Feasibility of Waste Engine Oil Electrooxidation with Ni-Co and Cu-B Catalysts

Abstract

To implement a circular economy policy, methods of using waste products as a starting point for other technologies are constantly researched. One of the waste products that should be disposed of after use is waste engine oil (WEO). Despite the permanent introduction of the electrification of cars, the number of combustion vehicles (and, thus, the production of WEO) is constantly increasing. For these reasons, the reuse of WEOs is extremely important; e.g., to use these oils for energy purposes. One of the potential uses of this type of oil is as fuel for fuel cells (for direct electricity production). To lower the production costs of electrodes for fuel cells, catalysts that do not contain precious metals are being constantly sought. This work shows the research of WEO electrooxidation feasibility with Ni-Co and Cu-B catalysts. The results showed the feasibility of the electrooxidation of WEO emulsion on Ni-Co and Cu-B electrodes in an electrolyte (a water solution of sulfuric acid). Moreover, it was shown that the electrooxidation of the WEO emulsion occurred for all concentrations of WEO in the emulsion for all measurement temperatures (20–80 °C). The highest current density obtained in the measurements was 11 mA cm−2 (at 60 °C) for the Ni-Co electrode.

Effect of Using Various Cathode Materials (Carbon Felt, Ni-Co, Cu-B, and Cu-Ag) on the Operation of Microbial Fuel Cell

“…The alloys were obtained by the method of electrochemical deposition and were deposited on copper foam electrodes. The Cu-B alloy was deposited from a mixture of mainly NaBH4 and CuSO4 [46,51]. The Ni-Co alloy was deposited from a mixture of mainly NiSO4 and CoSO4 [56,57].…”

“…If on cathodes occurs only chemical process, the oxygen reduction reaction occurs faster than when microorganisms are used. The material for cathodes can be both carbon material and metal electrodes or metal electrodes with a catalyst applied to the surface [45][46][47][48][49][50][51]. However, platinum has the best catalytic properties [52,53].…”

Study of the Use of Gas Diffusion Anode with Various Cathodes (Cu-Ag, Ni-Co, and Cu-B Alloys) in a Microbial Fuel Cell

“…Whereas, for the cathode (of MFC), copper mesh (Figure 2B) with Cu-B, Ni-Co and Cu-Ag catalyst was used (Figure 3, 7). The analysis of catalysts (Ni-Co, Cu-B, and Cu-Ag alloys) was performed in previous works [50][51][52][53][54].…”

“…The cathode catalysts were acquired through electrochemical deposition onto copper mesh. The Cu-B alloy was formed through deposition using a mixture primarily composed of NaBH 4 and CuSO 4 [50,51]. The Ni-Co alloy was formed through deposition using a mixture primarily composed of NiSO 4 and CoSO 4 [52,53].…”

Feeding a Membrane-less Microbial Fuel Cell by Mixed Municipal and Industrial Wastewater

“…The low value of this parameter results mainly from the low metabolic rate of the microorganisms which act as a catalyst. But MFC operation is also influenced by the electrode material or the type of wastewater [22,[48][49][50][51][52] or using mediators [10,53]. However, due to low rate of metabolism the obtaining amount of electricity is low.…”