High-performance free-standing microbial fuel cell anode derived from Chinese date for enhanced electron transfer rates

Li Meng; Min Feng; Jinzhi Sun; Ruiwen Wang; Fengyu Qu; Chunyu Yang; Wei Guo

doi:10.1016/j.biortech.2022.127151

High-performance free-standing microbial fuel cell anode derived from Chinese date for enhanced electron transfer rates

Bioresour Technol. 2022 Jun:353:127151. doi: 10.1016/j.biortech.2022.127151. Epub 2022 Apr 11.

Authors

Li Meng¹, Min Feng¹, Jinzhi Sun², Ruiwen Wang³, Fengyu Qu¹, Chunyu Yang¹, Wei Guo⁴

Affiliations

¹ Key Laboratory of Photochemical Biomaterials and Energy Storage Materials, Heilongjiang Province and College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Harbin Normal University, Harbin 150025, China.
² School of Life Science and Technology, Key Laboratory of Micro-systems and Micro-structures Manufacturing, Ministry of Education, Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin 150001, China.
³ Key Laboratory of Bio-based Material Science & Technology, Ministry of Education, Material Science and Engineering College, Northeast Forestry University, Harbin 150001, China.
⁴ Key Laboratory of Photochemical Biomaterials and Energy Storage Materials, Heilongjiang Province and College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Harbin Normal University, Harbin 150025, China. Electronic address: guowei@hrbnu.edu.cn.

PMID: 35421564
DOI: 10.1016/j.biortech.2022.127151

Abstract

Traditional anode materials have disadvantages like low specific surface area and poor electrical conductivity. Herein, carbonized Chinese dates (CCD) were synthesized as microbial fuel cells (MFC) anodes. The obtained materials exhibited excellent biocompatibility with fast start-up (within one day) and charge transfer (R_ct 4.0 Ω). Their porous structure allows efficient ion transport and microbial community succession, favorable for long-term operation. The biomass analysis shows that CCD anodes can load higher weight of biomass. High-throughput sequencing (16S rRNA) discovered that CCD anode can enrich Geobacter spp., with highest abundance of 73.4%, much higher than carbon felt (CF, 39.2%). Benefit from these properties, the MFC with CCD anodes possess a maximum power density of 12.17 W m^-3 (1.62 times of commercial carbon felt). In all, the CCD anode exhibits high performance with low cost and easy fabrication, certificating it a promising candidate for an ideal MFC anode material.

Keywords: Chinese date; Electron transfer; Microbial fuel cell anode; Porous carbon material.

MeSH terms

Bioelectric Energy Sources*
Carbon / chemistry
Carbon Fiber
China
Electricity
Electrodes
Electrons
RNA, Ribosomal, 16S / genetics

Substances

Carbon Fiber
RNA, Ribosomal, 16S
Carbon