Binder materials for the cathodes applied to self-stratifying membraneless microbial fuel cell
Binder materials for the cathodes applied to self-stratifying membraneless microbial fuel cell
The recently developed self-stratifying membraneless microbial fuel cell (SSM-MFC) has been shown as a promising concept for urine treatment. The first prototypes employed cathodes made of activated carbon (AC) and polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) mixture. Here, we explored the possibility to substitute PTFE with either polyvinyl-alcohol (PVA) or PlastiDip (CPD; i.e. synthetic rubber) as binder for AC-based cathode in SSM-MFC. Sintered activated carbon (SAC) was also tested due to its ease of manufacturing and the fact that no stainless steel collector is needed. Results indicate that the SSM-MFC having PTFE cathodes were the most powerful measuring 1617 μW (11 W·m−3 or 101 mW·m−2). SSM-MFC with PVA and CPD as binders were producing on average the same level of power (1226 ± 90 μW), which was 24% less than the SSM-MFC having PTFE-based cathodes. When balancing the power by the cost and environmental impact, results clearly show that PVA was the best alternative. Power wise, the SAC cathodes were shown being the less performing (≈1070 μW). Nonetheless, the lower power of SAC was balanced by its inexpensiveness. Overall results indicate that (i) PTFE is yet the best binder to employ, and (ii) SAC and PVA-based cathodes are promising alternatives that would benefit from further improvements.
119-124
Walter, Xavier Alexis
67c83b61-76af-4e37-aec8-79ebc723b807
Greenman, John
eb3d9b82-7cac-4442-9301-f34884ae4a16
Ieropoulos, Ioannis
6c580270-3e08-430a-9f49-7fbe869daf13
October 2018
Walter, Xavier Alexis
67c83b61-76af-4e37-aec8-79ebc723b807
Greenman, John
eb3d9b82-7cac-4442-9301-f34884ae4a16
Ieropoulos, Ioannis
6c580270-3e08-430a-9f49-7fbe869daf13
Walter, Xavier Alexis, Greenman, John and Ieropoulos, Ioannis
(2018)
Binder materials for the cathodes applied to self-stratifying membraneless microbial fuel cell.
Bioelectrochemistry, 123, .
(doi:10.1016/j.bioelechem.2018.04.011).
Abstract
The recently developed self-stratifying membraneless microbial fuel cell (SSM-MFC) has been shown as a promising concept for urine treatment. The first prototypes employed cathodes made of activated carbon (AC) and polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) mixture. Here, we explored the possibility to substitute PTFE with either polyvinyl-alcohol (PVA) or PlastiDip (CPD; i.e. synthetic rubber) as binder for AC-based cathode in SSM-MFC. Sintered activated carbon (SAC) was also tested due to its ease of manufacturing and the fact that no stainless steel collector is needed. Results indicate that the SSM-MFC having PTFE cathodes were the most powerful measuring 1617 μW (11 W·m−3 or 101 mW·m−2). SSM-MFC with PVA and CPD as binders were producing on average the same level of power (1226 ± 90 μW), which was 24% less than the SSM-MFC having PTFE-based cathodes. When balancing the power by the cost and environmental impact, results clearly show that PVA was the best alternative. Power wise, the SAC cathodes were shown being the less performing (≈1070 μW). Nonetheless, the lower power of SAC was balanced by its inexpensiveness. Overall results indicate that (i) PTFE is yet the best binder to employ, and (ii) SAC and PVA-based cathodes are promising alternatives that would benefit from further improvements.
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Published date: October 2018
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Local EPrints ID: 483327
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/483327
ISSN: 1567-5394
PURE UUID: 57360cd5-0c52-4da1-be8d-f5670f9470b3
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Date deposited: 29 Oct 2023 19:35
Last modified: 17 Mar 2024 04:10
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Author:
Xavier Alexis Walter
Author:
John Greenman
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