Review on Material and Design of Anode for Microbial Fuel Cell

Abstract

Microbial Fuel Cell (MFC) is a bio-electrochemical system that generates electricity by anaerobic oxidation of substrates. An anode is the most critical component because the primary conversion of wastewater into electrons and protons takes place on the surface of the anode, where a biofilm is formed. This paper describes the essential properties of the anode and classifies its types according to the material used to make it. Anode material is responsible for the flow of electrons generated by the microorganism; hence biocompatibility and conductivity can considered to be the two most important properties. In this paper, the various modification strategies to improve the performance of anodes of MFC are explained through the review of researchers’ published work in this field. The shape and size of the anode turned out to be very significant as the microbial growth depends on the available surface area. The attachment of biofilm on the surface of an anode largely depends on the interfacial surface chemistry. Methods for improving MFC performance by altering the anode material, architecture, biocompatibility, and longevity are discussed with a future perspective giving special importance to the cost.

Bacterial community structure of electrogenic biofilm developed on modified graphite anode in microbial fuel cell

“…Likewise, the microbial taxonomic classes, which are significantly dominant, were Gammaproteobacteria and bacilli. Interestingly, as discussed above, the MFC produced a higher electrical current with PANI than rGO and CNTs as doping material to the composite www.nature.com/scientificreports/ powder on the anode, even though the latter two graphene-based materials possess better conductivity and are conventionally used to harvest electrical power in MFC 78 .…”

Microbial Electrochemical Systems and Membrane Bioreactor Technology for Wastewater Treatment

“…Therefore, multiwalled carbon nanotubes showed higher performance than single‐walled carbon nanotubes when used as anode in the presence of a hydroxyl group. The open circuit potential was 0.75 V, and the output power was 167 mW m −2 , which is 130 % more than that of carbon fabric 83.…”

“…In addition, most metal electrodes are highly corrosive and not biocompatible. The maximum power density achieved with a noncorrosive metal, such as stainless-steel anodes, was about 70 mW m -2 [83].…”

Microbial Fuel Cell Construction Features and Application for Sustainable Wastewater Treatment

“…Throughout time, numerous sorts of materials have been utilized to manufacture anodes. Different carbonaceous materials are widely applied as the material for the anode in an MFC [ 21 ]. Additionally, some metals and metal oxides have also been used as the material for anodes.…”

“…However, some of the metals do not facilitate biofilm formation. Studies have shown that non-corrosive metals such as stainless steel could not produce increased power density due to poor bacterial adherence [ 21 ]. Other than this, different noble metals, such as platinum, titanium, gold, etc., have also shown improved performances.…”