Effective and Economical 3D Carbon Sponge with Carbon Nanoparticles as Floating Air Cathode for Sustainable Electricity Production in Microbial Fuel Cells

Abstract

The effective and economical 3D floating air cathodes were fabricated by a simple dipping-drying method with carbon black (CB), ethanol, and PTFE solution. Pristine Type I polyurethane sponge (5 pores/mm) and Pristine Type II polyurethane sponge (3 pores/mm) were used as the support. The deposition of CB on the Pristine Type I and Pristine Type II materials was detected by scanning electron microscopy and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. The carbon loss rate test exhibited good CB adhesive stability on both floating air cathodes. Besides, Type I/CB floating air cathode displayed 3.7 times higher tensile strength, 10.58 times higher elongation at break, and 3.3 times lower cost than carbon felt. The electricity production ability of carbon cloth (CC) anode with carbon felt, Type I/CB, and Type II/CB cathode MFCs (CC-CF-MFC, CC-I-MFC, and CC-II-MFC) was evaluated. After 130 days, the CC-I-MFC showed a maximum power density (PD) of 92.58 mW/m³, which was 4.6 times higher than the CC-CF-MFC. Compared with Type II/CB, Type I/CB cathode improved the maximum power density by 160% due to the smaller pores, rougher surface, and higher surface wettability. Further, CC-I-MFC exhibited the best overall oxidation-reduction performance and chemical oxygen demand removal efficiency. Consequently, Type I/CB floating air cathode opens a new opportunity for scaling up simple, inexpensive, and high-performance MFCs for energy production.

Keywords: Economic cathode; Electricity production; Microbial fuel cell; Three-dimensional floating air cathode.