A high performance wastewater-fed flow-photocatalytic fuel cell

A device that can derive electrical power from the wastewater treatment process is highly desirable and would help to address both the issues of environmental conservation and energy production. A novel flow-photo catalytic fuel cell (flow-PFC) was designed, using a burr-like Ag-TiO2 coated photoanode, as a promising alternative to microbial fuel cells (MFCs) for extracting electricity during wastewater treatment. The amount of Ag in the photoanode is controlled to provide optimal visible light activity to the cell in the form of plasmon resonance. When fed with real brewery wastewater, the device provides continuous power generation of 1.85 W m(-2) under solar-simulated light, with an average COD removal of 14.8% (532 mg L-1). The flow-PFC provides power densities up to 6 times higher than current MFCs when being fed by wastewater, with comparable if not superior COD removal rates.