According to a survey, the annual energy loss caused by the discharge of organic biological waste can reach one-third of the global total. Therefore, the development of a clean decontamination technology that can recover chemical energy in sewage is of great significance for the sustainable development of resources and energy. . In line with the needs of the times, the photocatalytic fuel cell (PFC) came into being. Solar energy is a well-known new energy source, which has the advantages of being clean and renewable. The photocatalytic wastewater fuel cell system based on semiconductor photocatalyst makes full use of the chemical energy of solar energy and pollutants to generate electricity.
 

This technology does not require other electron acceptors to operate, has strong oxidizing ability and no secondary pollution, can completely degrade organic pollutants contained in water into water or carbon dioxide, etc., and reduce inorganic pollutants to harmless substances.

A photocatalytic fuel cell is a complex system that couples material transport and light/electrical/chemical reactions, involving the transport of light, reactants and products, such as light intensity, methanol concentration, electrolyte flow rate and other influencing factors. These are closely related to the cell structure and the design of the photoanode and affect cell performance.

Research on the performance of photocatalytic fuel cells

An experiment was conducted to study the performance of photocatalytic fuel cells to degrade wastewater while generating electricity under light conditions. The battery is continuously fed with liquid. The performance of the photocatalytic fuel cell is tested under the condition of controlling the constant flow rate of the electrolyte and different flow rates, and the influence of the electrolyte flow rate on the power generation performance and wastewater degradation performance of the battery is obtained.

In the research process, the Rongbai LSP series laboratory syringe pump was used to inject the electrolyte into the cathode and anode chambers of the photocatalytic fuel cell at the same specific flow rate respectively, so as to obtain the influence rule of the electrolyte flow rate on the performance of the photocatalytic fuel cell and to determine the optimal solution. The optimal flow rate value can achieve the best battery performance.

The electrolyte plays the role of conducting electrons between the positive and negative electrodes in the battery. Experiments show that the flow rate should not be too high or too low. The micro-injection pump is used as the power source of the whole system to provide a stable electrolyte flow rate. The photocatalytic wastewater fuel cell obtains high performance. ensure.