Journal of Energy Bioscience 2024, Vol.15, No.4, 233-242 http://bioscipublisher.com/index.php/jeb 233 Research Insight Open Access Improving the Performance of Microbial Fuel Cell Electrode Materials to Enhance Electricity Production Liting Wang, Manman Li Hainan Institute of Biotechnology, Haikou, 570206, Hainan, China Corresponding email: manman.li@hitar.org Journal of Energy Bioscience, 2024, Vol.15, No.4 doi: 10.5376/jeb.2024.15.0022 Received: 19 May, 2024 Accepted: 25 Jun., 2024 Published: 07 Jul., 2024 Copyright © 2024 Wang and Li, This is an open access article published under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. Preferred citation for this article: Wang L.T., and Li M.M., 2024, Improving the performance of microbial fuel cell electrode materials to enhance electricity production, Journal of Energy Bioscience, 15(4): 233-242 (doi: 10.5376/jeb.2024.15.0022) Abstract This study hopes to investigate novel materials and configurations that can increase bacterial adhesion, improve electron transfer, and ultimately boost power output. The study identified several key findings. Polypyrrole (PPy)-coated electrodes significantly increased initial power production from 20 mW/m2 to 160 mW/m² within the first four days, although no significant difference was observed between different coating thicknesses. Granular activated carbon (GAC) electrodes demonstrated high bacterial adhesion and power output, generating 5 W/m3 and maintaining peak power for six days. Additionally, the use of N-doped carbon nanotubes (NCNTs) on carbon felt (CF) as a support for hierarchical Co8FeS8-FeCo2O4/NCNTs core-shell nanostructures resulted in a power density of 3.04 W/m2, a 47.6% improvement compared to bare CF. The study also highlighted the importance of optimizing the microbial community and biofilm formation to enhance electron transfer and power generation. The findings suggest that the use of advanced electrode materials such as PPy-coated electrodes, GAC, and hierarchical nanostructures can significantly enhance the performance of MFCs. These improvements in electrode materials and configurations can lead to higher power densities and more efficient electricity production from organic waste. Future research should focus on further optimizing these materials and exploring their long-term stability and scalability for practical applications. Keywords Microbial fuel cells; Electrode materials; Electricity production; Polypyrrole; Granular activated carbon; N-doped carbon nanotubes; Biofilm formation; Electron transfer 1 Introduction Microbial fuel cells (MFCs) have emerged as a promising technology for sustainable energy production by converting organic waste into electricity through the metabolic activities of microorganisms. This innovative approach leverages the ability of electroactive bacteria to transfer electrons to an electrode during the degradation of organic substrates, thus generating an electric current (Pant et al., 2010; Santoro et al., 2017; Rahimnejad et al., 2019). MFCs have been explored for various applications, including wastewater treatment, bioenergy production, and environmental monitoring, due to their potential to utilize a wide range of organic materials and operate under ambient conditions (Mohan et al., 2009; Moqsud et al., 2013; Kusmayadi et al., 2020). The performance of MFCs is significantly influenced by the properties of the electrode materials used. The anode and cathode materials play a crucial role in the efficiency of electron transfer, biofilm formation, and overall power output of the system. Carbon-based materials, such as graphite and carbon fiber, are commonly used for their high conductivity and biocompatibility, which facilitate effective microbial colonization and electron transfer (Moqsud et al., 2013; Santoro et al., 2017; Saratale et al., 2017; Rahimnejad et al., 2019). Additionally, the development of novel electrode materials and configurations, such as bamboo charcoal and advanced carbon composites, has shown potential in enhancing the electrochemical performance and durability of MFCs (Moqsud et al., 2013; Zhou et al., 2013; Wang et al., 2018). This study aims to investigate and improve the performance of electrode materials in microbial fuel cells to enhance electricity production. The study will focus on evaluating different electrode materials, their configurations, and the impact of various operational parameters on the efficiency of MFCs. By optimizing the electrode materials and understanding their interactions with microbial communities, this studyh seeks to
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