Synergistic advancements in sewage-driven microbial fuel cells: novel carbon nanotube cathodes and biomass-derived anodes for efficient renewable energy generation and wastewater treatment

Nasser A M Barakat; Shimaa Gamal; Hak Yong Kim; Nasser M Abd El-Salam; Hassan Fouad; Olfat A Fadali; Hager M Moustafa; Omina H Abdelraheem

doi:10.3389/fchem.2023.1286572

Synergistic advancements in sewage-driven microbial fuel cells: novel carbon nanotube cathodes and biomass-derived anodes for efficient renewable energy generation and wastewater treatment

Front Chem. 2023 Nov 24:11:1286572. doi: 10.3389/fchem.2023.1286572. eCollection 2023.

Authors

Nasser A M Barakat¹, Shimaa Gamal¹, Hak Yong Kim^{2

3}, Nasser M Abd El-Salam⁴, Hassan Fouad⁵, Olfat A Fadali¹, Hager M Moustafa¹, Omina H Abdelraheem⁶

Affiliations

¹ Chemical Engineering Department, Faculty of Engineering, Minia University, El-Minia, Egypt.
² Department of Nano Convergence Engineering, Jeonbuk National University, Jeonju, Republic of Korea.
³ Department of Organic Materials and Fiber Engineering, Jeonbuk National University, Jeonju, Republic of Korea.
⁴ Natural Science Department, Community College, King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
⁵ Biomedical Engineering Department, Faculty of Engineering, Helwan University, Helwan, Egypt.
⁶ Sciences Engineering Department, Faculty of Engineering, Beni-Suef University, Beni-Suef, Egypt.

Abstract

Microbial fuel cells (MFCs) offer a dual solution of generating electrical energy from organic pollutants-laden wastewater while treating it. This study focuses on enhancing MFC performance through innovative electrode design. Three-dimensional (3D) anodes, created from corncobs and mango seeds via controlled graphitization, achieved remarkable power densities. The newly developed electrode configurations were evaluated within sewage wastewater-driven MFCs without the introduction of external microorganisms or prior treatment of the wastewater. At 1,000°C and 1,100°C graphitization temperatures, corncob and mango seed anodes produced 1,963 and 2,171 mW/m², respectively, nearly 20 times higher than conventional carbon cloth and paper anodes. An advanced cathode composed of an activated carbon-carbon nanotube composite was introduced, rivaling expensive platinum-based cathodes. By optimizing the thermal treatment temperature and carbon nanotube content of the proposed cathode, comparable or superior performance to standard Pt/C commercial cathodes was achieved. Specifically, MFCs assembled with corncob anode with the proposed and standard Pt/C cathodes reached power densities of 1,963.1 and 2,178.6 mW/m², respectively. Similarly, when utilizing graphitized mango seeds at 1,100°C, power densities of 2,171 and 2,151 mW/m² were achieved for the new and standard cathodes, respectively. Furthermore, in continuous operation with a flow rate of 2 L/h, impressive chemical oxygen demand (COD) removal rates of 77% and 85% were achieved with corncob and mango seed anodes, respectively. This work highlights the significance of electrode design for enhancing MFC efficiency in electricity generation and wastewater treatment.

Keywords: 3D anodes; activated carbon-carbon nanotube composite; electrode design; microbial fuel cells; renewable energy; sewage water.

Grants and funding

The author(s) declare financial support was received for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article. Deputyship for Research and Innovation, Ministry of Education, Saudi Arabia, project no. (IFKSUOR3-198-2) financially supported this research. And, National Research Foundation (NRF) of Korea, Korean government (MSIT) project numbers 2022R1A2C2007676 financially supported this research.