Characterization of Polyester Cloth as an Alternative Separator to Nafion Membrane in Microbial Fuel Cells for Bioelectricity Generation Using Swine Wastewater.
Polyester cloth (PC) was selected as a prospective inexpensive substitute separator material for microbial fuel cells (MFCs). PC was compared with a traditional Nafion proton exchange membrane (PEM) as an MFC separator by analyzing its physical and electrochemical properties. A single layer of PC showed higher mass transfer (e.g., for O₂/H⁺/ions) than the Nafion PEM; in the case of oxygen mass transfer coefficient (ko), a rate of 50.0 × 10⁻⁵ cm·s⁻¹ was observed compared with a rate of 20.8 × 10⁻⁵ cm/s in the Nafion PEM. Increased numbers of PC layers were found to reduce the oxygen mass transfer coefficient. In addition, the diffusion coefficient of oxygen (DO) for PC (2.0-3.3 × 10⁻⁶ cm²/s) was lower than that of the Nafion PEM (3.8 × 10⁻⁶ cm²/s). The PC was found to have a low ohmic resistance (0.29-0.38 Ω) in the MFC, which was similar to that of Nafion PEM (0.31 Ω); this resulted in comparable maximum power density and maximum current density in MFCs with PC and those with Nafion PEMs. Moreover, a higher average current generation was observed in MFCs with PC (104.3 ± 15.3 A/m³) compared with MFCs with Nafion PEM (100.4 ± 17.7 A/m³), as well as showing insignificant degradation of the PC surface, during 177 days of use in swine wastewater. These results suggest that PC separators could serve as a low-cost alternative to Nafion PEMs for construction of cost-effective MFCs.
Energy and Environmental Engineering Division, National Institute of Agricultural Science, Rural Development Administration, Jeonju 54875, Republic of Korea.
Taeyoung
T
Kim
Energy and Environmental Engineering Division, National Institute of Agricultural Science, Rural Development Administration, Jeonju 54875, Republic of Korea.
Sukwon
S
Kang
Energy and Environmental Engineering Division, National Institute of Agricultural Science, Rural Development Administration, Jeonju 54875, Republic of Korea.
Je Hoon
JH
Sung
Energy and Environmental Engineering Division, National Institute of Agricultural Science, Rural Development Administration, Jeonju 54875, Republic of Korea.
Youn Koo
YK
Kang
Energy and Environmental Engineering Division, National Institute of Agricultural Science, Rural Development Administration, Jeonju 54875, Republic of Korea.
Young Hwa
YH
Kim
Energy and Environmental Engineering Division, National Institute of Agricultural Science, Rural Development Administration, Jeonju 54875, Republic of Korea.
Jae Kyung
JK
Jang
D000818:Animals; D001419:Bacteria / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism*; D001674:Bioelectric Energy Sources / Q000382:microbiology*; D004560:Electricity; D005465:Fluorocarbon Polymers / Q000737:chemistry; D010100:Oxygen / Q000378:metabolism; D011091:Polyesters / Q000737:chemistry*; D013552:Swine; D062065:Wastewater / Q000737:chemistry / Q000382:microbiology*
D005465:Fluorocarbon Polymers; D010100:Oxygen; D011091:Polyesters; D062065:Wastewater; C040402:perfluorosulfonic acid
Microbial fuel cell; polyester cloth; proton exchange membrane; separator; swine wastewater