Development and Long-Term Stability of a Novel Microbial Fuel Cell BOD Sensor with MnO2 Catalyst

A novel microbial fuel cell (MFC)-based biosensor was designed for continuous monitoring of biochemical oxygen demand (BOD) in real wastewater. To lower the material cost, manganese dioxide (MnO₂) was tested as an innovative cathode catalyst for oxygen reduction in a single chamber air-cathode MFC, and two different crystalline structures obtained during synthesis of MnO₂ (namely β- and γ-MnO₂) were compared. The BOD sensor was studied in a comprehensive way, using both sodium acetate solution and real domestic wastewater (DWW). The optimal performance of the sensor was obtained with a β-MnO₂ catalyst, with R² values of 0.99 and 0.98 using sodium acetate solution and DWW, respectively. The BOD values predicted by the β-MnO₂ biosensor for DWW were in agreement with the BOD₅ values, determined according to standard methods, with slight variations in the range from 3% to 12%. Finally, the long-term stability of the BOD biosensor was evaluated over 1.5 years. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report of an MFC BOD sensor using an MnO₂ catalyst at the cathode; the feasibility of using a low-cost catalyst in an MFC for online measurement of BOD in real wastewater broadens the scope of applications for such devices.