Towards disposable microbial fuel cells: Natural rubber glove membranes

Winfield, Jonathan, Chambers, Lily D., Rossiter, Jonathan, Greenman, John and Ieropoulos, Ioannis (2014) Towards disposable microbial fuel cells: Natural rubber glove membranes. International Journal of Hydrogen Energy, 39 (36), 21803-21810. (doi:10.1016/j.ijhydene.2014.09.071).

Abstract

Natural rubber from laboratory gloves (GNR) was compared to cation exchange membrane (CEM) in microbial fuel cells (MFCs). GNR-MFCs immediately generated power indicating the availability of proton transfer pathways in the material, which is contrary to previous research using condom natural rubber membranes. Under bi-directional resistance sweeps, CEM-MFCs produced higher power but were less stable than GNR. Stability proved the valuable trait over 96 h periods under fixed resistances where GNR-MFCs produced 26% higher power than CEM-MFCs and reduced COD by 88% compared to 73% achieved with CEM. Anolyte conductivity increased more significantly for CEM but at the same time pH levels were more marked, a factor that may have contributed to instability. Under composting conditions, GNR samples degraded 100% after 285 days whilst GNR-MFC membranes were still intact and operational after 493 days. This innovative research could lead the way in producing inexpensive, disposable MFCs with controllable degradation.

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Contributors

Author: Ioannis Ieropoulos

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