Nowadays, pollution caused by energy production systems is a major environmental concern. Therefore, the development of sustainable energy sources is required. Amongst others, the microbial fuel cell (MFC) seems to be a possible solution because it can produce clean energy at the same time that waste is stabilized. Unfortunately, mainly due to industrial discharges, the wastes could contain nit...

We present an energetically autonomous robotic tadpole that uses a single membrane component for both electrical energy generation and propulsive actuation. The coupling of this small bio-inspired power source to a bio-inspired actuator demonstrates the first generation design for an energetically autonomous swimming robot comprised of a single membrane. An ionic polymer metal composite (IPMC) ...

The present study explores the use of carbon dots coated with Iron (II, III) oxide (Fe3O4) for its application as an anode in microbial fuel cells (MFC). Fe3O4@PSA-C was synthesized using a hydrothermal-assisted probe sonication method. Nanoparticles were characterized XRD, SEM, FTIR, and RAMAN Spectroscopy. Different concentrations Fe3O4- (0.25, 0.5, 0.75, 1 mg/cm2) onto graphite sheets (Fe3O4...

The structure and electrical conductivity of anode play a significant role in the power generation of microbial fuel cells (MFCs). In this study, we developed a three-dimensional (3D) reduced graphene oxide-nickel (denoted as rGO-Ni) foam as an anode for MFC through controlled deposition of rGO sheets onto the nickel foam substrate. The loading amount of rGO sheets and electrode surface area ca...

Implementation of microbial fuel cells (MFCs) for electricity production requires effective current generation from waste products via robust cathode reduction. Three cathode types using dissolved oxygen cathodes (DOCs), ferricyanide cathodes (FeCs) and air cathodes (AiCs) were therefore assessed using bioethanol effluent, containing 20.5 g/L xylose, 1.8 g/L arabinose and 2.5 g/L propionic acid...

a r t i c l e i n f o High-performance microbial fuel cell (MFC) air cathodes were constructed using a combination of inexpensive materials for the oxygen reduction cathode catalyst and the electrode separator. A poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA)-based electrode separator enabled high coulombic efficiencies (CEs) in MFCs with activated carbon (AC) cathodes without significantly decreasing power output....

The application of a rotating cathode in a river sediment microbial fuel cell increased the oxygen availability to the cathode, and therefore improved the cathode reaction rate, resulting in a higher power production (49 mW/m(2)) compared to a nonrotating cathode system (29 mW/m(2)). The increased dissolved oxygen in the water of our lab-scale sediment MFC, however, resulted in a less negative ...

Metal, as a high-performance electrode catalyst, is research hotspot in the construction of microbial fuel cell (MFC). However, metal catalyst nanoparticles and their dispersed carriers are prone to aggregation, producing catalytic electrodes with inferior qualities. In this study, Pd uniformly on graphene framework supported by carbon black form nanocomposite catalysts (Pd/GO-C catalysts). The...

A microbial fuel cell (MFC) has been developed for removal of sulfur-based pollutants and can be used for simultaneous wastewater treatment and electricity generation. This fuel cell uses an activated carbon cloth+carbon fibre veil composite anode, air-breathing dual cathodes and the sulfate-reducing species Desulfovibrio desulfuricans. 1.16gdm(-3) sulfite and 0.97gdm(-3) thiosulfate were remov...