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Journal ArticleDOI

Complete Oxidation of Glycerol in an Enzymatic Biofuel Cell

Robert L. Arechederra, +1 more
- 01 Feb 2009 - 
- Vol. 9, Iss: 1, pp 63-69
TLDR
With the addition of oxalate oxidase, these glycerol/air biofuel cells have yielded power densities of up to 1.32 mW cm–2, and have the ability to operate at high fuel concentrations.
Abstract
Glycerol has drawn increasing attention as a prospective fuel because it has many desirable qualities and is abundant due to the fact that it is a by-product of biodiesel production Qualities such as nontoxicity, extremely low vapour pressure, low flammability and high energy density make glycerol very appealing as an energy source Previous research has shown that partial oxidation of glycerol can occur at enzymatic bioanodes of biofuel cells utilising PQQ-dependent alcohol dehydrogenase (PQQ-ADH) and PQQ-dependent aldehyde dehydrogenase (PQQ-AldDH) In this paper, we describe the use of glycerol for a fuel in an enzymatic biofuel cell that utilizes a three-enzyme cascade on the anode that can accomplish the complete oxidation of glycerol The bioanode that was developed contained PQQ-ADH, PQQ-AldDH and oxalate oxidase immobilised within a tetrabutylammonium-modified Nafion membrane Our previous research has shown that glycerol is an effective fuel with the PQQ-ADH and PQQ-AldDH but still was unable to be fully oxidised With the addition of oxalate oxidase, these glycerol/air biofuel cells have yielded power densities of up to 132 mW cm–2, and have the ability to operate at high fuel concentrations The oxidation products were confirmed with 13C NMR and comprised mainly 13C-labelled carbonate and glycerate

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Citations
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Journal ArticleDOI

Enzymatic biofuel cells: 30 years of critical advancements.

TL;DR: This review details the advancements in the field of enzymatic biofuel cells over the last 30 years, including strategies for improving operational stability and electrochemical performance, as well as device fabrication for a variety of applications, including implantable bio fuel cells and self-powered sensors.
Journal ArticleDOI

Enzymatic fuel cells: Recent progress

TL;DR: A review of recent efforts to improve electron transfer between the enzymes and electrodes, in the presence or absence of mediators, with most attention on implantable or semi-implantable enzymatic fuel cells that harvest the body's own fuel, glucose, coupled to oxygen reduction, to provide power to biomedical devices is presented in this paper.
Journal ArticleDOI

Nanomaterials for bio-functionalized electrodes: recent trends

TL;DR: This review is discussing the interest of both nano-objects and nano-engineered and/or nanostructured materials for the rational design of bio-functionalized electrodes and related (bio)sensing systems.
Journal ArticleDOI

Tackling the Challenges of Enzymatic (Bio)Fuel Cells

TL;DR: A range of strategies for improving the stability of EFCs are evaluated, including the use of different enzyme immobilization approaches, tuning enzyme properties, designing protective matrixes, and using microbial surface displaying enzymes.
References
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Journal ArticleDOI

Direct electron transfer between copper-containing proteins and electrodes

TL;DR: It is shown that long-range electron transfer between these enzymes and electrodes can be established, and the mechanistic schemes of the DET processes are proposed.
Journal ArticleDOI

Glucose oxidase anode for biofuel cell based on direct electron transfer

TL;DR: In this paper, a new design concept of a glucose oxidase (GO x ) electrode as an anode for the biofuel cell based on direct electron transfer (DET) between the active site of an enzyme and the multi-walled carbon nanotube (MWNT)-modified electrode surface was presented.
Journal ArticleDOI

Improving the environment for immobilized dehydrogenase enzymes by modifying Nafion with tetraalkylammonium bromides.

TL;DR: The ability to immobilize dehydrogenase enzymes in Nafion that has been modified with quaternary ammonium bromides is examined to determine the activity of the immobilized enzyme and to examine the transport of coenzyme within the membrane.
Journal ArticleDOI

Development of glycerol/O2 biofuel cell

TL;DR: Glycerol is an attractive fuel for a fuel cell, because it is non-toxic, nonvolatile, non-flammable, and is abundant due to the fact that it is a byproduct of biodiesel production.
Journal ArticleDOI

Microchip-based ethanol/oxygen biofuel cell

TL;DR: This research demonstrates the feasibility of a microfabricated biofuel cell device that is powered by the addition of ethanol through a flow channel to a bioanode that has been modified with two layers.
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