Electricity Production in a Two Chamber Microbial Fuel Cell with Bioanodes and Biocathodes Catalyzed with Gold

Abstract

Abstract This work presents the study of different electrical potentials applied to a carbon cloth material to develop biofilms for their application as bioelectrodes in a microbial fuel cell (MFC). The principal aim of this work was to develop bioanodes and biocathodes for their simultaneous operation in a MFC. The potentials applied were 0.1 V, 0.4 V, and –0.42 V vs . Ag/AgCl KCl reference electrode. Also, electrodes were studied, where a positive potential was applied and gold as the catalyst for oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) was used. The bioelectrodes were characterized with the cyclic voltammetry (CV) technique and the results determined the application of the bioelectrodes as bioanode or biocathode in the MFC. The biofilms formed were observed with the scanning electron microscopy (SEM) technique, and also a new type of electroactive bacteria (Sphingomonas paucimobilis) for biocathodes was identified with a molecular technique. The bioelectrodes developed were tested in a MFC and a maximum power density of 0.585 W m −2 was obtained.