3D-Printed Anode for Power Generation and Wastewater Treatment in Microbial Fuel Cells

Microbial fuel cells (MFCs) are an emerging technology that converts the chemical energy stored in organic substrates into electrical energy using microorganisms as catalysts. However, their performance is often limited by the anode design and architecture. To address this, conductive anodes with well-defined pore sizes were manufactured via 3D printing and evaluated for electrical energy generation and wastewater treatment in microbial fuel cells. The maximum power density, coulombic efficiency, and accumulated biomass observed were 14.94 mW/m², 4.87 ± 0.56%, and 0.186 ± 0.025 g, respectively, for the anode with a 2.3 mm pore size. The maximum chemical oxygen demand (COD) removal efficiency was 86.98 ± 1.89% for the anode with a pore size of 1.6 mm. However, this difference was minimal and not significant compared to the anode with a 2.3 mm pore size, which achieved 85.77 ± 2.31%. Additionally, the lowest internal resistance observed was 1246.44 Ω, corresponding to the MFC equipped with the anode with a pore size of 2.3 mm. Taken together, these results indicate that, when using 3D-printed anodes with controlled architectures, an intermediate pore size, neither too large nor too small, provides an adequate balance between electrochemical performance and efficient wastewater treatment in microbial fuel cells.