Performance of stacking microbial fuel cell in series with serpentine flow fields

A stacking microbial fuel cell in series with serpentine flow field (MFCS-S) was constructed by using four started-up single microbial fuel cells. The performance of the MFCS-S was tested and several possible measures of improving MFCS-S performance were investigated. The experimental results showed that a maximal power density of 2226 mW&middotm-2 was observed at a high voltage of 2.11 V. A cell with low performance in MFCS-S would present a reversed voltage at a certain current density and then result in a low stack cell, which was the main limitation of further improving MFCS-S performance. Although large improvement is impossible for the voltage reverse, an increase in the flow rate of the anolyte and catholyte in MFC-R can result in a significant improvement for power output of MFCS-S. By using a hybrid connection, the voltage reverse would be avoided, resulting in a largely increased stack performance. However, the voltage reverse cannot be improved by removing the MFC-R and even got worse after switching it into reverse in the series circuit. © All Rights Reserved.