Abstract
Impedance changes of the anode, cathode and solution were examined for an air-cathode microbial fuel cell (MFC) under varying conditions. An MFC inoculated with a pre-enriched microbial culture resulted in a startup time of less than ten days. Over this period, the anode impedance decreased below the cathode impedance, suggesting a cathode-limited power output. Increasing the anode flow rate did not impact the anode impedance significantly, but it decreased the cathode impedance by 65%. Increasing the anode-medium ionic strength also decreased the cathode impedance. These impedance results provide insight into electron and proton transport mechanisms and can be used to improve MFC performance.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 592-606 |
Number of pages | 15 |
Journal | Energies |
Volume | 3 |
Issue number | 4 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - Apr 2010 |
Keywords
- Anode impedance
- Biofuel cell
- Capacitance
- Electrogenic
- Internal resistances