Enhanced current production of the anode modified by microalgae derived nitrogen-rich biocarbon for microbial fuel cells

Abstract In this study, nitrogen-rich biocarbon derived from carbonized Chlorella pyrenoidosa (CCP) was proposed to enhance the current generation from the anode of microbial fuel cells (MFCs). The results revealed that the carbon cloth decorated by CCP (CCP-CC) achieved the highest bioelectrocatalytic current density of 13.44 ± 0.34 A m −2 after the successful startup, which was 12% and 22% higher than those with carbon black (CB-CC) and the bare carbon cloth (CC), respectively. The results can be attributed to the advantages of CCP-CC over CB-CC and CC in terms of a higher active biomass content, a much smaller charge transfer resistance resulting from the facilitated direct electron transfer due to the presence of N-containing functional groups in CCP and the enhanced mediated electron transfer caused by the larger surface area of the CCP-CC anode for the flavin mediator adsorption.