Long-term evaluation of a 10-liter serpentine-type microbial fuel cell stack treating brewery wastewater

A 10-liter serpentine-type microbial fuel cell (MFC) stack was constructed by extending 40 tubular air-cathode MFC units in a 3-D alignment pattern. When operated in series and fed with brewery wastewater, the stack produced an open circuit voltage of 23.0 V and a maximum power density of 4.1 W/m3 (at 0.7 A/m3). During long-term performance (180 days), electrochemical tests were conducted to explore the reasons for deterioration in performance of the stack system. Cyclic voltammetric measurements suggested that the cathodes, not the anodes, were responsible for the decrease in performance over time. After the cathode surface was rinsed with water, the power density produced by the stack system fully recovered instantaneously, due to the decrease in cathode alkalization and increase in humidity of the cathode side. This study provided an optimal configuration of a MFC stack for MFC scale-up towards large-scale applications.