Programa de Pós-Graduação em Engenharia Industrial, Escola Politécnica, Universidade Federal da Bahia, 40210-630 Salvador, BA, Brazil.
Instituto de Pesquisa em Ciência dos Materiais, Universidade Federal do Vale do São Francisco, Juazeiro, Bahia 48902-300, Brazil.
Mater Sci Eng C Mater Biol Appl. 2019 Dec;105:110082. doi: 10.1016/j.msec.2019.110082. Epub 2019 Aug 14.
The production of more efficient yeast-based fuel cells (YFCs) depends on a combination of effective proton exchange membranes, electron mediators and current collectors. The adhesion of organisms on electrode surface plays a key role in the electron transfer process optimizing the generated power density. In this work, it is reported the preparation of a new YFC prototype using membranes of polyvinyl alcohol/ phosphoric acid and anodes of carbon nanotubes/polyurethane. The high surface area for yeast adhesion and the strong interaction established between cells/carbon nanotubes favor the energy generation in fuel cell. To evaluate the influence of external mediators and the consumption of feed solution (glucose) on performance of YFC, the kinetics of current generation of resulting fuel cells was analyzed. Results reveal that increases in the impedance of electrodes on generated power can be minimized by periodical infusion of feed fuel, preserving 70% of maximum power, representing an important condition for prolonged activity of fuel cell.
生产更高效的基于酵母的燃料电池（YFC）取决于有效的质子交换膜、电子介体和集流器的组合。生物体在电极表面的附着在优化产生的功率密度的电子传递过程中起着关键作用。在这项工作中，报告了使用聚乙烯醇/磷酸膜和碳纳米管/聚氨酯阳极的新型 YFC 原型的制备。高的酵母附着表面积和细胞/碳纳米管之间建立的强相互作用有利于燃料电池中的能量产生。为了评估外部介体和进料溶液（葡萄糖）消耗对 YFC 性能的影响，分析了所得燃料电池电流产生的动力学。结果表明，通过周期性地注入进料燃料，可以最小化电极对产生功率的阻抗增加，保留 70%的最大功率，这代表了延长燃料电池活性的一个重要条件。
