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http://dx.doi.org/10.4491/eer.2013.18.3.145

Optimal Metal Dose of Alternative Cathode Catalyst Considering Organic Substances in Single Chamber Microbial Fuel Cells  

Nam, Joo-Youn (Jeju Global Research Center, Korea Institute of Energy Research)
Moon, Chungman (Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Center for Engineering Innovation, University of Windsor)
Jeong, Emma (Department of Civil Engineering, McGill University)
Lee, Won-Tae (School of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Kumoh National Institute of Technology)
Shin, Hang-Sik (Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology)
Kim, Hyun-Woo (Green Technology Center, Korea Institute of Industrial Technology)
Publication Information
Environmental Engineering Research / v.18, no.3, 2013 , pp. 145-150 More about this Journal
Abstract
Optimal preparation guidelines of a cathode catalyst layer by non-precious metal catalysts were evaluated based on electrochemical performance in single-chamber microbial fuel cells (MFCs). Experiments for catalyst loading rate revealed that iron(II) phthalocyanine (FePc) can be a promising alternative, comparable to platinum (Pt) and cobalt tetramethoxyphenylporphyrin (CoTMPP), including effects of substrate concentration. Results showed that using an optimal FePc loading of $1mg/cm^2$ was equivalent to a Pt loading of $0.35mg/cm^2$ on the basis of maximum power density. Given higher loading rates or substrate concentrations, FePc proved to be a better alternative for Pt than CoTMPP. Under the optimal loading rate, it was further revealed that 40 wt% of FePc to carbon support allowed for the best power generation. These results suggest that proper control of the non-precious metal catalyst layer and substrate concentration are highly interrelated, and reveal how those combinations promote the economic power generation of single-chamber MFCs.
Keywords
Alternative catalyst; Cobalt tetramethoxyphenylporphyrin; Iron(II) phthalocyanine; Microbial fuel cells; Optimization;
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