Chem. J. Chinese Universities ›› 2010, Vol. 31 ›› Issue (1): 162.

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Power Generation in Bio-cathode Microbial Fuel Cell with Different Cathode Materials

ZHANG Jin-Na, ZHAO Qing-Liang*, YOU Shi-Jie, ZHANG Guo-Dong   

  1. State Key Laboratory of Urban Water Resources and Environments, School of Municipal and Environmental Engineering, Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin 150090, China
  • Received:2009-01-20 Online:2010-01-10 Published:2010-01-10
  • Contact: ZHAO Qing-Liang. E-mail: qlzhao@hit.edu.cn
  • Supported by:

    国家自然科学基金(批准号: 50776024)资助.

Abstract:

Power generation from bio-cathode microbial fuel cell(MFC) with graphite fiber brush(GFB) and graphite granule(GG) as cathode material was investigated with COD(Chemical Oxygen Demand) of 2000 mg/L glucose as anodic fuel. The results demonstrated that GFB-cathode MFC could be started up after a longer time with lower voltage of 0.324 V than GG-cathode MFC(0.581 V) at constant load of 300 Ω. Polarization analysis showed that the maximum power density of 24.7 W/m3(117.2 A/m3) and 50.3 W/m3(167.2 A/m3) were reached for GFB-cathode MFC and GG-cathode MFC, respectively. As indicated by electrochemical impedance spectroscopy(EIS) analysis, the difference in power output of two MFCs should result from internal resistance, particularly activation resistance. This is mainly because of the difference in surface feature of two materials for microbial growth and distribution. Organic compounds could be removed in both MFC systems, which accomplished waste water treatment.

Key words: Microbial fuel cell; Bio-cathode; Electrode material; Power density

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