Journal
BIOCHEMICAL ENGINEERING JOURNAL
Volume 111, Issue -, Pages 34-42Publisher
ELSEVIER SCIENCE BV
DOI: 10.1016/j.bej.2016.03.003
Keywords
Polybenzimidazole; Polyvinylpyrrolidone; Membrane bioreactors; Biocatalysis; Microbial growth; Waste-water treatment
Funding
- Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR)
- Ministry of Environment and Forest, Govt. of India (MOEF)
- Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), Govt. of India [09/028(850)12012-EMR-I]
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In present study, different blend compositions of polybenzimidazole (PBI) and polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) have been analyzed as polymer electrolyte membrane in single chambered MFCs. Four membranes namely, pure PBI, PBI/PVP 70:30, 50:50, and 30:70 blend ratios with increasing PVP content were casted, where the hygroscopic properties of the membranes were found enhanced with increasing PVP content. The membranes were characterized at room temperature (22 + 2 degrees C) with different ion exchange (IEC) and proton conductive capacities, where an IEC of 0.06 meq g(-1), 0.15 meq g(-1), 0.24 meq g(-1) and 0.36 meq g(-1) and proton conductivity of 2.5 x 10(-4), 4.8 x 10(-4), 9.36 x 10(-4) and 1.2 x 10(-3)S cm(-1) were observed from pure PBI, PBI/PVP 70:30, 50:50, and 30:70 membranes respectively. As membrane electrode assemblies (MEA), the casted membranes were sandwiched in-between carbon cloths, where a maximum power and current density of 231.38 12 mW m(-2) and 1242 1 62 mA m(-2) were observed from 30:70 PBI/PVP fitted MFC, using mixed firmicutes as biocatalysts. A gross 8436% COD removal from 30:70 PBI/PVP membrane indicated the added effect of PVP in blend composition with approximately 81% higher power over pure PBI membrane. The results indicate the potential efficacy of PBI/PVP blends as seperators in microbial fuel cell, for bio-energy conversion over pure PBI membrane. (C) 2016 Published by Elsevier B.V.
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