Cr-methanol fuel cell for efficient Cr(VI) removal and high power production

A novel Cr-methanol fuel cell was designed to remove Cr(VI) with simultaneous electricity production. In this design, methanol was oxidized on anode, while Cr(VI) was reduced on cathode. With 2 mol L−1 sodium hydroxide as anolyte and 0.1 mol L−1 sodium sulfate as catholyte, the power density output of as high as 903 W m−2 with external resistance of 15 Ω at 45 °C could be obtained. More than 91% Cr(VI) could be reduced in one single cycle of around 400 min. What is more, the presented electrochemical cell can steadily run in wide temperature ranges from −14 °C to 45 °C. Our results also demonstrated that the proposed Cr-methanol fuel cell had potential application for Cr(VI) removal with simultaneous electricity production.