1489 results about "Microbial fuel cell" patented technology

Devices for production of electricity and/or hydrogen gas are provided by the present invention. In particular, microbial fuel cells for production of electricity and modified microbial fuel cells for production of hydrogen are detailed. A tube cathode is provided which includes a membrane forming a general tube shape. An anode is provided which has a specific surface area greater than 100 m²/m³. In addition, the anode is substantially non-toxic to anodophilic bacteria. Combinations of particular anodes and cathodes are included in microbial fuel cells and modified microbial fuel cells.

A microbial fuel cell configuration of the invention includes a substrate particularly formulated for a microbial fuel cell configured to produce electricity and/or a modified microbial fuel cell configured to produce hydrogen. A substrate formulation according to one embodiment includes a solid biodegradable organic material in a package porous to bacteria. A microbial fuel cell provided according to embodiments of the present invention includes an anode, a cathode, an electrically conductive connector connecting the anode and the cathode, a housing for an aqueous medium, the aqueous medium in contact with the anode, and a solid form of a biodegradable organic substrate disposed in the aqueous medium, the solid form of a biodegradable organic substrate formulated to support electron generation and transfer to the anode by anodophilic bacteria over a selected minimum period of time.

An upflow microbial fuel cell in one embodiment is comprised of a generally cylindrical cathode chamber containing a cathode sitting atop a generally cylindrical anode chamber containing an anode, with a proton exchange membrane separating the two chambers, so that as influent is passed upwardly through the anode chamber electricity is created in a continuous process not requiring mixing such as with a mechanical mixer or the like. Electrodes are connected to each of the anode and the cathode for harvesting the electricity so created. Effluent may be recirculated through the anode chamber by a second inlet and outlet therein. A multiphase fuel cell includes a plurality of electrode couples arranged in a single chamber with an influent inlet near its bottom and an effluent outlet near its top, with the electrode couples connected in series to generate electricity at higher voltages. In another embodiment, the cathode chamber—preferably U-shaped—is positioned inside the anode chamber.

A fuel cell having: a proton exchange membrane; anode and cathode housings containing chambers; a three-dimensional anode and cathode. Each housing may have a feed passage, a waste passage, and two through passages. The anode feed passage and the anode waste passage are each coupled to the anode chamber and to one of the cathode through passages and vice versa. The anode chamber may have bacteria capable of donating electrons to the anode upon exposure to a fuel. Solutions may be circulated through the passages and chambers.

The compositions, methods and apparatus of the present invention allow the production of electricity, ethanol and hydrogen, and combinations thereof. In some embodiments, the invention provides a process for generating electricity or hydrogen comprising supplying a microbial catalyst and a fuel source to a microbial fuel cell or a bio-electrochemically assisted microbial reactor (BEAMR), respectively, under thermophilic conditions. In other embodiments, the invention provides a process of generating ethanol and electricity or ethanol and hydrogen comprising supplying a microbial catalyst and a fuel source to a fermentation vessel in operable relation with a microbial fuel cell or a BEAMR system, respectively, wherein the microbial catalyst has a cellulolytic activity, an ethanologenic activity, and an electricigenic activity. Other embodiments include compositions and apparati for practicing the invention.

The invention provides preparation and application of a nitrogen doped graphene fuel cell catalyst, wherein a preparation method of the nitrogen doped graphene fuel cell catalyst is characterized by comprising the following steps: dispersing graphene oxide into a solvent, and carrying out ultrasonic treatment, thereby obtaining a graphene solution; dispersing at least one of non-noble metal salt as well as hydrate thereof and nitrogenous small organic molecules into the solvent, thereby obtaining a mixed solution; dropping the graphene oxide solution into the mixed solution, drying the solvent by distillation, thereby obtaining a nitrogen doped graphene precursor, warming to 600-1000 DEG C under the protection by inert gases, keeping the temperature for 1-4 hours, and cooling naturally, thereby obtaining the doped graphene catalyst. The nitrogen doped graphene preparation process provided by the invention is simple; required raw materials are low in cost, high in yield, can achieve industrial production easily, have very high oxygen reduction catalytic activity, can be applied to the fields of fuel cells, metal-air cells as well as microorganism fuel cells and the like.

Cell culture apparatus comprising at least two adjacent cell cultivation channels separated by a permeable or semipermeable membrane, wherein at least one channel, for the majority of its length, has a cross sectional area of no more than 1 mm², said channel being provided with entrance and exit means to permit the passage of media therethrough, allows co-culture of separate cell types, e.g. human and microbial cells, without mingling, allowing monitoring of cell cultures and chemical exchanges between the respective cell cultures.

