Characterization and comparison of the performance of two different separator types in air-cathode microbial fuel cell treating synthetic wastewater

Bioelectricity production from microbial fuel cell (MFC), fed with synthetic wastewater can achieve both wastewater treatment and energy production. Two different types of separators were used in this study to compare their performance in an air cathode MFC. Power generation and substrate utilization from the wastewater was compared for these membranes. The maximum power density obtained with Zirfon (R) was 424.50 mW/m(2) and of 16.98 W/m(3) (volumetric) while with Fumasep (R) was 38.03 mW/m(2) and 1.52 W/m(3) (volumetric). The internal resistance obtained with Zirfon (R) increased from initial 0.38 Omega cm(2) to 1.72 Omega cm(2) while with Fumasep (R) increased from 2.57 Omega cm(2) to 10.92 Omega cm(-2) at the end of the experiment. The results showed that the MFC with Zirfon (R) stabilized early and the anodic and cathodic cell potentials reached maximum earlier as compared to Fumasep (R). Impedance spectra confirmed the lower resistance of the Zirfon (R) as compared to Fumasep (R) and this may be the reason for its better performance. Zirfon (R) might be a good option for the future scale up of MFCs because of its low cost and low internal resistance in comparison to other membranes. (C) 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.