Abstract:
The increasing concerns of climate change, energy generation, storage, consumption, and water pollution are
topics that are gaining attention within modern research fields. This has led to numerous researchers devoting
their efforts to developing green technologies that will alleviate these challenges with technologies that are
energy efficient, cost-effective, and have low to no carbon dioxide emission. One of the most promising emerging
technologies is the Microbial Fuel Cell (MFC) as bioelectricity generation and wastewater treatment is
simultaneously achieved during microbial metabolism. However, MFCs are still incompatible with high energy
demands due to practical limitations. The overall performance of an MFC depends on the microorganism,
appropriate electrode materials, and suitable MFC designs. This work aims to improve the performance of an
air-cathode MFC by optimizing the cathode electrode through the introduction of bio-Pd(0) as a catalyst. A
consortium of Sulfate-Reducing Bacteria (SRB) isolated from a wastewater treatment plant and Pd(II) was used
to fabricate the bio-Pd(0) catalyst through the reduction of Pd(II) by the consortium. The catalyst was
characterized by X-Ray Diffraction (XRD) and Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) which revealed the
presence of Pd(0) deposits on the cell surface of the bacteria. Following fabrication, the bio-Pd(0) catalyst was
introduced to the cathode, and the MFC recorded a maximum power density of 0.044 mW m-3 and a peak
voltage of 215.5 mV.
