MICROBIAL FUEL CELL STACK

• US 20100003543A1
• Filed: 07/06/2009
• Published: 01/07/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 07/04/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Guangdong Institute of Eco-environmental and Soil Sciences
• Original Assignee: Guangdong Institute of Eco-environmental and Soil Sciences
• Inventors: ZHOU, Shungui
• Granted Patent: US 9,147,902 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 429/2
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 8/16 Biochemical fuel cells, i.e. cells in which microorganisms function as catalysts
• CPC Class Codes: Y02E 60/50 Fuel cells

Abstract

The present invention discloses a microbial fuel cell stack, which comprises a plurality of microbial fuel cells and is characterized in that the microbial fuel cell includes a perforated frame, a cathode and an anode, and that the cathode wraps the perforated frame to form an anode chamber, and that the anode is arranged inside the anode chamber. Wires are respectively extended from the cathode and the anode. The microbial fuel cells are connected head to tail sequentially via pipes, and thus the anode chambers thereof interconnect each other. The first microbial fuel cell of the cell stack has a feeding port, and the last one has a discharging port.

Claims

1. A microbial fuel cell stack, comprising a plurality of microbial fuel cells, and characterized in that:

said microbial fuel cell includes a perforated frame, a cathode and an anode;

said cathode wraps said perforated frame to form an anode chamber;

said anode is arranged inside said anode chamber;

wires are respectively extended from said cathode and said anode;

said microbial fuel cells are connected head to tail sequentially via pipes;

said anode chambers interconnect each other;

the first one of said microbial fuel cells of said microbial fuel cell stack has a feeding port, and

the last one of said microbial fuel cells of said microbial fuel cell stack has a discharging port.

2. The microbial fuel cell stack according to claim 1, wherein said pipe interconnecting said microbial fuel cells has a diameter from one fifth to one third of a diameter of said microbial fuel cell.

3. The microbial fuel cell stack according to claim 2, wherein said pipes and said frames is an one-piece component;

segments of said pipe are perforated to function as said frames;

a space between two adjacent said frames is between 2 and 20 cm.

4. The microbial fuel cell stack according to claim 3, wherein said pipe is an insulating pipe having a diameter of 5-20 cm;

said frame has a length of 10-30 cm;

said pipe is perforated via drilling holes on said pipe;

said holes have a diameter of 0.5-2 cm and a hole density of 100-3000 holes/m².

5. The microbial fuel cell stack according to claim 1, wherein said pipes include elbows;

said pipes are connected by said elbows to form a spiral-type structure;

said microbial fuel cells are arranged along said spiral-type structure to extend horizontally or vertically or to form a multi-layer structure.

6. The microbial fuel cell stack according to claim 1, wherein said anode is made of graphite grains, a carbon felt, a carbon fabric, or a carbon fiber brush.

7. The microbial fuel cell stack according to claim 1, wherein said cathode is formed via hot-pressing a catalyst-containing carbon fabric and an ion exchange membrane.

8. The microbial fuel cell stack according to claim 1, wherein said cathode includes a waterproof air-permeable layer, a fabric-based layer and a conductive catalytic layer from the inside to the outside.

9. The microbial fuel cell stack according to claim 8, wherein said waterproof air-permeable layer is a PTFE (polytetrafluoroethylene) coating or a PVDF (polyvinylidene fluoride) coating.

10. The microbial fuel cell stack according to claim 9, wherein PTFE or PVDF is coated on one surface of said fabric-based layer by a distribution of 1.0-3.0 mg/cm².

11. The microbial fuel cell stack according to claim 8, wherein said conductive catalytic layer is a coating of a mixture of an oxygen reduction catalytic and a conductive paint.

12. The microbial fuel cell stack according to claim 11, wherein said oxygen reduction catalytic and said conductive paint is mixed by a ratio of 1:

4-15;

said mixture of said oxygen reduction catalytic and said conductive paint is coated on the other surface of said fabric-based layer.

13. The microbial fuel cell stack according to claim 11, wherein said conductive paint is a graphite-based conductive paint or a nickel-based conductive paint;

said oxygen reduction catalytic contains platinum, pyr-FePc (pyrolyzed iron(ll) phthalocyanine), CoTMPP (cobalt tetramethoxyphenylporphyrin), or electrolyzed MnO₂ (manganese dioxide).

14. The microbial fuel cell stack according to claim 1, wherein said cathode includes a waterproof air-permeable fabric and a conductive catalytic layer from the inside to the outside.

15. The microbial fuel cell stack according to claim 14, wherein said conductive catalytic layer is a coating of a mixture of an oxygen reduction catalytic and a conductive paint by a ratio of 1:

4-15.

16. The microbial fuel cell stack according to claim 15, wherein said conductive paint is a graphite-based conductive paint or a nickel-based conductive paint;

said oxygen reduction catalytic contains platinum, pyr-FePc, CoTMPP, or electrolyzed MnO₂.