Gelatin as a promising printable nutrient feedstock for microbial fuel cells (MFC)

Theodosiou, Pavlina; Ieropoulos, Ioannis; Taylor, Benjamin; Greenman, John; Melhuish, Chris

Abstract

This study describes the work carried out towards the optimization of critical MFC components with potential 3D fabricated materials. The response of the optimised fuel cells, which were fed with soft materials such as gelatin, alginate and Nafion™, is also reported. The optimised components were the membrane and the cathode electrode. Membrane was substituted with a custom made terracotta sheet and the electrode used was a single sheet of carbon veil coated with an activated carbon paste. The results showed that amongst the soft materials tested, gelatin performed better; also it revealed that even after a 10-day starvation period the gelatin had better longevity. These results show that MFCs can be potentially 3D-printed monolithically using the EvoBot platform.

• Presentation Conference Type: Presentation / Talk
• Conference Name: European Fuel Cell Technology & Applications Conference - Piero Lunghi Conference
• Start Date: Dec 16, 2015
• End Date: Dec 18, 2015
• Acceptance Date: Dec 15, 2015
• Deposit Date: Feb 22, 2019
• Peer Reviewed: Not Peer Reviewed
• Public URL: https://uwe-repository.worktribe.com/output/802049
• Additional Information: Title of Conference or Conference Proceedings : European Fuel Cell Technology & Applications Conference - Piero Lunghi Conference
• Contract Date: Feb 22, 2019