KMnO4 Modification of Graphite Anodes to Enhance Performance of Benthic Microbial Fuel Cell

摘要

To enhance performance of Benthic Microbial Fuel Cell (BMFC),its graphite anode was modified by a simple and low cost pretreatment method was explored. The contact angle of the graphite decreased from 132° to 63° when treated with KMnO4/H_2SO4 solution,the good wettability would be help for the attachment of the microorganism. The comparative study demonstrated that modified graphite anode had a about 132-fold more exchange current density (i0) than control graphite anode,the i0 was 6.40×l0-6 A/m2and 4.84×10-8 A/m2 for the pretreated and untreated graphite anode respectively. The maximum power density in the BMFC containing the modified anode reached 41 mW/m2,compared with the untreated (26 mW/m2).