Oxidised stainless steel: a very effective electrode material for microbial fuel cell bioanodes but at high risk of corrosion

Abstract

Bioelectrochemical systems (BES) are gaining momentum as biotechnological alternatives for self-powered wastewater treatment and the recovery of valuable products from waste. However, there is a strong need to reduce system costs and therefore some types of stainless steel (SS) electrodes have been proposed as an alternative to carbonaceous electrode materials, but their corrosion remains a strong concern. We hereby demonstrate that a facile SS modification results in up to 45.367 mA cm-3 current production at room temperature - the highest volumetric current density reported to date for BES bioanodes-but that this benefit comes at a high risk of corrosion, which compromises the applicabilit..