Electricity Generation Using the Packing-Type Microbial Fuel Cells
填料型微生物燃料电池产电特性的研究

The packing-type microbial fuel cells (MFCs) were constructed by using the granular graphite and the carbon felt as packing materials. The start-up time of the packing-type MFC was about 1d, which was lower than that of the flat-type MFC. The maximal power density (Pm) of the MFC with carbon felt as packing material was 1502mW/m2 (37.6W/m3), which was higher than that with granular graphite as packing material. The carbon felt and carbon paper were sintered together to enhance the electric conductivity. Compared with the flat-type MFC, the area-specific resistance of the packing-type MFC decreased from 0.071??m2 to 0.051??m2, the maximal current density increased from 3000mA to 8000mA, the Pm increased from 1100mW/m2 (27.5W/m3) to 2426mW/m2 (60.7W/m3) and the potentials of anode decreased about 100mV. The flow rate affected the power generation of the MFC. When the flow rate was lower than 1mL/min, the Pm dropped with the flux decreasing. The packing-type MFC was operated for over 30d and the coulomb efficiency was about 10.6%.