外一个好处是，纳米多孔膜将阳极与入侵的天然细菌隔离开来，增加了微生物燃料电池在水生沉积物环境之外的潜在应用。这项工作是一种切实可行的解决方案，可在降低生物燃料电池成本的同时，为为长期自主设备供电融入新特性。
