Influence of pressurized anode chamber on ion transports and power generation of UF membrane microbial fuel cells (UF-MFCs)

Ultrafiltration membrane integrated microbial fuel cell (UF-MFC) has developed to produce high-quality effluents by integrating the membrane filtration process into the MFC system. During UF-MFC operation, however, unexpected power reductions were observed under different pressures that were applied in the anode chamber (22.0% and 25.5% at 0.7 bar and 2.1 bar, respectively). It was hypothesized that those of power reductions might occur due to the limitation of ion transport across the UF membrane- which could be caused by the pressurized anode chamber to filter the anode solution through the UF membrane. A test with a NaCl concentrated cathode solution showed few dissolved ions being transported from the cathode to anode chamber while the pressure was being applied in the anode chamber. This result clearly indicates that the limitation of ion transport from the cathode to the pressurized anode chamber is a significant factor affecting the power density of UF-MFCs, even more so than water permeation through the UF membrane.