Investigating the specific role of external load on the performance versus stability trade-off in microbial fuel cells

Koók, László and Nemestóthy, Nándor and Bélafi-Bakó, Katalin and Bakonyi, Péter (2020) Investigating the specific role of external load on the performance versus stability trade-off in microbial fuel cells. BIORESOURCE TECHNOLOGY, 309. p. 123313. ISSN 0960-8524 (Unpublished)

Preview

Text manuscript_30032020_unmarked.pdf Download (1MB) | Preview

Abstract

The performance and behavior of microbial fuel cells (MFCs) are influenced by among others the external load (Rext). In this study, the anode-surface biofilm formation in MFCs operated under different Rext selection/tracking-strategies was assessed. MFCs were characterized by electrochemical (voltage/current generation, polarization tests, EIS), molecular biological (microbial consortium analysis) and bioinformatics (principal component analysis) tools. The results indicated that the MFC with dynamic Rext adjustment (as a function of the actual MFC internal resistance) achieved notably higher performance but relatively lower operational stability, mainly due to the acidification of the biofilm. The opposite (lower performance, increased stability) could be observed with the static (low or high) Rext application (or OCV) strategies, where adaptive microbial processes were assumed. These possible adaptation phenomena were outlined by a theoretical framework and the significant impact of Rext on the anode colonization process and energy recovery with MFCs was concluded.

Actions (login required)

Edit Item