Gelatin as a promising printable feedstock for microbial fuel cells (MFC)
Gelatin as a promising printable feedstock for microbial fuel cells (MFC)
The microbial fuel cell (MFC) is an energy transducer that can directly produce electricity from bacterial oxidation of organic matter. MFCs consist of two reaction chambers (anode and cathode) separated by a semipermeable membrane. This study describes the work carried out towards the optimization of critical MFC components, with 3D fabricated materials. The response of the optimized fuel cells, which were fed with soft materials such as gelatin, alginate and Nafion™, is also reported. The optimised components were the membrane and the cathode electrode. A conventional Nafion membrane was substituted with a custom made terracotta sheet and the electrode used was a single sheet of carbon veil coated with an activated carbon paste. The results showed that among the soft materials tested within the anodic chamber, gelatin performed the best; it also revealed that even after a 10-day starvation period gelatin demonstrated better longevity. These results show that MFCs have the potential to be 3D-printed monolithically using the EVOBOT platform.
3D printable feedstock, 3D-printing, EVOBOT, Gelatin, MFC
1783-1790
Ieropoulos, Ioannis
6c580270-3e08-430a-9f49-7fbe869daf13
Theodosiou, Pavlina
402c5cd6-b491-45d8-abfc-68221f1ef9f5
Taylor, Benjamin
2deb3c56-5bc4-4910-8e24-80388e2cff4c
Greenman, John
eb3d9b82-7cac-4442-9301-f34884ae4a16
Melhuish, Chris
c52dcc8b-1e36-425e-80df-9d05d2b21893
19 January 2017
Ieropoulos, Ioannis
6c580270-3e08-430a-9f49-7fbe869daf13
Theodosiou, Pavlina
402c5cd6-b491-45d8-abfc-68221f1ef9f5
Taylor, Benjamin
2deb3c56-5bc4-4910-8e24-80388e2cff4c
Greenman, John
eb3d9b82-7cac-4442-9301-f34884ae4a16
Melhuish, Chris
c52dcc8b-1e36-425e-80df-9d05d2b21893
Ieropoulos, Ioannis, Theodosiou, Pavlina, Taylor, Benjamin, Greenman, John and Melhuish, Chris
(2017)
Gelatin as a promising printable feedstock for microbial fuel cells (MFC).
International Journal of Hydrogen Energy, 42 (3), .
(doi:10.1016/j.ijhydene.2016.11.083).
Abstract
The microbial fuel cell (MFC) is an energy transducer that can directly produce electricity from bacterial oxidation of organic matter. MFCs consist of two reaction chambers (anode and cathode) separated by a semipermeable membrane. This study describes the work carried out towards the optimization of critical MFC components, with 3D fabricated materials. The response of the optimized fuel cells, which were fed with soft materials such as gelatin, alginate and Nafion™, is also reported. The optimised components were the membrane and the cathode electrode. A conventional Nafion membrane was substituted with a custom made terracotta sheet and the electrode used was a single sheet of carbon veil coated with an activated carbon paste. The results showed that among the soft materials tested within the anodic chamber, gelatin performed the best; it also revealed that even after a 10-day starvation period gelatin demonstrated better longevity. These results show that MFCs have the potential to be 3D-printed monolithically using the EVOBOT platform.
Text
UWE Repository Paper
- Accepted Manuscript
More information
Published date: 19 January 2017
Additional Information:
Funding Information:
The authors would like to thank the European Commission for the financial support of this work through the FP7-ICT, grant agreement 611640 (EVOBLISS).
Publisher Copyright:
© 2016 Hydrogen Energy Publications LLC
Copyright:
Copyright 2018 Elsevier B.V., All rights reserved.
Keywords:
3D printable feedstock, 3D-printing, EVOBOT, Gelatin, MFC
Identifiers
Local EPrints ID: 454012
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/454012
ISSN: 0360-3199
PURE UUID: 29e14765-6aec-4b1c-9c32-e99e75d60e8a
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Date deposited: 27 Jan 2022 18:12
Last modified: 18 Mar 2024 05:28
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Author:
Pavlina Theodosiou
Author:
Benjamin Taylor
Author:
John Greenman
Author:
Chris Melhuish
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