Electrical Energy Harvesting from Soybean Meal Digestion by Rumen Mixed Culture Bacteria in a Dual-Chambered Microbial Fuel Cell with Novel Ti/nano-TiO2/Pd Cathode

Microbial fuel cells (MFCs) harvest electric energy from organic matter by microorganism assisted oxidation of any biodegradable materials. In this research palladium was deposited on inner walls of TiO2 nanotubes prepared through anodizing of a titanium electrode and resulting Ti/nano-TiO2/Pd electrode was employed as a cathode in a dual-chambered microbial fuel cell with graphite anode. Soybean meal and rumen mixed culture bacteria were as organic feed and bacterial medium, respectively. Cell performance was investigated by polarization and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) methods. Results showed that due to high surface area of the nano-structured cathode along with its higher electro-catalytic activity for oxygen reduction reaction in the cathodic part of the MFC, this novel easy to prepare electrode along with the incorporated rumen mixed culture bacteria and soybean feed can be effectively used to extract electrical energy from low cost botanic materials.

کلیدواژه ها:

Microbial Fuel cell ، Rumen bacteria ، Soybean meal ، Ti/nano-TiO2/Pd electrode ، Electrochemical Impedance Spectroscopy