Nandy, ArpitaSharma, MohitaVenkatesan, Senthil VelanTaylor, NicoleGieg, LisaThangadurai, Venkataraman2020-02-282020-02-282019-03-16Nandy, A., Sharma, M., Venkatesan, S., Taylor, N., Gieg, L., & Thangadurai, V. (2019). Comparative Evaluation of Coated and Non-Coated Carbon Electrodes in a Microbial Fuel Cell for Treatment of Municipal Sludge. Energies, 12(6), 1034. https://doi.org/10.3390/en120610341996-1073http://hdl.handle.net/1880/111694https://dx.doi.org/10.11575/PRISM/37613This study aims to provide insight into the cost-effective catalyst on power generation in a microbial fuel cell (MFC) for treatment of municipal sludge. Power production from MFCs with carbon, Fe2O3, and Pt electrodes were compared. The MFC with no coating on carbon generated the least power density (6.72 mW·m?2) while the MFC with Fe2O3-coating on carbon anodes and carbon cathodes generated a 78% higher power output (30.18 mW·m?2). The third MFC with Fe2O3-coated carbon anodes and Pt on carbon as the cathode catalyst generated the highest power density (73.16 mW·m?2) at room temperature. Although the power generated with a conventional Pt catalyst was more than two-fold higher than Fe2O3, this study suggests that Fe2O3 can be investigated further as an efficient, low-cost, and alternative catalyst of Pt, which can be optimized for improving performance of MFCs. Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) and cyclic voltammetry (CV) results demonstrated reduced resistance of MFCs and better charge transfer between biofilm and electrodes containing coated anodes compared to non-coated anodes. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) was used to analyze biofilm morphology and microbial community analysis was performed using 16S rRNA gene sequencing, which revealed the presence of known anaerobic fermenters and methanogens that may play a key role in energy generation in the MFCs.enUnless otherwise indicated, this material is protected by copyright and has been made available with authorization from the copyright owner. You may use this material in any way that is permitted by the Copyright Act or through licensing that has been assigned to the document. For uses that are not allowable under copyright legislation or licensing, you are required to seek permission.© 2019 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.Fe2O3catalyst coatingmicrobial fuel cell (MFC)bioelectrochemistrypower productionelectro-active biofilmswastewater treatmentsustainablejournal article10.3390/en12061034