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Optimisation of the internal structure of ceramic membranes for electricity production in urine-fed microbial fuel cells

Salar-Garc�a, M. J.; Ieropoulos, I.

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Authors

M. J. Salar-Garc�a

Yannis Ieropoulos Ioannis2.Ieropoulos@uwe.ac.uk
Professor in Bioenergy & Director of B-B



Abstract

The need to find a feasible alternative to commercial membranes for microbial fuel cells (MFCs) poses an important challenge for the practical implementation of this technology. This work aims to analyse the influence of the internal structure of low-cost terracotta clay-based membranes on the behaviour of MFCs. To this purpose, 9 different combinations of temperature and time were used to prepare 27 MFC separators. The results show that the temperature has a significant effect on both porosity and pore size distribution, whereas the ramp time do not show a significant influence on these parameters. It was observed that kilning temperatures higher than 1030 °C dramatically reduce the porosity of the samples, reaching a minimum value of 16.85%, whereas the pore size increases as the temperature also increases. Among the membranes with similar porosities, those with a medium pore size distribution exhibited the lowest bulk resistance allowing MFCs to reach the highest power output (94.67 μW cm−2). These results demonstrate the importance of not only the porosity but also the pore size distribution of the separator in terms of MFC performance and longevity, which for these experiments was for 90 days.

Citation

Salar-García, M. J., & Ieropoulos, I. (2020). Optimisation of the internal structure of ceramic membranes for electricity production in urine-fed microbial fuel cells. Journal of Power Sources, 451, Article 227741. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpowsour.2020.227741

Journal Article Type Article
Acceptance Date Jan 10, 2020
Online Publication Date Jan 30, 2020
Publication Date Mar 1, 2020
Deposit Date Feb 14, 2020
Publicly Available Date Mar 28, 2024
Journal Journal of Power Sources
Print ISSN 0378-7753
Publisher Elsevier
Peer Reviewed Peer Reviewed
Volume 451
Article Number 227741
DOI https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpowsour.2020.227741
Keywords Physical and Theoretical Chemistry; Renewable Energy, Sustainability and the Environment; Electrical and Electronic Engineering; Energy Engineering and Power Technology; Microbial fuel cells; Bioenergy; Ceramic membranes; Porosity; Pore size; Bulk resista
Public URL https://uwe-repository.worktribe.com/output/5320042

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