Summary: | 碩士 === 國立聯合大學 === 機械工程學系碩士班 === 105 === Microbial fuel cells (MFCs) generate low-pollution power by feeding organic matter to bacteria. Thus, it has become a crucial technology for applications in energy recovery and environmental protection. In MFC system, the electrode materials have a critical impact on the capacity of power generation, and high surface area materials and different surface treatments have been used to increase electrode performance. In this study, a novel surface treatment for anode is proposed. Electrical discharge machining (EDM) is applied to surface modification of stainless steel mesh anode. The experimental results indicate that after EDM surface treatment, surface area and surface roughness of stainless steel mesh anode are increased by approximately 3.39–3.71 and 3.78–5.02 times, respectively. For reducing the experimental variability and precisely estimating the effects of electrode modifications of MFC performance levels, a single bacterium, Escherichia coli HB101, was used to convert energy.
The results show that the treated stainless steel mesh anode can increase power generation by approximately 1.1–2.03 times. The EDM surface treatment method has the advantage of low-cost and simple process, and the treatment anode has good good electrical properties, excellent microbial adhesion. Thus, the treatment method has the potential to improve the efficiency and practicality of a MFC system.
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