Electricity production from human urine in ceramic microbial fuel cells with alternative non-fluorinated polymer binders for cathode construction

Salar-García, M.J.; Martínez, Víctor Manuel Ortiz; Gajda, Iwona; Greenman, John; Hernández-Fernández, F.J.; Ieropoulos, Ioannis

doi:10.1016/j.seppur.2017.06.025

Cited by 25 publications

(13 citation statements)

References 33 publications

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“…A previous study investigating PTFE alternatives has shown, with a different MFC design (i.e. ceramic membrane), that chitosan was a good alternative [ 47 ]. The MFCs mounted with chitosan based cathodes were producing 40% less power (i.e.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Binder materials for the cathodes applied to self-stratifying membraneless microbial fuel cell

Walter

Greenman

Ieropoulos

2018

Bioelectrochemistry

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The recently developed self-stratifying membraneless microbial fuel cell (SSM-MFC) has been shown as a promising concept for urine treatment. The first prototypes employed cathodes made of activated carbon (AC) and polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) mixture. Here, we explored the possibility to substitute PTFE with either polyvinyl-alcohol (PVA) or PlastiDip (CPD; i.e. synthetic rubber) as binder for AC-based cathode in SSM-MFC. Sintered activated carbon (SAC) was also tested due to its ease of manufacturing and the fact that no stainless steel collector is needed. Results indicate that the SSM-MFC having PTFE cathodes were the most powerful measuring 1617 μW (11 W·m−3 or 101 mW·m−2). SSM-MFC with PVA and CPD as binders were producing on average the same level of power (1226 ± 90 μW), which was 24% less than the SSM-MFC having PTFE-based cathodes. When balancing the power by the cost and environmental impact, results clearly show that PVA was the best alternative. Power wise, the SAC cathodes were shown being the less performing (≈1070 μW). Nonetheless, the lower power of SAC was balanced by its inexpensiveness. Overall results indicate that (i) PTFE is yet the best binder to employ, and (ii) SAC and PVA-based cathodes are promising alternatives that would benefit from further improvements.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The MFCs mounted with chitosan based cathodes were producing 40% less power (i.e. maximum power) than the PTFE control whilst using only 2.5% of binder [ 47 ]. Compared to these results, the PVA-10 cathodes seem to be a good alternative since they were producing 85% of the maximum power produced by the control ( Fig.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Binder materials for the cathodes applied to self-stratifying membraneless microbial fuel cell

Walter

Greenman

Ieropoulos

2018

Bioelectrochemistry

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“…It was first demonstrated in 2012 that MFCs generated electricity from diluted urine, and this electricity could be used to power cell phones ( Ieropoulos et al, 2013 ). Subsequently, research on enhanced MFC systems aims to improve the cathode structure, provide for more efficient nutrients/energy recovery, and support pathogen inactivation ( Ieropoulos et al, 2017 , Merino-Jimenez et al, 2017 , Salar-Garcia et al, 2017 , Zang et al, 2012 ). MECs are normally associated with hydrogen production and nutrient recovery ( Kuntke et al, 2014 ), and researchers are focusing on efficient nutrient recovery by controlling the load ratio, changing the electric current conditions, and developing electrodes ( Dbira et al, 2015 ; Rodriguez Arredondo et al, 2017 ; Yuan and Kim, 2017 ).…”

Section: Sanitation Activities In Scientific Researchmentioning

confidence: 99%

Review of global sanitation development

Zhou

Zheng

et al. 2018

Environment International

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The implementation of the United Nations (UN) Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) has resulted in an increased focus on developing innovative, sustainable sanitation techniques to address the demand for adequate and equitable sanitation in low-income areas. We examined the background, current situation, challenges, and perspectives of global sanitation. We used bibliometric analysis and word cluster analysis to evaluate sanitation research from 1992 to 2016 based on the Science Citation Index EXPANDED (SCI-EXPANDED) and Social Sciences Citation Index (SSCI) databases. Our results show that sanitation is a comprehensive field connected with multiple categories, and the increasing number of publications reflects a strong interest in this research area. Most of the research took place in developed countries, especially the USA, although sanitation problems are more serious in developing countries. Innovations in sanitation techniques may keep susceptible populations from contracting diseases caused by various kinds of contaminants and microorganisms. Hence, the hygienization of human excreta, resource recovery, and removal of micro-pollutants from excreta can serve as effective sustainable solutions. Commercialized technologies, like composting, anaerobic digestion, and storage, are reliable but still face challenges in addressing the links between the political, social, institutional, cultural, and educational aspects of sanitation. Innovative technologies, such as Microbial Fuel Cells (MFCs), Microbial Electrolysis Cells (MECs), and struvite precipitation, are at the TRL (Technology readiness levels) 8 level, meaning that they qualify as “actual systems completed and qualified through test and demonstration.” Solutions that take into consideration economic feasibility and all the different aspects of sanitation are required. There is an urgent demand for holistic solutions considering government support, social acceptability, as well as technological reliability that can be effectively adapted to local conditions.

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“…Urine is an excellent raw material for MFC systems for real applications 26 . In addition to treating urine with MFC, the results of recent studies are promising for the direct recovery of bioelectricity from urine 27,28 . A system of MFCs inoculated with activated sludge and fueled with human urine has been practically applied in the lighting systems 29 .…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Polarization and power density trends of a soil‐based microbial fuel cell treated with human urine

et al. 2020

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Microbial fuel cells (MFCs) are bio-electrochemical devices that use microbial metabolic processes to convert organic substances into electricity with high efficiency. In this study, the performance of a soil-based MFC using urine as a substrate was assessed using polarization and power density curves. A singlechamber, membrane-less MFC with a carbon-felt air cathode and a carbon-felt anode fully buried in biologically active soil was constructed to examine the impact of urine treatment on the performance of the MFC. The peak power of the urine-treated MFC was 124.16 mW/m 2 and was obtained 24 hours after the first urine addition; a control MFC showed a value of 65.40 mW/m 2 in the same period. The treated MFC produced an average power of 70.75 mW/m 2 up to 21 days after the initial urine addition; the control MFC gave an average value of 4.508 mW/m 2 over the same period. The average internal resistances of the treated MFC and the control MFC obtained after the initial treatment were 269.94 and 1627.89 Ω, respectively. This study demonstrates the potential of human urine to reduce internal losses in soil MFCs and to provide stable power densities across various external resistors. These results are propitious for future advancements in soil MFCs for power generation utilizing human urine (a readily available source of nutrients) as a substrate.

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Electricity production from human urine in ceramic microbial fuel cells with alternative non-fluorinated polymer binders for cathode construction

Abstract: Urine-fed ceramic MFCs for bioenergy production and urine treatment.  Alternative non-fluorinated polymers as binders in ceramic MFCs.

Cited by 25 publications

References 33 publications

Binder materials for the cathodes applied to self-stratifying membraneless microbial fuel cell

Binder materials for the cathodes applied to self-stratifying membraneless microbial fuel cell

Review of global sanitation development

Polarization and power density trends of a soil‐based microbial fuel cell treated with human urine

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