Nanostructures and metallophthalocyanines : applications in microbial fuel cells
- Authors: Edwards, Sean
- Date: 2011
- Subjects: Microbial fuel cells , Waste products as fuel , Nanostructured materials , Electrochemistry , Nanotubes
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MSc
- Identifier: vital:4107 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1011742 , Microbial fuel cells , Waste products as fuel , Nanostructured materials , Electrochemistry , Nanotubes
- Description: Microbial fuel cells (MFCs) are a promising form of alternative energy capable of harnessing the potential energy stores in organic waste. The oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) forms an integral role in the generation of electricity in MFCs however it is also a potential obstacle in enhancing the performance of MFCs. Platinum, a commonly used catalyst for the ORR, is expensive and rare. Significant research has been conducted into developing alternative catalysts. Metallophthalocyanines (MPc) have garnered attention for use as catalysts. Iron phthalocyanine (FePc) has been shown to have catalytic activity towards the reduction of oxygen. Coupling of the catalyst to nanostructured carbon materials, such as multi-walled carbon nanotubes, has been observed to have several advantages as nanostructures have a high surface-to-volume ratio. In this study, we have attempted to assess the suitability of FePc, both its bulk and nanostructured form, as an oxygen reduction catalyst and acid functionalized multi-walled carbon nanotubes for use as a catalyst support using electrochemical techniques such as cyclic voltammetry and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy. We showed, for the first time, the catalytic nature of nanostructured FePc towards the ORR. Applying the data obtained from the electrochemical analyses, electrodes were modified using FePc and MWCNTs and applied to an Enterobacter cloacae-based MFC. Several operational parameters of the MFC, such as temperature and ionic strength, were optimized during the course of the study. We showed that optimized FePc:MWCNT-modified electrodes compared favourably to platinum-based electrodes in terms of power densities obtained in a microbial fuel cell.
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- Date Issued: 2011
Investigation of brewery waste grains and microbial fuel cells as value-additive technologies improving solvent production yields in Clostridium acetobutylicum (ATCC 824) fermentation
- Authors: Du Toit, Ryan Guillaume
- Date: 2023-10-13
- Subjects: Biomass energy , Butanol , Fermentation , Microbial fuel cells , Brewery waste , Clostridium acetobutylicum
- Language: English
- Type: Academic theses , Master's theses , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/424643 , vital:72171
- Description: The production of the solvent compounds acetone, ethanol and butanol through fermentation of organic feedstocks using Clostridia species could be a promising route for biofuel production. However, the cost of raw materials, low yields and the complexity of anaerobic fermentation continue to hinder this means of generating these compounds. The research presented in this Thesis investigated low-cost interventions that could decrease the costs of production and to direct the synthesis of fuel compounds using microbial fuel cells. Low-cost anaerobic chambers were designed and constructed for the propagation and manipulation of Clostridium acetobutylicum, selected as a low-risk microbial catalyst. Fermentation was monitored using in situ pH measurements and a combination of turbidity measurements, nutrient assays (especially total carbohydrates) and HPLC-RI detection as a means of monitoring the consumption of nutrients (glucose), production of precursor compounds (butyric acid) and the formation of solvent molecules (acetone/ethanol and butanol) during fermentation by this organism. Brewer’s spent grains were tested as a sustainable and low-cost feedstock for solvent production, comparing the effects of sterilising before fermentation, or allowing resident microflora to remain during Clostridium-catalysed solvent production. Sterilised spent grains significantly improved the production of solvent molecules (e.g. 12.97 ± 0.38 g/L of butanol yielded, compared to 0.40 ± 0.33 g/L for defined media sampled during the solventogenic phase); compared to these, the use of non-sterilised brewer’s grain decreased both the reproducibility and yields of fermentation (8.66 ± 1.6 g/L of butanol). Microbial fuel cells were studied as a possible means of altering electron transfer to/from electrode-attached Clostridia to control the metabolic shift in bacteria from acidogenesis to solventogenesis. The base line MFC (11.00 ± 4.69 g/L) fermentation experiment did produce higher acetone/ethanol than the baseline batch experiment MB (5.47 ± 4.48 g/L), indicating an improvement to solvent production in C. acetobutylicum (ATCC 824) in a MFC fermentation. In this study, MFC-1 demonstrated remarkable superiority over MB in terms of butyric acid production, yielding significantly higher concentrations while also improving acetone and ethanol production. However, the enhanced butyric acid production did not correspond to significantly increased butanol yields when compared to batch fermentation of chemically defined media. These findings highlight the potential of MFC-1 as an efficient approach for enhancing the fermentative production of valuable compounds, with a particular focus on butyric acid and acetone/ethanol. , Thesis (MSc) -- Faculty of Science, Biotechnology Innovation Centre, 2023
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- Date Issued: 2023-10-13
Use of microbial fuel cells in the beneficiation of algal biomass for bioelectricity production
- Authors: Mtambanengwe, Kudzai Tapiwanashe Esau
- Date: 2015-04-10
- Subjects: Microbial fuel cells , Microalgae , Chlorella , Arthrospira , Power density , Sonication , Autoclaves
- Language: English
- Type: Academic theses , Master's theses , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/480334 , vital:78432
- Description: Microbial fuel cells (MFCs) offer an alternative technology that is able to convert organic matter into electrical energy by making use of bacterial biomass as the biocatalysts. Performance of the MFCs is dependent on many factors such as substrate, biocatalyst, electrode material and optimum operational conditions including temperature and pH. Significant research has been conducted on the use of different substrates to fuel the MFC. The possibility of harvesting energy from organic waste sources in the MFC makes the technology attractive. In this study, we have investigated the use of Chlorella, Arthrospira and a mixed algal consortium obtained from the local wastewater treatment facility in Grahamstown, courtesy of the Institute for Environmental Biotechnology, Rhodes University (EBRU) as feedstock in an MFC with Enterobacter cloacae as the biocatalyst. Pre-treatment of the algae-based feedstock was studied as well as the influence of treatment on nutrient release and biocatalyst performance during growth studies and MFC operations. Sonication, autoclaving and a combination of the two were used as the pre-treatment methods. Pre-treatment resulted in the release of nutrients from algal cells to the media. Peak nutrient realease was observed when a combination of sonicating and autoclaving was employed. Sonicating and autoclaving the mixed consortium from EBRU resulted in an MFC peak power density of 101.2 (± 4.58) mW.m-2. This represented more than 80% of the peak power density obtained in RCM medium. Operational conditions during MFC studies such as pH, temperature, nutrient utilisation by the biocatalyst and performance of the proton exchange membrane were measured during the course of the study. Growth kinetics and MFC operations were shown to be optimal when the substrate feedstock was acidic. However, for longer MFC operations (120 hours), total power output was greater by 3 to 5 fold when the feedstock was at acidic pH (4-6) than when the pH of the substrate feedstock was alkaline (8 and 9). Further MFC studies were performed on the effect of electrode materials including activated carbon fibre and carbon paper. The study examined also the use of live Chlorella and Arthrospira cultures as biocathodes in an MFC. We also showed that activated carbon fibre performs well as an electrode catalyst for both anode and cathode without any need of modification. Biocathode studies showed that the main limiting factor to biocathodes performance was light irradiance. , Thesis (MSc) -- Faculty of Science, Biotechnology Innovation Centre, 2015
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- Date Issued: 2015-04-10