Application of a new "2-in-1" membrance electrode assembly (MEA) in microbial fuel cell (MFC)

• Main Author: Wu, Ting Yao.
• Other Authors: Wang Jing-Yuan
• Format: Final Year Project
• Language: English
• Published: 2010
• Subjects: DRNTU::Engineering::Environmental engineering::Waste management
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/10356/39985
• Institution: Nanyang Technological University

Described in this study is the fabrication of a new “2–in–1”membrane electrode assembly (MEA) by using stainless steel mesh (SSM) and its effectiveness as gas diffusion electrode (GDE) for electrochemical oxygen reduction in microbial fuel cell (MFC). Based on feeding glucose (0.5 g/L-1) substrate to a single–chambered MFC, power generation using “2–in–1” MEA increases with the decrease of polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) content applied during fabrication, reaching its optimum at 20 % PTFE. Repeatable cell voltage of 0.51 V (external resistance of 400 Ω) and maximum power density of 951.6 mW m-2 produced for the MFC with “2–in–1” MEA are comparable to that of 0.52 V and 972.6 mW m-2, respectively obtained for the MFC containing typical carbon cloth (CC) GDE. Besides, Coulombic efficiency (CE) is found higher for GDE (SSM or CC) with membrane assembly than without, which results preliminarily from the mitigation of Coulombic loss being associated with oxygen diffusion and substrate crossover. This study demonstrates that with its good electron conductivity and much lower cost, the “2–in–1” SSM–based MEA suggests a promising alternative as efficient and much more inexpensive material to conventional typical carbon for MFC applications.