Effects of gas diffusion layer (GDL) and micro porous layer (MPL) on cathode performance in microbial fuel cells (MFCs)

Urine transduction to usable energy: A modular MFC approach for smartphone and remote system charging

“…As described in [21], cathodes were made from a carbon based micro-porous layer [5,25], and the anodes from carbon veil fibres (20 g m À2 ; PRF Composite Materials Poole, Dorset, UK). The total surface area of the anode and cathode, for each module, was 30,000 cm 2 and 3612 cm 2 respectively [21].…”

Anodic and cathodic microbial communities in single chamber microbial fuel cells

“…A Pt-free cathode (10 cm 2 projected area) was made with carbon cloth (30 wt.% PTFE, FuelCellEarth) and a Micro-Porous Layer (MPL) of 30-50 mm thickness was applied since it was found to enhance oxygen exchange and facilitate the biofilm growth [23]. The MPL was made from carbon black particles (VulcanXC-72R), PTFE (60% emulsion, Sigma Aldrich), distilled water and a non-ionic surfactant (Triton X100, Sigma Aldrich) as previously described [24,25]. Untreated carbon cloth (SEAL, Legnano, Italy) of 10 cm 2 was used as anode and acetate was added periodically as the carbon source at a concentration of 3 g/L.…”

Carbon-Based Air-Breathing Cathodes for Microbial Fuel Cells

“…The oxygen supply to the catalyst can be improved by optimizing the diffusion layer and its thickness, which will affect the overall MFC power performance [43]. Carbon-based materials, such as carbon mesh, carbon cloth, and carbon veil have been tested as supporting materials for cathode electrodes using a mixture of carbon black (CB), polytetrafluorethylene (PTFE), and a surfactant forming a microporous layer (MPL) as the only catalyst [44,45]. However, the optimization of the cathode electrode to improve the MFC performance while maintaining an affordable cost is still under investigation.…”