Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology

The Korean Society for Microbiology and Biotechnology (한국미생물·생명공학회)
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Characterization of Polyester Cloth as an Alternative Separator to Nafion Membrane in Microbial Fuel Cells for Bioelectricity Generation Using Swine Wastewater

  • Kim, Taeyoung (Energy and Environmental Engineering Division, National Institute of Agricultural Science, Rural Development Administration) ;
  • Kang, Sukwon (Energy and Environmental Engineering Division, National Institute of Agricultural Science, Rural Development Administration) ;
  • Sung, Je Hoon (Energy and Environmental Engineering Division, National Institute of Agricultural Science, Rural Development Administration) ;
  • Kang, Youn Koo (Energy and Environmental Engineering Division, National Institute of Agricultural Science, Rural Development Administration) ;
  • Kim, Young Hwa (Energy and Environmental Engineering Division, National Institute of Agricultural Science, Rural Development Administration) ;
  • Jang, Jae Kyung (Energy and Environmental Engineering Division, National Institute of Agricultural Science, Rural Development Administration)
  • Received : 2016.08.19
  • Accepted : 2016.09.12
  • Published : 2016.12.28
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Abstract

Polyester cloth (PC) was selected as a prospective inexpensive substitute separator material for microbial fuel cells (MFCs). PC was compared with a traditional Nafion proton exchange membrane (PEM) as an MFC separator by analyzing its physical and electrochemical properties. A single layer of PC showed higher mass transfer (e.g., for $O_2/H^+/ions$) than the Nafion PEM; in the case of oxygen mass transfer coefficient ($k_o$), a rate of $50.0{\times}10^{-5} cm{\cdot}s^{-1}$ was observed compared with a rate of $20.8{\times}10^{-5}cm/s$ in the Nafion PEM. Increased numbers of PC layers were found to reduce the oxygen mass transfer coefficient. In addition, the diffusion coefficient of oxygen ($D_O$) for PC ($2.0-3.3{\times}10^{-6}cm^2/s$) was lower than that of the Nafion PEM ($3.8{\times}10^{-6}cm^2/s$). The PC was found to have a low ohmic resistance ($0.29-0.38{\Omega}$) in the MFC, which was similar to that of Nafion PEM ($0.31{\Omega}$); this resulted in comparable maximum power density and maximum current density in MFCs with PC and those with Nafion PEMs. Moreover, a higher average current generation was observed in MFCs with PC ($104.3{\pm}15.3A/m^3$) compared with MFCs with Nafion PEM ($100.4{\pm}17.7A/m^3$), as well as showing insignificant degradation of the PC surface, during 177 days of use in swine wastewater. These results suggest that PC separators could serve as a low-cost alternative to Nafion PEMs for construction of cost-effective MFCs.

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