Fade to green: A biodegradable stack of microbial fuel cells
Fade to green: A biodegradable stack of microbial fuel cells
The focus of this study is the development of biodegradable microbial fuel cells (MFCs) able to produce useful power. Reactors with an 8 mL chamber volume were designed using all biodegradable products: polylactic acid for the frames, natural rubber as the cation-exchange membrane and egg-based, open-to-air cathodes coated with a lanolin gas diffusion layer. Forty MFCs were operated in various configurations. When fed with urine, the biodegradable stack was able to power appliances and was still operational after six months. One useful application for this truly sustainable MFC technology includes onboard power supplies for biodegradable robotic systems. After operation in remote ecological locations, these could degrade harmlessly into the surroundings to leave no trace when the mission is complete.
energy conversion, fuel cells, green chemistry, materials science, renewable resources
2705-2712
Winfield, Jonathan
e81f4fad-1433-4c6a-9723-24a14f172896
Chambers, Lily D.
bf838677-06d9-4115-8614-c58fe18004e2
Rossiter, Jonathan
64caa0df-19e0-40c8-ab69-7021de665c39
Stinchcombe, Andrew
f215f495-0b45-4233-9e5f-828fd6989e6b
Walter, X. Alexis
67c83b61-76af-4e37-aec8-79ebc723b807
Greenman, John
eb3d9b82-7cac-4442-9301-f34884ae4a16
Ieropoulos, Ioannis
6c580270-3e08-430a-9f49-7fbe869daf13
16 July 2015
Winfield, Jonathan
e81f4fad-1433-4c6a-9723-24a14f172896
Chambers, Lily D.
bf838677-06d9-4115-8614-c58fe18004e2
Rossiter, Jonathan
64caa0df-19e0-40c8-ab69-7021de665c39
Stinchcombe, Andrew
f215f495-0b45-4233-9e5f-828fd6989e6b
Walter, X. Alexis
67c83b61-76af-4e37-aec8-79ebc723b807
Greenman, John
eb3d9b82-7cac-4442-9301-f34884ae4a16
Ieropoulos, Ioannis
6c580270-3e08-430a-9f49-7fbe869daf13
Winfield, Jonathan, Chambers, Lily D., Rossiter, Jonathan, Stinchcombe, Andrew, Walter, X. Alexis, Greenman, John and Ieropoulos, Ioannis
(2015)
Fade to green: A biodegradable stack of microbial fuel cells.
ChemSusChem, 8 (16), .
(doi:10.1002/cssc.201500431).
Abstract
The focus of this study is the development of biodegradable microbial fuel cells (MFCs) able to produce useful power. Reactors with an 8 mL chamber volume were designed using all biodegradable products: polylactic acid for the frames, natural rubber as the cation-exchange membrane and egg-based, open-to-air cathodes coated with a lanolin gas diffusion layer. Forty MFCs were operated in various configurations. When fed with urine, the biodegradable stack was able to power appliances and was still operational after six months. One useful application for this truly sustainable MFC technology includes onboard power supplies for biodegradable robotic systems. After operation in remote ecological locations, these could degrade harmlessly into the surroundings to leave no trace when the mission is complete.
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More information
Published date: 16 July 2015
Keywords:
energy conversion, fuel cells, green chemistry, materials science, renewable resources
Identifiers
Local EPrints ID: 454542
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/454542
ISSN: 1864-5631
PURE UUID: 24a786a7-9f0d-43ba-96eb-837c296b908e
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Date deposited: 15 Feb 2022 17:43
Last modified: 17 Mar 2024 04:10
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Contributors
Author:
Jonathan Winfield
Author:
Lily D. Chambers
Author:
Jonathan Rossiter
Author:
Andrew Stinchcombe
Author:
X. Alexis Walter
Author:
John Greenman
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