title: Effects of biofouling on ion transport through cation exchange membranes and microbial fuel cell performance.
abstract: This study examines the effects of biofouling on the electrochemical properties of cation exchange membranes (CEMs), such as membrane electrical resistance (MER), specific proton conductivity (SC), and ion transport number (t(+)), in addition to on microbial fuel cell (MFC) performance. CEM biofouling using a 15.5 ± 4.6 μm biofilm was found to slightly increase the MER from 15.65 Ω cm(2) (fresh Nafion) to 19.1 Ω cm(2), whereas an increase of almost two times was achieved when the electrolyte was changed from deionized water to an anolyte containing a high cation concentration supporting bacterial growth. The simple physical cleaning of CEMs had little effect on the Coulombic efficiency (CE), whereas replacing a biofouled CEM with new one resulted in considerable increase of up to 59.3%, compared to 45.1% for a biofouled membrane. These results clearly suggest the internal resistance increase of MFC was mainly caused by the sulfonate functional groups of CEM being occupied with cations contained in the anolyte, rather than biofouling itself.
authors.affiliation: School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Gwangju Institute of Science and Technology (GIST), 261 Cheomdan-gwagiro (Oryong-dong), Buk-gu, Gwangju 500-712, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Mi-Jin
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Choi
authors.forename: Kyu-Jung
authors.initials: KJ
authors.lastname: Chae
authors.forename: Folusho F
authors.initials: FF
authors.lastname: Ajayi
authors.forename: Kyoung-Yeol
authors.initials: KY
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: Hye-Weon
authors.initials: HW
authors.lastname: Yu
authors.forename: Chang-Won
authors.initials: CW
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: In S
authors.initials: IS
authors.lastname: Kim
mesh_terms: D001674:Bioelectric Energy Sources / Q000382:microbiology*; D018441:Biofilms / Q000254:growth & development; D057219:Biofouling; D002412:Cations; D017097:Electric Impedance; D004563:Electrochemistry; D005465:Fluorocarbon Polymers / Q000737:chemistry; D017136:Ion Transport; D008567:Membranes, Artificial; D011522:Protons; D014867:Water / Q000737:chemistry
chemical_list: D002412:Cations; D005465:Fluorocarbon Polymers; D008567:Membranes, Artificial; D011522:Protons; D014867:Water; C040402:perfluorosulfonic acid