As the consequences of global warming continue to affect the climate, there is an increased need for technologies that decrease dependence on fossil fuel consumption and promote sustainability. ...Additive manufacturing (AM) not only enables the scale-up and mass production of renewable energy technologies but also reduces cost and lead time, minimizes waste, and uses less energy than traditional manufacturing processes. Moreover, AM brings design and innovation to the forefront by allowing for design strategy revision and rapid prototyping. Herein, AM approaches used to fabricate devices that enable biological power generation are described. Biological power generation is a process through which biocatalysts – electroactive bacteria, enzymes, or cyanobacteria – harvest electrons from chemical substrates or light. Device engineering directs electron transfer events to a conductive material and maximizes power output. This review covers recent AM approaches for biological power generation in the form of microbial fuel cells (MFCs), enzymatic fuel cells, and biophotovoltaic cells with an emphasis on MFCs. Fabrication methods and materials for electrodes, chambers, inserts, membranes, and biofilms are described, along with impacts on device performance.
•Additive manufacturing approaches and materials for microbial and enzymatic fuel cells and biophotovoltaic cells are described.•The impact of three-dimensionally printed chambers, inserts, and membranes on MFCs performance is discussed.•The concept of ‘bioink’, that is, application and patterning of biological suspensions using printing and spray coating is presented.
Bacteriorhodopsin (bR) is a photoactive protein that has great potential to be used in bioelectronics applications. For the first time, a monolayer of bR created by the Langmuir–Blodgett method is ...immobilized on a ZnO nanoporous film. Scanning electron microscopy and atomic force microscopy analyses are used to study the morphological properties of the electrodes. In addition, an efficient biosolar cell is designed and fabricated, and the performance of produced nano‐biohybrid electrode is investigated by the measurement of power conversion efficiency of biosolar cell. Under AM1.5 irradiation, a short‐circuit current of 0.39 mA cm−2, open‐circuit voltages of 0.5 V, fill factor of 0.52, and an overall energy conversion efficiency of 0.1% are achieved.
Photosynthetic Microbial Fuel Cells Laureanti, Joseph A; Jones, Anne K
Advances in biochemical engineering, biotechnology,
2016, Volume:
158
Journal Article
This chapter presents the current state of research on bioelectrochemical systems that include phototrophic organisms. First, we describe what is known of how phototrophs transfer electrons from ...internal metabolism to external substrates. This includes efforts to understand both the source of electrons and transfer pathways within cells. Second, we consider technological progress toward producing bio-photovoltaic devices with phototrophs. Efforts to improve these devices by changing the species included, the electrode surfaces, and chemical mediators are described. Finally, we consider future directions for this research field.
