Cr-methanol fuel cell for efficient Cr(VI) removal and high power production

A novel Cr-methanol fuel cell was designed to remove Cr(VI) with simultaneous electricity production. In this design, methanol was oxidized on anode, while Cr(VI) was reduced on cathode. With 2molL−1 sodium hydroxide as anolyte and 0.1molL−1 sodium sulfate as catholyte, the power density output of as high as 903Wm−2 with external resistance of 15Ω at 45°C could be obtained. More than 91% Cr(VI) could be reduced in one single cycle of around 400min. What is more, the presented electrochemical cell can steadily run in wide temperature ranges from −14°C to 45°C. Our results also demonstrated that the proposed Cr-methanol fuel cell had potential application for Cr(VI) removal with simultaneous electricity production.