Enhancing the performance of E. coli-powered MFCs by using porous 3D anodes based on coconut activated carbon

In this study, activated carbon felt (C3P1AC1) fabricated by combining coconut-shell activated carbon powder (CSAC), carbon fiber, and cellulose fiber was used as the anode electrode in an Escherichia coli (E. coli) biofilm-inoculated MFC. CSAC ratio in the C3P1AC1 anodes was varied from 0 to 75 wt%, called C3P1AC1-X (X = 0, 10, 20, 40, 60, and 75), to investigate the effectiveness of CSAC on the performance of the anode. The C3P1AC1 anodes were characterized by XRD, SEM, EDS, and sheet resistance measurement. The maximum power density of the MFC has increased 7.2-fold from 0.53μWcm-2 when using the C3P1AC1-0 anode to 3.8 μWcm-2 when using the C3P1AC1-10 anode; it has further increased 9.1-fold as the CSAC ratio increased from 10 wt% to 60 wt%. However, when the CSAC ratio increased further to 75 wt%, the maximum power density decreased by 32.9 %. This result was attributed to the sheet resistance of the C3P1AC1-75 anode increased by 86 % if compared with that of the C3P1AC1-60 anode.Graphical Abstract
Source: Biochemical Engineering Journal - Category: Biochemistry Source Type: research