Biofouling-focused assessment of a novel, cellulose-based ionogel membrane applied in a microbial fuel cell

In this work, a novel ionogel membrane was prepared on polyethersulfone physical support from the mixture of microcrystalline cellulose and [BMIM][Cl] (1-Butyl-3-methylimidazolium chloride) ionic liquid and used in a microbial fuel cell (MFC). The ionogel membrane was characterized in terms of its morphology, mass- (substrate, oxygen) and ion transfer features and compared to Nafion 115. The membranes were deployed in acetate-fed two-chamber MFC, where the MFC equipped with the ionogel membrane showed a Coulombic efficiency and peak current density of 49.4 % and 369 mA m−2, respectively. Through three weeks of experiments, the electrode and membrane biofouling layers were studied by 16S amplicon metagenomics and correspondence analysis. It turned out that a cellulose-degrading species, Clostridium termitidis was present with a relatively large, 23.2 % relative abundance on the surface of the ionogel membrane, which may have caused its deterioration and the consequent colonization of the cathodic compartment. [Display omitted] •A physically-supported ionogel membrane was prepared for microbial fuel cells.•Ionogel membrane structure, mass and ion transfer properties were characterized.•Microbial fuel cells with different membrane were comparatively assessed.•Morphological irregularities of the ionogel membrane were revealed by microscopy.•The ionogel membrane promoted the cellulose-degrading Clostridium termitidis.