Investigation on polymer electrolyte membranes in microbial fuel cell for simultaneous electricity generation and wastewater treatment

Abstract

With the global energy demand and the urge for alternative resources fuel cell has gained wide interest owing to its applicability of converting fuel directly into electricity through electrochemical reactions with water as the only by product Among the types of fuel cells Bio Fuel Cells particularly Microbial Fuel cells MFCs have gained vast recognition in recent times owing to the dual functionality of simultaneous wastewater treatment and electricity generation The microorganisms inherent in the substrate at the anode under optimal conditions consume the available organics to produce protons and electrons, where the protons travel through the proton exchange membrane PEM and the electrons through an external circuit to reach the cathode The protons electrons with a s¬¬¬¬uitable electron acceptor are reduced at the cathode where the flow of electrons results in electrical energy The ease of utilizing wastewater as substrate microorganisms as the anode catalyst and the modular design are among the reasons for preferring MFC over other technologies Among the essential components in the functioning of MFC PEM plays a vital role in not only separating the electrodes but also maintaining the integrity of MFC by selectivity towards ion transfer and preventing substrate and oxygen cross overs In this regard several Cation Exchange Membranes CEMs have been reported to maximize the MFC performance Nevertheless the commercialization of MFC is still challenging due to the limitations faced in membranes which includes low ionic conductivity upon long term operation biofouling etc Further there are limited research on the microbial consortia responsible for exoelectrogen transfer newline