Novel proton exchange membranes based on PVC for microbial fuel cells (MFCs)

Proton exchange membranes (PEMs), used as separators, are one of the important components in microbial fuel cells (MFCs). The efficiency of MFC is greatly influenced by PEM. Nafion, which is a commonly used membrane, has several disadvantages in addition to its high cost. The aim of the present work was to develop low-cost PEMs with higher conductivity. In the current work, membranes were prepared using comparatively cheaper material polyvinyl chloride with different concentrations of silica (SiO2), citric acid and phosphotungstic acid (PWA) by the solution casting method. Different membrane properties such as surface morphology, water uptake capacity, ion exchange capacity (IEC), tensile strength, leaching test and potential applications in MFCs were investigated. The results showed that the prepared membrane with 10% silica has the highest water uptake of 55.8%. The IEC of prepared membranes was found to vary from 0.024 to 0.875 meq/g. The membranes showing better IEC were applied to the MFC. The maximum power density obtained was 43.91 m W/cm(2 )in the case of a membrane with both 5% PWA and 5% silica. The results obtained make this membrane a promising and economically viable new material in MFC applications.