A Comprehensive Study of Custom-Made Ceramic Separators for Microbial Fuel Cells: Towards “Living” Bricks
Towards the commercialisation of microbial fuel cell (MFC) technology, well-performing, cost-effective, and sustainable separators are being developed. Ceramic is one of the promising materials for this purpose. In this study, ceramic separators made of three different clay types were tested to inve...
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| Format: | Article |
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MDPI AG
2019-10-01
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| Series: | Energies |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/12/21/4071 |
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| author | Jiseon You Lauren Wallis Nevena Radisavljevic Grzegorz Pasternak Vincenzo M. Sglavo Martin M Hanczyc John Greenman Ioannis Ieropoulos |
| author_facet | Jiseon You Lauren Wallis Nevena Radisavljevic Grzegorz Pasternak Vincenzo M. Sglavo Martin M Hanczyc John Greenman Ioannis Ieropoulos |
| author_sort | Jiseon You |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Towards the commercialisation of microbial fuel cell (MFC) technology, well-performing, cost-effective, and sustainable separators are being developed. Ceramic is one of the promising materials for this purpose. In this study, ceramic separators made of three different clay types were tested to investigate the effect of ceramic material properties on their performance. The best-performing ceramic separators were white ceramic-based spotty membranes, which produced maximum power outputs of 717.7 ± 29.9 µW (white ceramic-based with brown spots, 71.8 W·m<sup>−3</sup>) and 715.3 ± 73.0 µW (white ceramic-based with red spots, 71.5 W·m<sup>−3</sup>). For single material ceramic types, red ceramic separator generated the highest power output of 670.5 ± 64. 8 µW (67.1 W·m<sup>−3</sup>). Porosity investigation revealed that white and red ceramics are more porous and have smaller pores compared to brown ceramic. Brown ceramic separators underperformed initially but seem more favourable for long-term operation due to bigger pores and thus less tendency of membrane fouling. This study presents ways to enhance the function of ceramic separators in MFCs such as the novel spotty design as well as fine-tuning of porosity and pore size. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-12T19:24:39Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-201580d9d73943248b51f036ee739597 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1996-1073 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-12T19:24:39Z |
| publishDate | 2019-10-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Energies |
| spelling | doaj.art-201580d9d73943248b51f036ee7395972022-12-22T03:19:30ZengMDPI AGEnergies1996-10732019-10-011221407110.3390/en12214071en12214071A Comprehensive Study of Custom-Made Ceramic Separators for Microbial Fuel Cells: Towards “Living” BricksJiseon You0Lauren Wallis1Nevena Radisavljevic2Grzegorz Pasternak3Vincenzo M. Sglavo4Martin M Hanczyc5John Greenman6Ioannis Ieropoulos7Bristol BioEnergy Centre, University of the West of England, Bristol BS16 1QY, UKBristol BioEnergy Centre, University of the West of England, Bristol BS16 1QY, UKLaboratory for Artificial Biology, Department of Cellular, Computational and Integrative Biology (CIBIO), University of Trento, Via Sommarive 9, 38123 Povo TN, ItalyLaboratory for Artificial Biology, Department of Cellular, Computational and Integrative Biology (CIBIO), University of Trento, Via Sommarive 9, 38123 Povo TN, ItalyDepartment of Industrial Engineering, University of Trento, via Sommarive 9, 38123 Trento, ItalyLaboratory for Artificial Biology, Department of Cellular, Computational and Integrative Biology (CIBIO), University of Trento, Via Sommarive 9, 38123 Povo TN, ItalyBristol BioEnergy Centre, University of the West of England, Bristol BS16 1QY, UKBristol BioEnergy Centre, University of the West of England, Bristol BS16 1QY, UKTowards the commercialisation of microbial fuel cell (MFC) technology, well-performing, cost-effective, and sustainable separators are being developed. Ceramic is one of the promising materials for this purpose. In this study, ceramic separators made of three different clay types were tested to investigate the effect of ceramic material properties on their performance. The best-performing ceramic separators were white ceramic-based spotty membranes, which produced maximum power outputs of 717.7 ± 29.9 µW (white ceramic-based with brown spots, 71.8 W·m<sup>−3</sup>) and 715.3 ± 73.0 µW (white ceramic-based with red spots, 71.5 W·m<sup>−3</sup>). For single material ceramic types, red ceramic separator generated the highest power output of 670.5 ± 64. 8 µW (67.1 W·m<sup>−3</sup>). Porosity investigation revealed that white and red ceramics are more porous and have smaller pores compared to brown ceramic. Brown ceramic separators underperformed initially but seem more favourable for long-term operation due to bigger pores and thus less tendency of membrane fouling. This study presents ways to enhance the function of ceramic separators in MFCs such as the novel spotty design as well as fine-tuning of porosity and pore size.https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/12/21/4071microbial fuel celllow-cost ceramicsseparatormembraneporositypore sizewater absorptionmercury intrusion |
| spellingShingle | Jiseon You Lauren Wallis Nevena Radisavljevic Grzegorz Pasternak Vincenzo M. Sglavo Martin M Hanczyc John Greenman Ioannis Ieropoulos A Comprehensive Study of Custom-Made Ceramic Separators for Microbial Fuel Cells: Towards “Living” Bricks Energies microbial fuel cell low-cost ceramics separator membrane porosity pore size water absorption mercury intrusion |
| title | A Comprehensive Study of Custom-Made Ceramic Separators for Microbial Fuel Cells: Towards “Living” Bricks |
| title_full | A Comprehensive Study of Custom-Made Ceramic Separators for Microbial Fuel Cells: Towards “Living” Bricks |
| title_fullStr | A Comprehensive Study of Custom-Made Ceramic Separators for Microbial Fuel Cells: Towards “Living” Bricks |
| title_full_unstemmed | A Comprehensive Study of Custom-Made Ceramic Separators for Microbial Fuel Cells: Towards “Living” Bricks |
| title_short | A Comprehensive Study of Custom-Made Ceramic Separators for Microbial Fuel Cells: Towards “Living” Bricks |
| title_sort | comprehensive study of custom made ceramic separators for microbial fuel cells towards living bricks |
| topic | microbial fuel cell low-cost ceramics separator membrane porosity pore size water absorption mercury intrusion |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/12/21/4071 |
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