Sustainable bioelectricity generation using Cladophora sp. as a biocathode in membrane-less microbial fuel cell

In this study, the Cladophora sp. is used to provide oxygen to the cathode of the photosynthetic biocathode membrane-less microbial fuel cell (PB-MLMFC). Non-aerated (NA-MLMFC) and mechanically-aerated (MA-MLMFC) MLMFCs are operated under similar operating conditions to evaluate the performance of PB-MLMFC with the presence of Cladophora sp. The PB-MLMFC exhibits the highest dissolved oxygen (DO) concentration, which results in a more efficient oxygen reduction reaction and a significant improvement in the electricity generation performance. The maximum power density of PB-MLMFC is 619.1 mW m(-2), which is the highest power density known to be reported for algal cathode MFCs in the literature. The electrochemical analysis shows that the Cladophora sp. reduces the charge (R-ct) and mass transfer (R-mt) resistances of the PB-MLMFC, and improves the bioelectrochemical activity of the anode microorganisms. The study reveals that Cladophora sp. provides a cost-effective and renewable approach for practical applications of MLMFCs.

Automated summary

In this study, Cladophora sp. is used as a source of oxygen for photoautotrophic microbial fuel cells. The presence of Cladophora sp. significantly improves the performance of the fuel cells by increasing dissolved oxygen concentration and reducing resistance. This cost-effective and renewable approach shows great potential for practical applications of microbial fuel cells.