The invention discloses a double-chamber alga microbial fuel cell and a method thereof for treating waste water and realizing zero carbon emission, which relates to a microbial fuel cell and a method for treating waste water. The invention solves the problem that the traditional microbial fuel cell can generate a large amount of CO2 in the process of treating waste water. In the invention, a cation exchange membrane is vertically arranged in a box body of a reactor; an anode chamber and a cathode chamber are formed in the box body of the reactor; an anode is arranged in the anode chamber; a cathode is arranged in the cathode chamber; leads are connected with the anode and the cathode; one end of a gas duct is hermetically connected with a gas collecting chamber, and the other end of the gas duct is arranged at the bottom of the cathode chamber; and a gas collecting device is hermetically installed at a gas outlet. The method comprises the following steps: (1) starting the reactor; and (2) introducing the waste water into the cathode chamber and the anode chamber, catabolizing organic matters by microbes at room temperature, simultaneously obtaining electrical energy, and introducing the CO2 generated in the anode chamber into the cathode chamber to be used by the alga at the cathode for photosynthesis. The invention realizes zero emission of CO2 and simultaneously can recover electrical energy, thereby really changing waste into resources.

The invention provides a nitrogen-doped graphene catalyst and a preparation method and application thereof. The nitrogen-doped graphene catalyst is characterized by being prepared by roasting a nitrogen-doped graphene precursor; the nitrogen-doped graphene precursor is prepared from the raw materials including at least one of non-precious metal salt and hydrate thereof, graphite oxide and nitrogen-containing small organic molecules; in the raw materials, the mass percent of the graphite oxide is 10-89wt%, the mass percent of the nitrogen-containing small organic molecules is 10-89wt%, and the mass percent of at least one of non-precious metal salt and hydrate thereof is 1-10wt%. The preparation process of the nitrogen-doped graphene provided by the invention is simple, the process is easy to operate, the activity is high, the cost is low, and industrial production is easy to implement; the nitrogen-doped graphene can be applied to the fields of fuel cells, metal-air cells, microbial fuel cells and the like.

Disclosed is a mediator-less microbial fuel cell comprising a cathode compartment, an anode compartment, with or without glass wool and glass bead for separating the two compartments, an element for feeding air to the cathode compartment, and an element for feeding wastewater to the anode compartment. The cell further comprises an element for controlling the distance between the cathode compartment and the anode compartment. Graphite felt or graphite felt coated with a metal such as platinum is used as an electrode of the cathode compartment, and a buffer solution is used in the anode compartment. A mediator-less microbial fuel cell according to the present invention can be operated without using an expensive cation-exchange membrane, of which efficiency is by no means inferior to prior wastewater treatment methods.

The invention discloses a microbiological cell device and a municipal sludge disposal method. A microbiological fuel cell comprises an anode chamber, a cathode chamber, an anode, a cathode and a conducting wire, wherein the anode chamber and the cathode chamber are isolated by isolation material, and the anode chamber is provided with a sludge inlet and outlet for feeding and discharging sludge; the anode is arranged at the bottom of the anode chamber and is buried by sludge; supernatant liquid generated after the sludge is settled enters into the cathode chamber, the lower surface of the cathode clings to the liquid level of the supernatant liquid, and the upper surface of the cathode coated with catalyst contacts with air; and the cathode and the anode are connected by the conducting wire to form a loop. The invention also provides a method for disposing sludge by utilizing the microbiological fuel cell. As a new way for disposing sludge, the invention can solve the defects of the prior sludge disposal technology and effectively expand the application field of the microbiological fuel cell, thereby adapting to the requirement of the current environment protection situation.

This invention is to use knowledge pattern learning and search system for selecting microorganisms to produce useful materials and to generate clean energy from wastes, wastewaters, biomass or from other inexpensive sources. The method starts with an in silico screening platform which involves multiple steps. First, the organisms' profiles are compiled by linking the massive genetic and chemical fingerprints in the metabolic and energy-generating biological pathways (e.g. codon usages, gene distributions in function categories, etc.) to the organisms' biological behaviors. Second, a machine learning and pattern recognition system is used to group the organism population into characteristic groups based on the profiles. Lastly, one or a group of microorganisms are selected based on profile match scores calculated from a defined metabolic efficiency measure, which, in term, is a prediction of a desired capability in real life based on an organism's profile. In the example of recovering clean energy from treating wastewaters from food process industries, domestic or municipal wastes, animal or meat-packing wastes, microorganisms' metabolic capabilities to digest organic matter and generate clean energy are assessed using the invention, and the most effective organisms in terms of waste reduction and energy generation are selected based on the content of a biowaste input and a desired clean energy output. By selecting a microorganism or consortia of multiply microorganisms using this method, one can clean the water and also directly generate electricity from Microbial Fuel Cells (MFC), or hydrogen, methane or other biogases from microorganism fermentation. In addition, using similar screening method, clean hydrogen can be recovered first from an anaerobic fermentation process accompanying the wastewater treatment, and the end products from the fermentation process can be fed into a Microbial Fuel Cell (MFC) process to generate clean electricity and at the same time treat the wastewater. The invention can be used to first select the hydrogenic microorganisms to efficiently generate hydrogen and to select electrogenic organisms to convert the wastes into electricity. This method can be used for converting wastes to one or more forms of renewable energies.

