High performance spiral wound microbial fuel cell with hydraulic characterization

The understanding and development of functioning systems are crucial steps for microbial fuel cell (MFC) technology advancement. In this study, a compact spiral wound MFC (swMFC) was developed and hydraulic residence time distribution (RTD) tests were conducted to investigate the flow characteristics in the systems. Results show that two-chamber swMFCs have high surface area to volume ratios of 350–700 m2/m3, and by using oxygen cathode without metal-catalysts, the maximum power densities were 42 W/m3 based on total volume and 170 W/m3 based on effective volume. The hydraulic step-input tracer study identified 20–67% of anodic flow dead space, which presents new opportunities for system improvement. Electrochemical tools revealed very low ohmic resistance but high charge transfer and diffusion resistance due to catalyst-free oxygen reduction. The spiral wound configuration combined with RTD tool offers a holistic approach for MFC development and optimization.