High performance spiral wound microbial fuel cell with hydraulic characterization

作者：Haeger Alexander; Forrestal Casey; Xu Pei; Ren Zhiyong Jason^*

来源：Bioresource Technology, 2014, 174: 287-293.

DOI：10.1016/j.biortech.2014.09.153

• Microbial fuel cell
• Spiral wound
• Hydraulic residence time distribution
• Dead space

The understanding and development of functioning systems are crucial steps for microbial fuel cell (MFC) technology advancement. In this study, a compact spiral wound MFC (swMFC) was developed and hydraulic residence time distribution (RTD) tests were conducted to investigate the flow characteristics in the systems. Results show that two-chamber swMFCs have high surface area to volume ratios of 350-700 m(2)/m(3), and by using oxygen cathode without metal-catalysts, the maximum power densities were 42 W/m(3) based on total volume and 170 W/m3 based on effective volume. The hydraulic step-input tracer study identified 20-67% of anodic flow dead space, which presents new opportunities for system improvement. Electrochemical tools revealed very low ohmic resistance but high charge transfer and diffusion resistance due to catalyst-free oxygen reduction. The spiral wound configuration combined with RTD tool offers a holistic approach for MFC development and optimization.

• 出版日期2014-12