Power generation of microbial fuel cells (MFCs) with low cathodic platinum loading

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.…”

“…3). This genus is characterized by gram-negative, strictly anaerobe bacteria able to couple the oxidation of acetate to Fe(III), S 0 , Co(III) and Se(VI) reduction [25,35]. Geovibrio genus is not related to the other metal reducing bacteria in Proteobacteria phylum and forms a separate line [36].…”

Microbial Fuel Cells: From Fundamentals to Wastewater Treatment Applications

“…It has also traditionally been the most expensive part due to the use of Pt for its noble metal catalytic ability. Due to the high cost of Pt, significant research has been conducted in order to optimize the Pt-loading based on cathode surface area (Cheng et al 2006a;Santoro et al 2013), in addition to identifying alternative catalysts. Results using FePc and CoTMPP as catalyst alternatives to Pt have been mixed; they have similar performance to Pt, but are still too expensive for large-scale application (Cheng et al 2006a).…”

Effects of Cathodic Platinum Loadings and Organic Substrate Concentrations on the Performance of Single Chamber Microbial Fuel Cells Fed with Raw Wastewater

“…Several studies attempted the use of low-cost and efficient substitutes to platinum (8)(9)(10)(11). An alternative could be to reduce the Pt loading on the cathode support while maintaining comparable MFC performance (12).…”

“…From an economic point of view, the high amounts of wastewater produced globally have a great potential for MFC applications. However, raw wastewater contains a relatively low organics concentration and can lower MFC system performance (2,12). Furthermore, the conductivity of raw wastewater is usually lower than 1 mS/cm which significantly increases the ohmic resistance of the MFC (15).…”