Improving Power Production of Sediment Microbial Fuel Cells through Cathode Modification
- Alternative Title
- 음극 개선을 통한 퇴적물 미생물 연료전지의 성능 향상에 관한 연구
- Abstract
- In recent decades, global energy consumption has risen sharply, driven by a projected 56% increase in energy demand by 2040. Sediment Microbial Fuel Cells (SMFCs) are being explored as a green technology for bioenergy generation. However, SMFCs face challenges in real-time applications due to low power output, high internal resistance, and fabrication costs. The cathode significantly contributes to these issues, necessitating cost-effective and high-efficiency cathodes to improve power performance and enable SMFC commercialization. This thesis aims to enhance SMFC performance by modifying the cathode compartment, focusing on critical aspects like increasing active surface area, improving reactant availability, and identifying a suitable non-metal cathode material. Carbon cloth, a common electrode material in SMFCs, showed improved performance as a cathode with each modification. Continuous light exposure led to a 16% increase in the maximum achieved power (MAP) for SMFCs. Modification with carbon nanotubes (CNT) doubled the MAP, raising it from 7.29 mW/m² (bare) to 17.67 mW/m² (CNT-modified). Additionally, applying a hydrophobic layer (HL) made from polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) increased the SMFCs' MAP, and the optimal MAP was achieved with four HL layers. Furthermore, this thesis explores the utilization of different carbon-based materials as cathode electrodes. The MAP of each SMFCs was found to be 175.23 mW/m² for carbon black, 30.75 mW/m² for carbon felt, and 7.29 mW/m² for carbon cloth. The substantial gap in MAP values underscores that changing the cathode material type is highly effective in enhancing the electrical performance of SMFCs when compared to modifying the conventional carbon cloth material. These findings and approaches have the potential to significantly influence and guide future SMFCs design and optimization efforts, ultimately advancing this technology.
- Issued Date
- 2024
- Awarded Date
- 2024-02
- Type
- Dissertation
- Publisher
- 국립부경대학교 대학원
- Alternative Author(s)
- Misali Rashida
- Affiliation
- 국립부경대학교 대학원
- Department
- 대학원 해양공학과
- Advisor
- Kyunghoi Kim
- Table Of Contents
- 1. Introduction 1
1.1 Research background 1
1.1.1 The need for renewable energy 1
1.1.2 Energy recovery potential of coastal area . 2
1.1.3 Introduction of Sediment Microbial Fuel Cells (SMFCs) 3
1.1.4 Cathodic factors affecting SMFC performance. 7
1.2 Purpose and approach 9
2. Brief introduction of electroanalysis techniques used in this thesis 11
2.1 Monitoring of current generation during OCV and CCV stage 11
2.2 Polarization technique and internal resistance me 11
2.3 Individual electrode polarization technique 14
2.4 Cyclic voltammetry . 15
3. Impact of light exposure on cathodic performance in SMFC 17
3.1 Overview 17
3.2 Material and Method 17
3.2.1 SMFC Configuration 17
3.2.2 Operational Condition of SMFC . 18
3.2.3 Electrochemical analysis . 19
3.2.4 Sample collection and nutrient measurements . 19
3.3 Result and Discussion 21
3.3.1 Changes of appearance of sediment surface area 21
3.3.2 Catholyte’s DO concentration changes during the experiment 22
3.3.3 Evaluation of SMFC current generation. 24
3.3.4 Evaluation of SMFC system . 25
3.3.5 Changes of sediment environment . 27
3.4 Conclusion of experiment 32
4. Application of carbon nanotubes (CNT) treatment for SMFC’s cathode 33
4.1 Overview 33
4.2 Material and Method 34
4.2.1 Electrode preparation and microscopy analysis 34
4.2.2 SMFC configuration . 35
4.2.3 Electrochemical analysis . 36
4.3 Result and Discussion 38
4.3.1 Scanning electron microscopy analysis result . 38
4.3.2 Current and power generation of each SMFC . 40
4.3.3 Performance of SMFC with CNT-modified floating cathodes 42
4.4 Conclusion of experiment 46
5. Evaluation of carbon-based cathode material for SMFC . 47
5.1 Overview 47
5.2 Material and Method 48
5.2.1 Electrode preparation 48
5.2.2 SMFC configuration . 50
5.2.3 Electrochemical analysis . 51
5.3 Result and Discussion 52
5.3.1 Evaluation of SMFC’s electrode performance. 52
5.3.2 Current and power generation of SMFC . 56
5.4 Conclusion of experiment 59
6. Application of hydrophobic-layered cathode for SMFC . 60
6.1 Overview 60
6.2 Material and Method 61
6.2.1 Electrode preparation and microscopy analysis 61
6.2.2 SMFC Configuration 62
6.2.3 Electrochemical analysis . 63
6.3 Result and Discussion 64
6.3.1 Scanning electron microscopy analysis result . 64
6.3.2 Current generation . 66
6.3.3 SMFC performance 68
6.3.4 Evaluation of SMFC system . 72
6.4 Conclusion of experiment 74
7. Comparison of the SMFCs' electrical performance based on the cathodes from all experiments 75
7.1 Overview 75
7.2 Material and Method 78
7.2.1 Electrode preparation 78
7.2.2 SMFC Configuration 80
7.2.3 Electrochemical analysis . 80
7.3 Result and Discussion 82
7.3.1 Current generation . 82
7.3.2 SMFC performance 84
7.4 Conclusion of experiment 86
8. Summary and Conclusion 87
REFERENCES 89
- Degree
- Master
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