Improvement of cathode reaction of a mediatorless microbial fuel cell

Abstract

Oxygen diffuses through the cation-specific membrane, reducing the coulomb yield of the fuel cell. In the present study, attempts were made to enhance current generation from the fuel cell by lowering the oxygen diffusion, including the uses of ferricyanide as a cathode mediator and of a platinum-coated graphite electrode. Ferricyanide did not act as a mediator as expected, but as an oxidant in the cathode compartment of the microbial fuel cell. The microbial fuel cell with platinum-coated graphite cathode generated a maximum current 3-4 times higher than the control fuel cell with graphite cathode, and the critical oxygen concentration of the former was 2.0 mg l(-1), whilst that of the latter was 6.6 mg l(-1). Based on these results, it was concluded that inexpensive electrodes are adequate for the construction of an economically feasible microbial fuel cell with better performance as a novel wastewater treatment process.