The invention relates to a metal-free nitrogen-doped functionalized mesoporous carbon catalyst and preparation method and applications thereof. A precursor of the metal-free nitrogen-doped functionalized mesoporous carbon catalyst comprises the following components in percentage by mass: 20-85% of template agent, 10-75% of nitrogen compound, and 5-50% of transition metal salt. The nitrogen compound is carbonized at high temperature under the existence condition of transition metal, to form a high-nitrogen-content pyridine and graphite nitrogen (Nx-C) composite structure, and the catalytic activity of oxygen can be remarkably enhanced; the transition metal in the nitrogen-doped mesoporous carbon catalyst can be removed through acid pickling, so that the inactivation (corrosion) of the catalyst containing the transition metal under the conditions of strong acid and strong alkali can be avoided, the characteristics of being high in stability, not easy to poison and the like can be achieved, and the metal-free nitrogen-doped functionalized mesoporous carbon catalyst has excellent application prospects in the fields of treating waste water of fuel batteries, metal-air batteries, supercapacitors, energy-storage batteries, microbial fuel cells, and the like.

The invention discloses application of manganese dioxide for preparing a cathode of a microorganism fuel battery. The method comprises the following steps: the manganese dioxide is taken as a catalyst, the mixture of the catalyst, a conductive carbon material and a caking agent is coated on a conductive substrate to prepare the cathode of the microorganism fuel battery and a membrane composite cathode applied to the microorganism fuel battery. Compared with a non-catalytic electrode, MnO2 is taken as a cathode catalyst for remarkably increasing the reducing speed, reducing the polarization of the cathode and improving the energy output of the microorganism fuel battery; compared with the prior Pt catalyst, MnO2 has low price and wide source, and the microorganism fuel battery assembled by the catalyst of the cathode can operate stably for a long time and has high power output. The manganese dioxide for preparing the microorganism fuel battery electrode provides solid foundation for the commercial application of the microorganism fuel battery.

Being able to remove organic matter in wastewater economically, and to generate electricity, the invention discloses single pool type microbiocell by using organic wastewater as fuel. The microbiocell includes structures: anode pool contains organic wastewater, and anaerbia; anode inside the anode pool; and cathode fixed on open end of the anode pool. The anode pool is an anaerobic environment. When metastasis of bacteria, organic matter in oxidic wastewater acquires electrons and generates protons. Through anode, and external circuit, electrons and protons reach to cathode. Outside of cathode contacts air directly. Being able to diffuse to inner side of cathode naturally, oxygen in air combines electrons and protons to generate water. Increasing content of oxygen on surface of cathode, the invention does not need extra dynamic force, and does not need to add electron transfer mediator. Anode pool can maintains anaerobic environment well without need of nitrogen blow-off.

The present invention relates to a method in which a microbial fuel cell (MFC) is used in order to produce electrical power while also either eliminating a heavy metal or recovering a precious metal from waste water containing the heavy metal or the precious metal, and, more particularly, the invention has advantages including effective elimination of Hg2+ in the form of a solid precipitate or deposit of Hg or Hg2Cl2, and, incidentally, power is produced, by-products are rendered harmless and long-term economic operation is achieved.

The invention discloses a method and a device for simultaneously carrying out wastewater treatment and power generation by using a photocatalysis associated microbial fuel cell technology. The device takes conductive glass coated with an n-type semiconductor photocatalyst film as an outside wall of a cathode chamber and takes conductive glass coated with an n-type semiconductor photocatalyst film as an outside wall of an anode chamber, a conductive filler respectively connected on the outside walls of the cathode chamber and the anode chamber is used as an electrode of a microbial fuel cell. The conductive filler is a carbon fiber rope for microbial growth. Denitrifying bacteria and nitrifying bacteria are respectively cultivated at the cathode and anode of the microbial fuel cell, and mainly used for the degradation of organic matters and the removal of ammonia nitrogen. Under the irradiation of ultraviolet light, electrons flow from the anode to the cathode, so that the anode has strong oxidability, and the cathode has strong reducibility. In the invention, the functions of microbial fuel cells and a photocatalysis technology are mutually associated, so that the wastewater treatment cost is low, and the generating capacity is large.

