부산대학교 도서관

Characterizations of the electrochemistry of a microbial fuel cell (MFC) is very important in developing bioelectrochemical energy producing wastewater treatment process. Compared to the development of MFC technology, however, understanding of its electrochemical characterization is still insufficient. The main reason is that its electrochemical analysis is very difficult due to the complex nature of the anode biofilm, which is a key to generating electricity. In this experiment, the influence of the measurement potential of impedance and the scanning rate for polarization curve on the MFC electrochemistry was investigated. The experiment was performed after stabilizing the system for accurate measurement. Unlike the previous batch tests showing the lowest anodic impedance at -400 mV vs. Ag/AgCl, the anodic impedance decreased and the current production increased as the anode potential increased up to +5.7 mV vs. Ag/AgCl in the continuous flow MFC. However, the cathodic impedance was very little affected by the measuring potential because the activated carbon catalyst is abiotic and much less sensitive to electrical stimulation than the anode biofilm. The polarization curves were produced at two scanning rates (1 and 0.1 mV/s) in a continuous mode, and those electrochemical data were comparatively analyzed. When it is difficult to maintain a steady state for a long time in an MFC, it will be possible to produce polarization curves in a short time with a faster scanning rate. When performance analysis is needed, the comparative analysis would be possible among the data at different conditions through extrapolation.