Carbon materials derived from waste tires as high-performance anodes in microbial fuel cells.

In this study, carbonized waste tires were directly used as a high-performance anode material in microbial fuel cells (MFCs). The effect of the pyrolysis temperature used for waste tire carbonization on the current output performance was investigated to determine the optimal pyrolysis temperature. Thermal gravimetric analysis/differential scanning calorimetry showed that tire carbonization started at 200°C and ended at about 500°C; the weight loss was about 64%. When used in an MFC, the electrode obtained from waste tires carbonized at 800°C gave a current density of 23.1±1.4Am-2, which is much higher than that achieved with traditional graphite felt anodes (5.5±0.1Am-2). The results of this study will be useful in optimizing the design of carbonized waste tire anodes for enhancing MFC performances and will alleviate the environmental problems caused by waste tires.