Mohamed Hend Omar, Obaid M, Sayed Enas Taha, Liu Yang, Lee Jinpyo, Park Mira, Barakat Nasser A M, Kim Hak Yong
Bionanosystem Engineering Department, Chonbuk National University, Jeonju, 561-756, Republic of South Korea.
Chemical Engineering Department, Faculty of Engineering, Minia University, Minia, Egypt.
Bioprocess Biosyst Eng. 2017 Aug;40(8):1151-1161. doi: 10.1007/s00449-017-1776-0. Epub 2017 May 19.
This study introduces activated carbon (AC) as an effective anode for microbial fuel cells (MFCs) using real industrial wastewater without treatment or addition of external microorganism mediators. Inexpensive activated carbon is introduced as a proper electrode alternative to carbon cloth and carbon paper materials, which are considered too expensive for the large-scale application of MFCs. AC has a porous interconnected structure with a high bio-available surface area. The large surface area, in addition to the high macro porosity, facilitates the high performance by reducing electron transfer resistance. Extensive characterization, including surface morphology, material chemistry, surface area, mechanical strength and biofilm adhesion, was conducted to confirm the effectiveness of the AC material as an anode in MFCs. The electrochemical performance of AC was also compared to other anodes, i.e., Teflon-treated carbon cloth (CCT), Teflon-treated carbon paper (CPT), untreated carbon cloth (CC) and untreated carbon paper (CP). Initial tests of a single air-cathode MFC display a current density of 1792 mAm, which is approximately four times greater than the maximum value of the other anode materials. COD analyses and Coulombic efficiency (CE) measurements for AC-MFC show the greatest removal of organic compounds and the highest CE efficiency (60 and 71%, respectively). Overall, this study shows a new economical technique for power generation from real industrial wastewater with no treatment and using inexpensive electrode materials.
本研究介绍了活性炭（AC）作为微生物燃料电池（MFC）的有效阳极，该电池使用未经处理或添加外部微生物介导剂的实际工业废水。廉价的活性炭被引入作为碳布和碳纸材料的合适电极替代品，碳布和碳纸材料对于MFC的大规模应用来说被认为过于昂贵。AC具有多孔互连结构，具有高生物可利用表面积。除了高宏观孔隙率外，大表面积还通过降低电子转移电阻促进了高性能。进行了广泛的表征，包括表面形态、材料化学、表面积、机械强度和生物膜附着力，以确认AC材料作为MFC阳极的有效性。还将AC的电化学性能与其他阳极进行了比较，即聚四氟乙烯处理的碳布（CCT）、聚四氟乙烯处理的碳纸（CPT）、未处理的碳布（CC）和未处理的碳纸（CP）。单个空气阴极MFC的初始测试显示电流密度为1792 mAm，约为其他阳极材料最大值的四倍。AC-MFC的COD分析和库仑效率（CE）测量显示有机化合物的去除率最高，CE效率也最高（分别为60%和71%）。总体而言，本研究展示了一种新的经济技术，可利用未经处理的实际工业废水并使用廉价电极材料进行发电。
