Study of the effect of activated carbon cathode configuration on the performance of a membrane-less microbial fuel cell

Abstract

In this paper, the effect of cathode configuration on the performance of a membrane-less microbial fuel cell (MFC) was evaluated using three different arrangements: an activated carbon bed exposed to air (MFCE), a wetland immersed in an activated carbon bed (MFCW) and a cathode connected to an aeration tower featuring a water recirculation device (MFCT). To evaluate the MFC performance, the efficiency of the organic matter removal, the generated voltage, the power density and the internal resistance of the systems were properly assessed. The experimental results showed that while the COD removal efficiency was in all cases over 60% (after 40 days), the MFCT arrangement showed the best performance since the average removal value was 82%, compared to close to 70% for MFCE and MFCW. Statistical analysis of the COD removal efficiency confirmed that the performance of MCFT is substantially better than that of MFCE and MFCW. In regard to the other parameters surveyed, no significant influence of the different cathode arrangements explored could be found.