Effect of various carbon-based cathode electrodes on the performance of microbial fuel cell

Microbial fuel cell (MFC) is a prospective technology capable of purifying different types of wastewater while converting its chemical energy into electrical energy using bacteria as active biocatalysts. Electrode materials play an important role in the MFC system. In the present work, different carbon-based materials were studied as electrode and the effect of dissolved oxygen (aeration) in the cathode compartment using actual wastewater was also investigated. More specifically, the effect of different electrode materials such as graphite, carbon cloth, carbon paper (CP), and carbon nanotube platinum (CNT/Pt)coated CP on the performance of a dual-chambered MFC was studied. Based on the results obtained, the CNT/Pt-coated CP was revealed as the best cathode electrode capable of producing the highest current density (82.38 mA/m(2)) and maximum power density (16.26 mW/m(2)) in the investigated MFC system. Moreover, aeration was found effective by increasing power density by two folds from 0.93 to 1.84 mW/m(2) using graphite as the model cathode electrode. (C) 2015 BRTeam. All rights reserved.