Effect of Poised Cathodic Potential on Anodic Ammonium Nitrogen Removal from Domestic Wastewater by Air-Cathode Microbial Fuel Cells

Microbial fuel cells (MFCs) can be used in wastewater treatment and to simultaneously produce electricity (renewable energy). MFC technology has already been applied successfully in lab-scale studies to treat domestic wastewater, focussing on organic matter removal and energy production. However, domestic wastewater also contains nitrogen that needs to be treated before being discharged. The goal of this paper is to assess simultaneous domestic wastewater treatment and energy production using an air-cathode MFC, paying special attention to nitrogen compound transformations. An air-cathode MFC was designed and run treating 1.39 L d−1 of wastewater with an organic load rate of 7.2 kg COD m−3 d−1 (80% removal efficiency) and producing 1.42 W m−3. In terms of nitrogen transformations, the study demonstrates that two different processes took place in the MFC: physical–chemical and biological. Nitrogen loss was observed increasing in line with the power produced. A low level of oxygen was present in the anodic compartment, and ammonium was oxidised to nitrite and nitrate.

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Effect of COD and HRT Changes in Submerged Microbial Fuel Cells on Nitrogen Removal at the Level of Domestic Wastewater

Journal of Korean Society of Environmental Engineers ◽

10.4491/ksee.2018.40.8.314 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 40 (8) ◽

pp. 314-319

Author(s):

Younghyun Park ◽

Heechun Yang ◽

Jaecheul Yu ◽

Taeho Lee

Keyword(s):

Fuel Cells ◽

Nitrogen Removal ◽

Microbial Fuel Cells ◽

Domestic Wastewater

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Effect of gradual transition of substrate on performance of flat-panel air-cathode microbial fuel cells to treat domestic wastewater

Bioresource Technology ◽

10.1016/j.biortech.2016.12.022 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 226 ◽

pp. 158-163 ◽

Cited By ~ 6

Author(s):

Younghyun Park ◽

Seonghwan Park ◽

Van Khanh Nguyen ◽

Jung Rae Kim ◽

Hong Suck Kim ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Fuel Cells ◽

Microbial Fuel Cells ◽

Domestic Wastewater ◽

Gradual Transition ◽

Flat Panel ◽

Air Cathode

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Polyelectrolyte–single wall carbon nanotube composite as an effective cathode catalyst for air-cathode microbial fuel cells

Water Science & Technology ◽

10.2166/wst.2014.416 ◽

2014 ◽

Vol 70 (10) ◽

pp. 1610-1616 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Huanan Wu ◽

Min Lu ◽

Lin Guo ◽

Leonard Guan Hong Bay ◽

Zheng Zhang ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Fuel Cells ◽

Carbon Nanotube ◽

Oxygen Reduction ◽

Microbial Fuel Cells ◽

Reduction Process ◽

Air Cathode ◽

Single Wall Carbon Nanotube ◽

Single Wall Carbon ◽

Cathode Catalysts ◽

Metal Free

Polyelectrolyte–single wall carbon nanotube (SCNT) composites are prepared by a solution-based method and used as metal-free cathode catalysts for oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) in air-cathode microbial fuel cells (MFCs). In this study, two types of polyelectrolytes, polydiallyldimethylammonium chloride (PDDA) and poly[bis(2-chloroethyl)ether-alt-1,3-bis[3-(dimethylamino)propyl]urea] (PEPU) are applied to decorate the SCNTs and the resulting catalysts exhibit remarkable catalytic ability toward ORR in MFC applications. The enhanced catalytic ability could be attributed to the positively charged quaternary ammonium sites of polyelectrolytes, which increase the oxygen affinity of SCNTs and reduce activation energy in the oxygen reduction process. It is also found that PEPU–SCNT composite-based MFCs show efficient performance with maximum power density of 270.1 mW m−2, comparable to MFCs with the benchmark Pt/C catalyst (375.3 mW m−2), while PDDA–SCNT composite-based MFCs produce 188.9 mW m−2. These results indicate that PEPU–SCNT and PDDA–SCNT catalysts are promising candidates as metal-free cathode catalysts for ORR in MFCs and could facilitate MFC scaling up and commercialization.

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