Electrode Configuration as a Factor Affecting Electricity Generation in Air-Cathode Microbial Fuel Cell
电极构型对空气阴极生物燃料电池发电性能的影响

In air-cathode microbial fuel cell (ACMFC), oxygen diffused into the reactor from cathode without PEM can be reduced as electron acceptor via aerobic respiration by facultative microorganisms, resulting in either a decreasing of power generation or electron loss. In this study, ACMFC1 and ACMFC2 with different electrode configuration were compared to examine power density and electron recovery from glucose. The results showed that ACMFC1 generated a maximum power density of 3 070mW/m3 with internal resistance of 302.141 and anode potential of -323mV; while maximum power density of 9 800mW/m3 for ACMFC2 was obtained with internal resistance of 107.79omega and anode potential of -442mV. ACMFC2 could sustain generating electricity for nearly 220 h (ERE of 30.1%), comparing with ACMFC1 of less than 50 h (ERE of 9.78%) under batch operation. Therefore, an improved design for electrode configuration of ACMFC can be performed to generate higher power with low internal resistance, meanwhile, achieve increasing electron recovery simultaneously.