Using crosslinked polyvinyl alcohol polymer membrane as a separator in the microbial fuel cell

作者：Hou, Yanping; Li, Kaiming; Luo, Haiping; Liu, Guangli^*; Zhang, Renduo; Qin, Bangyu; Chen, Shanshan

来源：Frontiers of Environmental Science and Engineering, 2014, 8(1): 137-143.

DOI：10.1007/s11783-013-0534-z

• microbial fuel cell
• crosslinked polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) membrane
• separator material
• power generation
• coulombic efficiency

Separator between anode and cathode is an essential part of the microbial fuel cell (MFC) and its property could significantly influence the system performance. In this study we used polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) polymer membrane crosslinked with sulfosuccinic acid (SSA) as a new separator for the MFC. The highest power density of 759 +/- 4mW center dot m(-2) was obtained when MFC using the PVA membrane crosslinked with 15% of SSA due to its desirable proton conductivity (5.16 +/- 10(-2) S center dot cm(-1)). The power density significantly increased to 1106 +/- 30 mW center dot m(-2) with a separator-electrode-assembly configuration, which was comparable with glass fiber (1170 +/- 46 mW center dot m(-2)). The coulombic efficiencies of the MFCs with crosslinked PVA membranes ranged from 36.3% to 45.7% at a fix external resistance of 1000 Omega. The crosslinked PVA membrane could be a promising alternative to separator materials for constructing practical MFC system.

• 出版日期2014-2
• 单位环境保护部华南环境科学研究所; 中山大学