For the improvement of microbial fuel cell (MFC) performance in real wastewater it is necessary to implement catalysts on the cathode. Potential electrochemical catalysts for the MFC have to be widely available and should be low cost materials. Graphite, MnO 2 and MoS 2 fulfill the requirements and were evaluated in this work. These materials were prepared by dispersion of MnO 2 and/or MoS 2 and graphite in a solution of celluloid using butanone as solvent. Four MFCs with an active area of 225 cm 2 were connected in series with the wastewater supply. Their individual maximum output power densities were evaluated in relation to time. The results showed that MFC without catalyst reached a power density of only 40 mW/m 2 , while the best performance of MFC with graphite plus MnO 2 coating (10:1) was higher than 100 mW/m 2 . Comparing with graphite plus MnO 2 coating, the graphite plus MoS 2 paint shows a lower power density but much higher long-term stability than graphite plus MnO 2 coating. The scaling up of MFC with catalyst on the cathode is also studied in this research. Four MFCs with dimension of 980 cm 2 were constructed and connected in series, whose anodes have two sides for enlargement of reaction surface area. Rising demand for energy and fossil fuel resources being finite, the search for new alternative sustainable energy solutions have increased tremendously.1 Hydraulic, wind and solar radiation are clean energy resources as alternatives to fossil resources to produce electricity. However, these energy sources are limited by climate and geographical factors. Comparing with the energy sources that are mentioned above, biomass is one of the important renewable carbon sources and has been recognized as a promising energy supplier in the future. The increasing demand for biofuels has encouraged researchers and politicians worldwide to find sustainable biofuel production systems in accordance with the regional conditions and needs. 2 A MFC is an innovative method to generate electricity from organic matter using exoelectrogenic bacteria.3 Furthermore MFCs have drawn increasing attention as they can generate renewable energy and purify wastewater simultaneously. 4 The main MFC-components are the electrodes, separated into the anodic-and cathodic-chamber. Electrons and protons are produced on the anode from the oxidation of organic matters using bacteria as biocatalyst. In the cathode chamber, an electron acceptor is reduced with the electrons transferred via an external circuit and the protons diffused through the solution. However, complete treatment of wastewater cannot be accomplished solely with MFCs as current production is rapidly reduced to low levels when the chemical oxygen demand of the organic matter is reduced to ∼100-200 mg/L. 6,7 Scaling up MFCs is challenging based on the need to use inexpensive and non-precious metal materials and to achieve good performance. The use of carbon fiber brushes provides a route to make low-cost anodes, [8][9][10] and several different cathodes have been construc...

Highly active Ni2P catalyst supported on Al2O3@TiO2 (core@shell) for hydrodeoxygenation (HDO) of benzofuran (BF) was described. The effect of the TiO2 shell thickness on the structure and HDO properties of Ni2P/Al2O3@TiO2 was studied. The results showed that an appropriate TiO2 shell thickness can effectively suppress the formation of AlPO4 and change the transmission mechanism of Ni2P particles, which is beneficial to the formation of highly dispersed Ni2P particles on the Al2O3 core. The Ni2P/A@T-25 showed the best HDO activity of 95% with oxygen-free products yield of 87% among the as-prepared Ni2P/Al2O3@TiO2 catalysts. As compared with Ni2P/Al2O3 (BF conversion of 78% with oxygen-free products yield of 47%), the BF conversion and yields of oxygen-free products over Ni2P/A@T-25 catalyst were increased by 22% and 85%, respectively.

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A highly active and stable MOF-199-supported ionic liquid [Hnmp][H 2 PO 4 ] (IL-NP) adsorbent (Py/MOF) was successfully synthesized and characterized via XRD, SEM and TEM, TG-DTG, FT-IR, BET, and XPS technologies. The effects of different sulfides and interfering components present in model oils on the adsorptive desulfurization (ADS) performance of Py/MOF were studied. The results show that the regular octahedron crystalline structure of MOF-199 was well preserved and IL-NP fixed on the surface of MOF-199 presented like a flower after grafting ionic liquid IL-NP. The Py/MOF showed highly ordered canals, which are larger than those of MOF-199. Upon introducing IL-NP to MOF-199, the ADS activities were improved, which can be attributed to the improved intimate contact between sulfur compounds and adsorbent, the additional adsorption acidic sites for slightly basic sulfur compounds, and the increased pore size with mesoporous pores appearing. The ADS activity of Py/MOF adsorbing different sulfides was in the order of DBT > BT > 3-MTP > TP > 2,5-DMTP, and the effect of interfering component on ADS performance of Py/MOF was in the order of cyclohexene > toluene > water > ethanol. After 4 times of regeneration, the DBT removal onto Py/MOF was still at 93.8%, which decreased by 4.9% as compared to that of the fresh adsorbent.

In this study, mixtures of graphite, γ-MnO 2 and MoS 2 with different weight proportions (20:1:1, 30:1:2 and 30:2:1) were used in microbial fuel cells (MFCs) and the catalysts were also subjected to ultrasonication to study its influence. The data suggest that the MFC fabricated with the catalyst prepared using graphite, γ-MnO 2 and MoS 2 in a weight proportion of 20:1:1 exhibited the highest optimal power density of 120 mW/m 2 . However, after ultrasonic treatment, the power density was significantly improved, which was 183 mW/m 2 . It can also be observed that after using ß-MnO 2 , the optimal power density of the MFC fabricated with the catalyst prepared with graphite, ß-MnO 2 and MoS 2 in a proportion of 20:1:1 higher (158 mW/m 2 ) than that of the MFC fabricated with γ-MnO 2 in the same proportion, showing that the performance of ß-MnO 2 with a whisker structure was better than that of γ-MnO 2 owing to its higher surface area, larger pore diameter and great pore volume. The long term performances of the MFCs fabricated using catalysts prepared with the different graphite, γ-MnO 2 (ß-MnO 2 ) and MoS 2 proportions decreased finally in the order of 20:1:1 (ß-MnO 2 ) > 20:1:1 (ultrasonicated γ-MnO 2 ) > 10:1 (ß-MnO 2 ) >20:1:1 (γ-MnO 2 ) > 30:2:1 (γ-MnO 2 ) >30:1:2 (γ-MnO 2 ).