Performance of Planar and Cylindrical Carbon Electrodes at Sedimentary Microbial Fuel Cells

NATALIA SACCO; EVA L. M. FIGUEROLA; GABRIELA PATACCINI; MARÍA CELINA BONETTO; LEONARDO ERIJMAN; EDUARDO CORTÓN

BIORESOURCE TECHNOLOGY

ELSEVIER SCI LTD

Lugar: Amsterdam; Año: 2012 vol. 126 p. 328 - 335

0960-8524

This paper presents data obtained using an indigenous microbial community contained inanaerobic sediments (mud) collected from the shore of the Río de La Plata River (SouthAmerica). After the sedimentary microbial fuel cells were assembled the evolution ofcurrent and power vs. time was studied. Two types of commercially available graphitematerials were used as electrodes, which differ mainly in shape and size. In someexperiments, an external carbon source (acetate) increased the power generation rate. Themaximum power density observed in the aforementioned condition was 19.57 ± 0.35 and8.72 ± 1.39 mW/m2 using rod and graphite disk electrodes, respectively. The betterperformance of the rod electrodes can be explained, at least in part, by an enhanced rate ofmass transport by radial diffusion. DGGE fingerprints were used to study the electrogeniccommunity growing over the electrodes.