title: Development and Long-Term Stability of a Novel Microbial Fuel Cell BOD Sensor with MnO₂ Catalyst.
abstract: A novel microbial fuel cell (MFC)-based biosensor was designed for continuous monitoring of biochemical oxygen demand (BOD) in real wastewater. To lower the material cost, manganese dioxide (MnO₂) was tested as an innovative cathode catalyst for oxygen reduction in a single chamber air-cathode MFC, and two different crystalline structures obtained during synthesis of MnO₂ (namely β- and γ-MnO₂) were compared. The BOD sensor was studied in a comprehensive way, using both sodium acetate solution and real domestic wastewater (DWW). The optimal performance of the sensor was obtained with a β-MnO₂ catalyst, withR² values of 0.99 and 0.98 using sodium acetate solution and DWW, respectively. The BOD values predicted by the β-MnO₂ biosensor for DWW were in agreement with the BOD₅ values, determined according to standard methods, with slight variations in the range from 3% to 12%. Finally, the long-term stability of the BOD biosensor was evaluated over 1.5 years. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report of an MFC BOD sensor using an MnO₂ catalyst at the cathode; the feasibility of using a low-cost catalyst in an MFC for online measurement of BOD in real wastewater broadens the scope of applications for such devices.
authors.affiliation: Centre for Water Research, Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering, National University of Singapore, Engineering Drive 3, Singapore 117580, Singapore. ceesk@nus.edu.sg.
authors.forename: Shailesh
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Kharkwal
authors.affiliation: Centre for Water Research, Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering, National University of Singapore, Engineering Drive 3, Singapore 117580, Singapore. yichao@u.nus.edu.
authors.forename: Yi Chao
authors.initials: YC
authors.lastname: Tan
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Flexible Electronics (KLOFE), Institute of Advanced Materials (IAM), Jiangsu National Synergetic Innovation Center for Advanced Materials (SICAM), Nanjing Tech University (NanjingTech), Nanjing 211816, China. iammlv@njtech.edu.cn.
authors.forename: Min
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Lu
authors.affiliation: Centre for Water Research, Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering, National University of Singapore, Engineering Drive 3, Singapore 117580, Singapore. ceenghy@nus.edu.sg.
authors.forename: How Yong
authors.initials: HY
authors.lastname: Ng
mesh_terms: D001674:Bioelectric Energy Sources; D057919:Biological Oxygen Demand Analysis; D015374:Biosensing Techniques; D002138:Calibration; D002384:Catalysis; D004560:Electricity; D017895:Manganese Compounds / Q000737:chemistry*; D010087:Oxides / Q000737:chemistry*; D013997:Time Factors; D062065:Wastewater / Q000737:chemistry
chemical_list: D017895:Manganese Compounds; D010087:Oxides; D062065:Wastewater; C016552:manganese dioxide
keywords: biochemical oxygen demand; biosensor; cathode; manganese dioxide; microbial fuel cell; wastewater