Polymer Separators for High-Power, High-Efficiency Microbial Fuel Cells

Guang Chen, Bin Wei, Yong Luo, Bruce E. Logan, Michael A. Hickner

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

44 Scopus citations

Abstract

Microbial fuel cells (MFCs) with hydrophilic poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) separators showed higher Coulombic efficiencies (94%) and power densities (1220 mW m-2) than cells with porous glass fiber separators or reactors without a separator after 32 days of operation. These remarkable increases in both the coublomic efficiency and the power production of the microbial fuel cells were made possible by the separator's unique characteristics of fouling mitigation of the air cathode without a large increase in ionic resistance in the cell. This new type of polymer gel-like separator design will be useful for improving MFC reactor performance by enabling compact cell designs. © 2012 American Chemical Society.
Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)6454-6457
Number of pages4
JournalACS Applied Materials & Interfaces
Volume4
Issue number12
DOIs
StatePublished - Nov 28 2012
Externally publishedYes

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