Optimisation of the internal structure of ceramic membranes for electricity production in urine-fed microbial fuel cells
Optimisation of the internal structure of ceramic membranes for electricity production in urine-fed microbial fuel cells
The need to find a feasible alternative to commercial membranes for microbial fuel cells (MFCs) poses an important challenge for the practical implementation of this technology. This work aims to analyse the influence of the internal structure of low-cost terracotta clay-based membranes on the behaviour of MFCs. To this purpose, 9 different combinations of temperature and time were used to prepare 27 MFC separators. The results show that the temperature has a significant effect on both porosity and pore size distribution, whereas the ramp time do not show a significant influence on these parameters. It was observed that kilning temperatures higher than 1030 °C dramatically reduce the porosity of the samples, reaching a minimum value of 16.85%, whereas the pore size increases as the temperature also increases. Among the membranes with similar porosities, those with a medium pore size distribution exhibited the lowest bulk resistance allowing MFCs to reach the highest power output (94.67 μW cm−2). These results demonstrate the importance of not only the porosity but also the pore size distribution of the separator in terms of MFC performance and longevity, which for these experiments was for 90 days.
Bioenergy, Bulk resistance, Ceramic membranes, Microbial fuel cells, Pore size, Porosity, Urine
Salar-García, M. J.
f727455c-3d80-4901-88f7-63b70eadcfe6
Ieropoulos, I.
6c580270-3e08-430a-9f49-7fbe869daf13
1 March 2020
Salar-García, M. J.
f727455c-3d80-4901-88f7-63b70eadcfe6
Ieropoulos, I.
6c580270-3e08-430a-9f49-7fbe869daf13
Salar-García, M. J. and Ieropoulos, I.
(2020)
Optimisation of the internal structure of ceramic membranes for electricity production in urine-fed microbial fuel cells.
Journal of Power Sources, 451, [227741].
(doi:10.1016/j.jpowsour.2020.227741).
Abstract
The need to find a feasible alternative to commercial membranes for microbial fuel cells (MFCs) poses an important challenge for the practical implementation of this technology. This work aims to analyse the influence of the internal structure of low-cost terracotta clay-based membranes on the behaviour of MFCs. To this purpose, 9 different combinations of temperature and time were used to prepare 27 MFC separators. The results show that the temperature has a significant effect on both porosity and pore size distribution, whereas the ramp time do not show a significant influence on these parameters. It was observed that kilning temperatures higher than 1030 °C dramatically reduce the porosity of the samples, reaching a minimum value of 16.85%, whereas the pore size increases as the temperature also increases. Among the membranes with similar porosities, those with a medium pore size distribution exhibited the lowest bulk resistance allowing MFCs to reach the highest power output (94.67 μW cm−2). These results demonstrate the importance of not only the porosity but also the pore size distribution of the separator in terms of MFC performance and longevity, which for these experiments was for 90 days.
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Published date: 1 March 2020
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Funding Information:
M.J. Salar-Garcia is supported by Fundacion Seneca (Ref. 20372/PD/17 ). I. Ieropoulos thanks the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation (grant no. OPP1149065 ) and the European Commission H2020 Programme (grant no. 686585 ) for their support.
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© 2020 The Authors
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Copyright 2020 Elsevier B.V., All rights reserved.
Keywords:
Bioenergy, Bulk resistance, Ceramic membranes, Microbial fuel cells, Pore size, Porosity, Urine
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Local EPrints ID: 453998
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/453998
ISSN: 0378-7753
PURE UUID: f751838f-2299-4dcf-a01b-3a4df65889f9
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Date deposited: 27 Jan 2022 18:09
Last modified: 18 Mar 2024 04:04
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M. J. Salar-García
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