Benchmarking anion vs. cation exchange membranes in microbial fuel cells: A comparative study of PTFE and Nafion 117

IF 4.5 2区化学 Q1 BIOCHEMISTRY & MOLECULAR BIOLOGY

Bioelectrochemistry Pub Date : 2025-08-16 DOI:10.1016/j.bioelechem.2025.109083

Kimia Rostami , Mostafa Ghasemi , Mehdi Sedighi , Ahmad Fauzi Ismail , Hegazy Rezk , Jenn-Kun Kuo

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引用次数: 0

Abstract

This study investigates the comparative performance of two types of ion-exchange membranes, polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) as an anion exchange membrane (AEM) and Nafion 117 as a cation exchange membrane (CEM), in microbial fuel cells(MFCs). The evaluation focuses on key operational parameters, including power generation, chemical oxygen demand (COD) removal efficiency, and coulombic efficiency (CE). In CEM-based MFCs, protons (H⁺) migrate from the anode to the cathode, whereas in AEM-based systems, hydroxide ions (OH⁻) move from the cathode to the anode. This ion transfer helps maintain pH balance, which is essential for microbial metabolism and catalytic activity. Experimental results demonstrated that the CEM-MFC achieved a power density of 181.5 mW/m² and a COD removal rate of 67 %, while the AEM-MFC produced 272.3 mW/m² and achieved 75 % COD removal. Furthermore, the CE improved from 24.4 % in CEM-MFC to 29 % in AEM-MFC. These results indicate that AEM-MFCs can generate approximately 50 % more power and exhibit enhanced CE, making them more promising candidates for sustainable energy production and wastewater treatment. The superior performance of AEM-MFC is attributed to more favorable microbial activity, better cathodic oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) conditions, and extended pH equilibrium. Additionally, the efficient transfer of OH⁻ ions in AEMs prevents acidification in the anode compartment and supports stable microbial growth. These findings underscore the potential of anion exchange membranes as viable and sustainable alternatives in the design of high-performance MFCs for simultaneous environmental remediation and bioenergy production. This study is a pioneering work that investigates the long-term performance of cost-effective PTFE anion exchange membranes in microbial fuel cells operating with real wastewater (POME), providing crucial insights into pH regulation and microbial stability compared to the benchmark Nafion 117.

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微生物燃料电池负离子与阳离子交换膜的基准测试：PTFE和Nafion 117的比较研究

研究了两种离子交换膜——聚四氟乙烯（PTFE）作为阴离子交换膜（AEM）和Nafion 117作为阳离子交换膜（CEM）在微生物燃料电池（mfc）中的性能对比。评估的重点是关键操作参数，包括发电量、化学需氧量（COD）去除效率和库伦效率（CE）。在基于cem的mfc中，质子（H+）从阳极迁移到阴极，而在基于aem的系统中，氢氧根离子（OH−）从阴极迁移到阳极。这种离子转移有助于维持pH平衡，这是微生物代谢和催化活性所必需的。实验结果表明，em - mfc的功率密度为181.5 mW/m2， COD去除率为67%，而AEM-MFC的功率密度为272.3 mW/m2， COD去除率为75%。此外，CE从em - mfc的24.4%提高到AEM-MFC的29%。这些结果表明，aem - mfc可以产生大约50%的电力，并表现出更高的CE，使其成为可持续能源生产和废水处理的更有希望的候选者。AEM-MFC具有较好的微生物活性、较好的阴极氧还原反应（ORR）条件和较长的pH平衡。此外，AEMs中OH -离子的有效转移防止了阳极室的酸化，并支持稳定的微生物生长。这些发现强调了阴离子交换膜作为高性能mfc设计中可行和可持续的替代品的潜力，用于同时进行环境修复和生物能源生产。这项研究是一项开创性的工作，研究了在实际废水（POME）中运行的微生物燃料电池中具有成本效益的PTFE阴离子交换膜的长期性能，与基准Nafion 117相比，提供了对pH调节和微生物稳定性的重要见解。

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来源期刊

Bioelectrochemistry 生物-电化学

CiteScore

9.10

自引率

6.00%

发文量

238

审稿时长

38 days

期刊介绍： An International Journal Devoted to Electrochemical Aspects of Biology and Biological Aspects of Electrochemistry Bioelectrochemistry is an international journal devoted to electrochemical principles in biology and biological aspects of electrochemistry. It publishes experimental and theoretical papers dealing with the electrochemical aspects of: • Electrified interfaces (electric double layers, adsorption, electron transfer, protein electrochemistry, basic principles of biosensors, biosensor interfaces and bio-nanosensor design and construction. • Electric and magnetic field effects (field-dependent processes, field interactions with molecules, intramolecular field effects, sensory systems for electric and magnetic fields, molecular and cellular mechanisms) • Bioenergetics and signal transduction (energy conversion, photosynthetic and visual membranes) • Biomembranes and model membranes (thermodynamics and mechanics, membrane transport, electroporation, fusion and insertion) • Electrochemical applications in medicine and biotechnology (drug delivery and gene transfer to cells and tissues, iontophoresis, skin electroporation, injury and repair). • Organization and use of arrays in-vitro and in-vivo, including as part of feedback control. • Electrochemical interrogation of biofilms as generated by microorganisms and tissue reaction associated with medical implants.