(365e) Bioelectricity Generation from a Carbon Soot Electrode Using a Paper Based Microbial Fuel Cell

Disposable energy harvesting devices on a paper based platform in Microbial Fuel Cell (MFC) can provide low cost and affordable power supply in resource limited regions[1]. Electrodes play crucial role in these devices. The tedious and multiple steps involved in the fabrication of electrodes currently limit the application of MFC. Present research work deals with a readily available eyeliner as a novel conductive ink for the electrode preparation in paper based MFC. The inherent capillary action of the paper matrix allows a quick absorption of the ink when coated[2].This results in the formation of a highly porous integrated paper electrode. The application of these coated electrodes was shown in a paper based air-breathing MFC where both anode and cathode were prepared using such coated conductive papers. An MFC employs exoelectrogenic-microbes as catalysts in the anode chamber to harness power from wastewater. When an air-cathode is used in the device configuration, it yields water as the only byproduct[3]. Using such device on a paper platform, a maximum power of 12.5 W/m³ was obtained from a single device with Shewanella putrefaciens as the biocatalyst. Such an electrode can further find various applications in flexible electronics, electrochemical sensors and analytical devices.

References

[1] F Sharifi, S Ghobadian , F R Cavalcantiand NastaranHashemi, Renew. Sust. Energ. Rev., 2015, 52, 1453â??1472.

[2] L. Hu, J. W. Choi, Y. Yang, S. Jeong, F. La Mantia, L.-F. Cui and Y. Cui, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U. S. A., 2009, 106, 21490â??21494.

[3] R. Veerubhotla, A. Bandopadhyay, D. Das and S. Chakraborty, Lab Chip, 2015, 15, 2580â??2583.