The present invention provides a microbial fuel cell, using organic compounds as fuel, including an anode chamber, a cathode chamber, a membrane material for comparting the anode chamber and the cathode chamber and an external circuit, the membrane material is ion exchange membrane. The invention constructing microbial fuel cell by adopting ion exchange membrane as membrane material of MFC, improves the design concept of the microbial fuel cell based on the proton exchange membrane for a long time, the microbial fuel cell construction of the invention adopts the traditional MFC construction by using proton exchange membrane, having corresponding or even more output power and electricity production performance compared to the traditional MFC using proton exchange membrane, capable of commendably substituting the traditional MFC using proton exchange membrane, reducing the cost of the microbial fuel cell, providing possibility and technical support to the practical promotion of the microbial fuel cell.

The invention relates to a wastewater treatment technology, in particular to a method for treating organic wastewater by the combination of a microbial fuel cell and microalgae culture. The method comprises the following steps of: generating electric energy while organic substances, nitrogen and phosphorus in wastewater are removed through the microbial fuel cell, introducing the wastewater treated by the microbial fuel cell into a photobioreactor and culturing microalgae, and performing further continuous treatment by using the microalgae until the wastewater obtained after treatment meets the discharge standard. The method can be widely used for the treatment of the organic wastewater, improves the treatment effect of the wastewater, ensures that the electric energy and biomass energy which are obtained can compensate the cost of wastewater treatment, provides a novel way for the effective treatment of the organic wastewater, and has an important significance for saving energy, reducing emission and protecting environments.

The invention belongs to the technical field of biological fuel cells, and discloses a phycomycetes microbial fuel cell and a preparation method and application of the phycomycetes microbial fuel cell. The phycomycetes microbial fuel cell comprises an anode chamber, a cathode chamber, a transverse diaphragm, an anode, a cathode and an outer circuit, wherein phycomycetes, a culture solution and a carbon source are respectively installed in the anode chamber and the cathode chamber. In the operation process of the phycomycetes microbial fuel cell, operation is conducted by repeatedly converting the electrodes; in the whole operation process, with the help of synergistic effects of the phycomycetes, the effect that azo dye pollutants are degraded efficiently is achieved; the electrodes are alternately used for degrading the azo dye pollutants, therefore, the physiologically toxic effect on current-producing bacteria by the azo dye pollutants is eliminated, and continuous efficient current generation is realized; the phycomycetes is adopted as a biocatalyst for both the anode and the cathode, no metal catalyst is used for modification, no exogenous artificial mediator is added, aeration is not needed, therefore, the construction and operation cost of the microbial fuel cell is lowered, the sustainability of the microbial fuel cell is enhanced, and industrial amplified production of the microbial fuel cell can be conducted beneficially.

The invention discloses a preparation method for a graphene/ conductive polymer anode for a microbial fuel cell. The preparation method comprises the following steps: conductive polymer monomers and an aqueous suspension of graphene oxides are mixed, stirred at room temperature and subjected to ultrasonic treatment; by employing a constant voltage electroplating method, conductive polymer monomer/graphene oxide conductive composites are subjected to electrochemical polymerization and deposited on a surface of an anode; by employing a cyclic voltammetry, after situ electroreduction, a conductive polymer/electrochemical reduction graphene oxide modified anode is prepared on the electrode. The conductive polymer/electrochemical reduction graphene oxide modified anode is washed with deionized water and dried in the air at room temperature to prepare a graphene/ conductive polymer anode for a microbial fuel cell. Compared to traditional chemical modification methods, the preparation method reduces the usage of toxic reagents and cumbersome processes, lowers the preparation cost, and is easy to realize industrialization of electrode preparation. When the modified electrode is used for a cell, the electricity generation capacity of a microbial fuel cell is raised observably, and the development and application of a microbial fuel cell can be promoted.

The invention discloses an algal fungi synergistic ecological type microbial fuel cell and a method for generating electricity by utilizing water purification. The fuel cell consists of a fuel cell body, a water inlet distribution system, an anaerobic reaction area, a wetland ecological anode area and an algal fungi symbiotic cathode area. A cation exchange resin is added into a matrix, straw biological carbon is adopted in the wetland matrix, the conductivity is improved, and the internal resistance is reduced; an algal ecological cathode is constructed, and energy conservation and low carbon are realized; and moreover, a deep anaerobic zone is increased on the lower layer of the anode area and adapts to sewage feeding of high-concentration COD, the height of the cell body is increased, and the electrical activity of the cell is improved. The ecological wetland and the microbial fuel cell are combined, a wetland ecological anode and an algal fungi symbiotic oxygen-releasing ecological cathode are constructed, the ecological type microbial fuel cell is formed, and sewage treatment and energy recycling are realized.