Two-dimensional carbon cloth and three-dimensional carbon felt perform similarly to form bioanode fed with food waste

Elise Blanchet (1) , Benjamin Erable (1) , Marie-Line de Solan (1) , Alain Bergel (1)

1 LGC - Laboratoire de Génie Chimique

Two-dimensional carbon cloth and three-dimensional carbon felt were compared for their capacity to form bioanodes for food waste treatment. Wastewater was used as the dilution medium instead of a synthetic solution to be close to industrial conditions. In both cases, microbial cells were mainly wrapped around the fibers of the electrodes. The biofilms were around 80–120 μm thick with a 39.3% microbial volume ratio on carbon cloths. On carbon felt, the biofilms showed a lower microbial volume ratio of 16.3% on the upper layers but with a penetration depth of 200–800 μm. The biofilm patterns were different but they resulted in similar current density, around 3.5 A/m2.When chemically rich media have to be implemented, 2D cloth offers a worthwhile solution that can equal 3D porous materials.

Mots clés: Microbial anode; Carbon felt; Biofilm structure; Porous electrode; Microbial electrochemical technology

Domaines: Génie chimique; Génie des procédés

Elise Blanchet, Benjamin Erable, Marie-Line de Solan, Alain Bergel. Two-dimensional carbon cloth and three-dimensional carbon felt perform similarly to form bioanode fed with food waste. Electrochemistry Communications, 2016, vol. 66, pp. 38-41. ⟨10.1016/j.elecom.2016.02.017⟩. ⟨hal-01304333⟩