Bioelectrochemical reduction of CO2 to CH4 via Fe3O4-MWCNTs modified nickel foam cathode

CHAI Qianglong; ZHANG Haowen; SUN Dezhi; SUN Guangdong; WANG Haopeng; DANG Yan

doi:10.13205/j.hjgc.202603009

Volume 44 Issue 3

Mar. 2026

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Article Navigation > ENVIRONMENTAL ENGINEERING > 2026 > 44(3): 101-111

CHAI Qianglong, ZHANG Haowen, SUN Dezhi, SUN Guangdong, WANG Haopeng, DANG Yan. Bioelectrochemical reduction of CO2 to CH4 via Fe3O4-MWCNTs modified nickel foam cathode[J]. ENVIRONMENTAL ENGINEERING , 2026, 44(3): 101-111. doi: 10.13205/j.hjgc.202603009

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CHAI Qianglong, ZHANG Haowen, SUN Dezhi, SUN Guangdong, WANG Haopeng, DANG Yan. Bioelectrochemical reduction of CO₂ to CH₄via Fe₃O₄-MWCNTs modified nickel foam cathode[J]. ENVIRONMENTAL ENGINEERING , 2026, 44(3): 101-111. doi: 10.13205/j.hjgc.202603009

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Bioelectrochemical reduction of CO₂ to CH₄via Fe₃O₄-MWCNTs modified nickel foam cathode

doi: 10.13205/j.hjgc.202603009

1. Beijing Key Lab for Source Control Technology of Water Pollution，Beijing Forestry University，Beijing 100083，China;
2. Beijing Engineering Research Center for Source Control & Eco-remediation Technology of Water Pollution，Beijing Forestry University，Beijing 100083，China

Received Date: 2026-02-27
Available Online: 2026-04-11
Publish Date: 2026-03-01

Abstract

Abstract

In the context of global carbon neutrality goals and energy transformation，it is urgent to develop new technologies that efficiently convert CO₂ into renewable energy carriers such as CH₄. Microbial electrolysis cells （MECs）， which couple electrochemistry with microbial metabolism for CO₂ conversion， exhibit performance that is heavily dependent on the electron transfer capabilities and biocompatibility of the cathode.Therefore，Nafion was employed to load nanoscale Fe₃O₄ and carboxylated multi-walled carbon nanotubes onto nickel foam （NF）. The electrochemical performance of the modified NF was characterized using techniques such as electrochemical impedance spectroscopy （EIS），cyclic voltammetry （CV），and linear sweep voltammetry （LSV）. The results indicated that the modified NF exhibited lower internal resistance，a larger electrochemical active surface area，and enhanced hydrogen evolution capabilities.Ultimately，this modified cathode was employed in a constant current dual-chamber anaerobic methanogenic MECs for the electrochemical reduction of CO₂ to CH₄.The results demonstrated that under a constant current of -0.1 A，the CH₄concentration of the nanoscale Fe₃O₄ and carboxylated multi-walled carbon nanotube-modified NF group could reach 90%，surpassing the 80% CH₄ concentration of the NF group. Moreover，the daily CH₄ production of the modified group was 295 mL，higher than the 260 mL daily methane production of the NF group，reflecting an increase of 13%. It was found that the modified NF exhibited higher hydrogen production and lower internal resistance， creating a more favorable environment for the growth and enrichment of hydrogenotrophic methanogens， thereby facilitating the electrochemical reduction of CO₂ to CH₄. Subsequent microbial community analysis also indicated that the relative abundance of the hydrogenotrophic methanogen Methanobacterium in the reactor with the modified NF was higher than that in the NF group，further facilitating the process of H₂ serving as an electron donor for CO₂ reduction to CH₄. This research provides new ideas and experimental evidence for the development of novel non-precious metal composite cathode materials in bioelectrochemical systems.
- microbial electrolysis cell,
- nanoscale Fe₃O₄,
- carbon nanotubes,
- modified nickel foam,
- methanogen

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References(34)

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