Solid oxide fuel cells (SOFC) are receiving an increasing level of attention for both smalland large-scale applications due their high fuel flexibility compared to other types of fuel cells. This article reviews recent work in SOFC materials research, with an emphasis on anodes that can directly utilize hydrocarbon fuels.

Power production of four hydraulically connected microbial fuel cells (MFCs) was compared with the reactors operated using individual electrical circuits (individual), and when four anodes were wired together and connected to four cathodes all wired together (combined), in fed-batch or continuous flow conditions. Power production under these different conditions could not be made based on a sin...

Materials chemistry and electrochemistry have long been very active elds of research accelerated by chance discoveries, societal needs, and the ever expanding constituency of researchers around the globe. Advances in synthesis, characterisation techniques, and interdisciplinary research have caused an almost exponential growth in research where applications have been driving the focus – especi...

In this review, we report on the use of low pressure plasmas for elaborating materials at the heart of solid polymer fuel cells (SPFC), especially electrodes and the membrane electrolyte. Electrodes are formed using plasma sputtering techniques while the ion conducting membranes are built up using plasma polymerization. Fuel cell performance will be improved by these approaches. The electrode c...

Approach • Study the kinetics of fuel cell electrode reactions on well-characterized model electrodes and high surface area fuel cell electrocatalysts using modern electroanalytical methods. • Study the mechanisms of the reactions using state-of-the art in-situ spectroscopes. • Use ultrahigh vacuum (UHV) methods of surface preparation and surface analyses to form tailored surfaces. • Synthesize...

Environmental and sustainable economical concerns are generating a growing interest in biofuels predominantly produced from biomass. It would be ideal if an energy conversion device could directly extract energy from a sustainable energy resource such as biomass. Unfortunately, up to now, such a direct conversion device produces insufficient power to meet the demand of practical applications. T...

There are several interconnected metabolic pathways in bacteria essential for the conversion of carbon electron sources directly into electrical currents using microbial fuel cells (MFCs). This study establishes a direct exogenous method to increase power output from a Shewanella oneidensis MR-1 containing MFC by adding calcium chloride to the culture medium. The current output from each CaCl(2...

Today's global energy crisis requires a multifaceted solution. Bioenergy is an important part of the solution. The microbial fuel cell (MFC) technology stands out as an attractive potential technology in bioenergy. MFCs can convert energy stored in organic matter directly into bioelectricity. MFCs can also be operated in the electrolysis mode as microbial electrolysis cells to produce bioproduc...

Broad application of microbial fuel cells (MFCs) requires low cost and high operational sustainability. Microbial-cathode MFCs, or cathodes using only bacterial catalysts (biocathodes), can satisfy these demands and have gained considerable attention in recent years. Achievements with biocathodes over the past 3-4 years have been particularly impressive not only with respect to the biological a...

Domestic wastewater treatment was examined under two different temperature (23+/-3 degrees C and 30+/-1 degrees C) and flow modes (fed-batch and continuous) using single-chamber air-cathode microbial fuel cells (MFCs). Temperature was an important parameter for treatment efficiency and power generation. The highest power density of 422 mW/m(2) (12.8 W/m(3)) was achieved under continuous flow an...