A novel proton exchange membrane developed from clay and activated carbon derived from coconut shell for application in microbial fuel cell

Neethu, B.; Bhowmick, Gourav Dhar; Ghangrekar, Makarand M.

doi:10.1016/j.bej.2019.05.011

Cited by 92 publications

(30 citation statements)

References 31 publications

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“…As the ultimate aim of manufacturing and testing SILMs for MFC is to provide promising candidates as alternatives to the Nafion PEM (proton exchange membrane), a comparative evaluation can show how far the research on and development of SILMs have reached. As a matter of fact, experiences with Nafion membranes in MFCs (acetate substrate, mixed culture as the seed source, dual-chamber configuration, and batch mode) indicate that the maximum P d could be in a similar range-14.4 [59], 17.7 [60], 38 [61,62], 43.6 [63], 57.5 [64], 65 [65], 118 [66], 126.7 [67], and 173.3 [68]-to that attainable in MFCs with SILMs (1.4-179 mW m −2 ) [23,25,33]. To extend the comparative evaluation of SILMs, it is worth taking a look at the performances of MFCs operated with membrane candidates (such as cation exchange membranes (CEM) and porous (cheap) materials) proposed to compete with Nafion.…”

Section: Outlook and Perspectives Of Silms In Mfcsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Development and Application of Supported Ionic Liquid Membranes in Microbial Fuel Cell Technology: A Concise Overview

et al. 2020

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Membrane separators are key elements of microbial fuel cells (MFCs), especially of those constructed in a dual-chamber configuration. Until now, membranes made of Nafion have been applied the most widely to set-up MFCs. However, there is a broader agreement in the literature that Nafion is expensive and in many cases, does not meet the actual (mainly mass transfer-specific) requirements demanded by the process and users. Driven by these issues, there has been notable progress in the development of alternative materials for membrane fabrication, among which those relying on the deployment of ionic liquids are emerging. In this review, the background of and recent advances in ionic liquid-containing separators, particularly supported ionic liquid membranes (SILMs), designed for MFC applications are addressed and evaluated. After an assessment of the basic criteria to be fulfilled by membranes in MFCs, experiences with SILMs will be outlined, along with important aspects of transport processes. Finally, a comparison with the literature is presented to elaborate on how MFCs installed with SILM perform relative to similar systems assembled with other, e.g., Nafion, membranes.

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Section: Outlook and Perspectives Of Silms In Mfcsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Development and Application of Supported Ionic Liquid Membranes in Microbial Fuel Cell Technology: A Concise Overview

et al. 2020

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“…Another advantage of this new type of separator could be the improved mechanical property of the system, allowing compact designs and miniaturization. Besides, another recent work (Neethu et al, 2019) proved that composite materials of biochar and terracotta can be a cost-effective alternative to Nafion®117 for microbial fuel cells, enhancing ionic hopping inside the material.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Nevertheless, several studies and experiments have been addressed to demonstrate the effectiveness of such low performing MES systems for water and soil remediation with promising performances (Kappler et al, 2014;Prado et al, 2019;Goglio et al, 2019a;Goglio et al, 2019b;Schievano et al, 2019). Furthermore, a recent work (Neethu et al, 2019) underlined that a novel membrane developed from clay and activated carbon derived from coconut shells performed better than the Nafion® 117 membrane, doubling the power density of an MFC. This new type of membrane showed an increased proton diffusion coefficient.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Biochar-Terracotta Conductive Composites: New Design for Bioelectrochemical Systems

Cristiani¹,

Goglio²,

Marzorati³

et al. 2020

Front. Energy Res.

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Research in the field of bioelectrochemical systems is addressing the need to improve components and reduce their costs in the perspective of their large-scale application. In this view, innovative solid separators of electrodes, made of biochar and terracotta, are investigated. Biochar-based composites are produced from giant cane (Arundo Donax L.). Two different types of composite are used in this experiment: composite A, produced by pyrolysis of crushed chipping of A.donax L. mixed clay; and composite B, produced by pyrolysis of already-pyrolyzed giant cane (biochar) mixed with clay. Electrical resistivity, electrical capacity, porosity, water retention, and water leaching of the two composites types (A and B) with 1, 5, 10, 15, 20, and 30 mass percentages of carbon (w/w) are characterized and compared. Less than 1 kΩ cm of electrical resistance is obtained for composite A with a carbon content greater than 10%, while physical and electrical performances of composite B do not significantly change. SEM micrographs and 3D microcomputed tomography of different composite materials are provided, demonstrating a different matrix structure of carbon in the terracotta matrix. The possibility of suitably decreasing electric resistance and increasing water retention/leaching of composite A opens the way for a new class of resistive materials that can be simultaneously used as electrolytic separators and as external electric circuits, allowing a compact microbial fuel cell design. A proof of concept of such an MFC design was provided for different tested composites. Although all the anolytes become anaerobic, only the MFCs equipped with the composite A30% were able to produce power, reaching the maximum power peak in correspondence to resistance of about 1 kΩ. The low, but significant, produced power (about 40 mW m−2, cathode area) confirm that the proposed solution is particularly suitable for nutrient recovery and environment pollution bioremediation, where energy harvesting is not requested.

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“…Oxygen mass transfer coefficient was measured as described by Neethu et al (2019). N 2 gas was sparged to remove all the dissolved oxygen (DO) from the anolyte.…”

Section: Proton and Oxygen Mass Transfer Coefficientmentioning

confidence: 99%

Application of clayware ceramic separator modified with silica in microbial fuel cell for bioelectricity generation during rice mill wastewater treatment

Raychaudhuri¹,

Sahoo²,

Behera³

2021

Water Science and Technology

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Ceramic separators have recently been investigated as low-cost, robust, and sustainable separators for application in microbial fuel cells (MFC). In the present study, an attempt has been made to develop a low-cost MFC employing a clayware ceramic separator modified with silica. The properties of separators with varying silica content (10%–40% w/w) were evaluated in terms of oxygen and proton diffusion. The membrane containing 30% silica exhibited improved performance compared to the unmodified membrane. Two identical MFCs, fabricated using ceramic separators with 30% silica content (MFCS-30) and without silica (MFCC), were operated at hydraulic retention time (HRT) of 12 h with real rice mill wastewater having chemical oxygen demand (COD) of 3,200 ± 50 mg/L. The maximum volumetric power density of 791.72 mW/m3 and coulombic efficiency of 35.77% was obtained in MFCS-30, which was 60.4% and 48.5%, respectively, higher than that of MFCC. The maximum COD and phenol removal efficiency of 76.2% and 58.2%, respectively, were obtained in MFCS-30. MFC fabricated with modified ceramic separator demonstrated higher power generation and pollutant removal. The presence of hygroscopic silica in the ceramic separator has improved its performance in terms of hydration properties and proton transport.

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A novel proton exchange membrane developed from clay and activated carbon derived from coconut shell for application in microbial fuel cell

Cited by 92 publications

References 31 publications

Development and Application of Supported Ionic Liquid Membranes in Microbial Fuel Cell Technology: A Concise Overview

Development and Application of Supported Ionic Liquid Membranes in Microbial Fuel Cell Technology: A Concise Overview

Biochar-Terracotta Conductive Composites: New Design for Bioelectrochemical Systems

Application of clayware ceramic separator modified with silica in microbial fuel cell for bioelectricity generation during rice mill wastewater treatment

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