Evaluation of Order Mesoporous Carbon as Anode Catalyst for Microbial Fuel Cells Applications

Abstract

Ordered Mesoporous Carbon (OMC) was evaluated as anode catalyst in a MFC. Bacilus subtilis (B. subtilis) was the microorganism, while the electrolyte was Pharmaceutical Residual Water (PRW). In a dual chamber MFC, the anode and cathode compartments contained N2-saturated PRW and O2-saturated KOH (both electrolytes with pH=9.6), respectively, separated by a Nafion® membrane. The anode catalysts on gas diffusion electrodes in the MFC were: methanol-functionalized OMC, nonfunctionalized OMC, methanol-functionalized Vulcan XC-72 and commercial Pt/C, all covered by a biofilm of B. subtilis. Meanwhile, the cathode catalyst was Pt/C. Significantly higher catalytic activity was obtained from functionalized OMC + B. Subtilis in the MFC. The Open Circuit Voltage (OCV) was 0.58 V, with a maximum current density (jcell) of 854 mA m -2 . These values were 2.6 and 4.7 times higher than those from Pt/C. The results showed that methanol-functionalized OMC is a metal-free catalyst with high performance for MFCs.

Energy Generation from Pharmaceutical Residual Water in Microbial Fuel Cells Using Ordered Mesoporous Carbon and Bacillus subtilis as Bioanode

“…OMC, C and GF samples were functionalized by intermittent microwave heating (IMH) in methanol solution as follows: 300 mg of catalyst was ultrasonically mixed in 30 mL of 0.15 mol L –1 CH 3 OH for 30 min. After 1 h of magnetic stirring, the mixtures were thermally treated for 8 min in a home-modified microwave under stirring, with 25 s on/15 s off pulses . The functionalized samples were calcined at 200 °C for 30 min, grounded in a planetary mill and labeled as f-OMC, f-C and f-GF.…”

“…After 1 h of magnetic stirring, the mixtures were thermally treated for 8 min in a home-modified microwave under stirring, with 25 s on/15 s off pulses. 22 The functionalized samples were calcined at 200 °C for 30 min, grounded in a planetary mill and labeled as f-OMC, f-C and f-GF.…”

Characterization of Methanol-Functionalized Onion Waste and Graphene-Based Carbons as Anode Catalysts for Microbial Fuel Cell Applications

“…In particular, the toxicity and wide variety of recalcitrant compounds contained in pharmaceutical wastewater (PWW) limit their treatment with traditional biological processes (6). However, the treatment and power generation has been demonstrated using PWW in MFCs (7)(8)(9)(10)(11).…”

“…The functionalization of carbonaceous catalysts via microwave heating is an efficient surface modification method that improves the performance of fuel cell catalysts (8,20). In this work, the synthesis and characterization of methanol-functionalized onion waste (CCAF) and graphene-based (GNSF) carbon catalysts is reported.…”