ORIGINAL ARTICLE
Bioelectricity Generation in a Microbial Fuel Cell Using Non-precious Metal Cathodes
1
Institute of Environmental Engineering and Biotechnology, University of Opole, Opole, Poland
Submission date: 2025-10-07
Final revision date: 2026-06-29
Acceptance date: 2026-07-24
Online publication date: 2026-09-07
Publication date: 2026-09-07
Corresponding author
Paweł Piotr Włodarczyk
Institute of Environmental Engineering and Biotechnology, University of Opole, Poland
Institute of Environmental Engineering and Biotechnology, University of Opole, Poland
Civil and Environmental Engineering Reports 2026;36(3):1-11
KEYWORDS
TOPICS
ABSTRACT
The development of microbial fuel cell (MFC) technologies represents a key direction in improving wastewater treatment methods. This approach allows for simultaneous wastewater pre-treatment and energy recovery in the form of bioelectricity. However, one of the primary obstacles to the broader application of MFCs is their limited electricity output. As a result, increasing the efficiency of this process remains a central research objective. In this study, a carbon-based electrode (carbon felt, CF) was used as the anode in MFCs. For the cathode, copper mesh modified with various non-precious metal catalysts (CF, stainless steel, Cu-B, Ni-Co) was employed. The experiments were conducted in glass MFC reactors, with sintered glass serving as the chamber separator. Several electrode configurations were tested: CF/CF, CF/SS, CF/Ni-Co, and CF/Cu-B. Experiments were conducted using a glass reactor (glass MFC) equipped with carbon-based electrodes. To reduce costs, a foamed glass membrane was used as the separator. Bioelectricity generation was observed in all tested configurations. Among them, the CF/Ni-Co system demonstrated the best overall performance, providing faster start-up, higher power density.
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