scholarly journals Simultaneous Removal of Trivalent Arsenic and Nitrate Using Microbial Fuel Cells

Processes ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (4) ◽  
pp. 673
Author(s):  
Jing Guo ◽  
Jianping Cheng ◽  
Jiaquan Wang ◽  
Shuheng Hu

A rectangular double chamber with trivalent arsenic as the electron donor of the biological anode was constructed by microbial fuel cells (MFC), and the feasibility of the MFC simultaneous degradation of trivalent arsenic and nitrate was studied. Experimental results show that the co-matrix-coupled MFC reactor oxidizes trivalent arsenic in an anode chamber and degrades nitrate in the cathode chamber. The removal rate of trivalent arsenic is about 63.35%, and the degradation rate of nitrate is about 55.95% during the complete and stable operation period. MFC can continuously output electric energy, and the maximum output voltage is 388 mV. We compared and analyzed the main functional microflora of biofilm microorganisms in an anode chamber. In the long-term arsenic-polluted environment, the activity of Acinetobacter, Pseudomonas bacteria with arsenic resistance, was improved. It is inferred that a fraction of trivalent arsenic was oxidized to pentavalent arsenic by electrode-attached microorganisms. While remaining trivalent, arsenic was taken up by the suspended bacterial biomass and converted into stable arsenide. The results of this study have theoretical reference value for the expansion of the MFC application scope.

2013 ◽  
Vol 21 (7) ◽  
pp. 1707-1712 ◽  
Author(s):  
莫冰 MO Bing ◽  
黄荣海 HUANG Rong-hai ◽  
赵峰 ZHAO Feng ◽  
凌朝东 LING Chao-dong

Water ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (9) ◽  
pp. 1803 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yuko Goto ◽  
Naoko Yoshida

Conventional aerobic treatment of swine wastewater, which generally contains 4500–8200 mg L−1 of organic matter, is energy-consuming. The aim of this study was to assess the application of scaled-up microbial fuel cells (MFCs) with different capacities (i.e., 1.5 L, 12 L, and 100 L) for removing organic matter from swine wastewater. The MFCs were single-chambered, consisting of an anode of microbially reduced graphene oxide (rGO) and an air-cathode of platinum-coated carbon cloth. The MFCs were polarized via an external resistance of 3–10 Ω for 40 days for the 1.5 L-MFC and 120 days for the 12L- and 100 L-MFC. The MFCs were operated in continuous flow mode (hydraulic retention time: 3–5 days). The 100 L-MFC achieved an average chemical oxygen demand (COD) removal efficiency of 52%, which corresponded to a COD removal rate of 530 mg L−1 d−1. Moreover, the 100 L-MFC showed an average and maximum electricity generation of 0.6 and 2.2 Wh m−3, respectively. Our findings suggest that MFCs can effectively be used for swine wastewater treatment coupled with the simultaneous generation of electricity.


Energies ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 13 (18) ◽  
pp. 4712
Author(s):  
Dawid Nosek ◽  
Agnieszka Cydzik-Kwiatkowska

Development of economical and environment-friendly Microbial Fuel Cells (MFCs) technology should be associated with waste management. However, current knowledge regarding microbiological bases of electricity production from complex waste substrates is insufficient. In the following study, microbial composition and electricity generation were investigated in MFCs powered with waste volatile fatty acids (VFAs) from anaerobic digestion of primary sludge. Two anode sizes were tested, resulting in organic loading rates (OLRs) of 69.12 and 36.21 mg chemical oxygen demand (COD)/(g MLSS∙d) in MFC1 and MFC2, respectively. Time of MFC operation affected the microbial structure and the use of waste VFAs promoted microbial diversity. High abundance of Deftia sp. and Methanobacterium sp. characterized start-up period in MFCs. During stable operation, higher OLR in MFC1 favored growth of exoelectrogens from Rhodopseudomonas sp. (13.2%) resulting in a higher and more stable electricity production in comparison with MFC2. At a lower OLR in MFC2, the percentage of exoelectrogens in biomass decreased, while the abundance of genera Leucobacter, Frigoribacterium and Phenylobacterium increased. In turn, this efficiently decomposed complex organic substances, favoring high and stable COD removal (over 85%). Independent of the anode size, Clostridium sp. and exoelectrogens belonging to genera Desulfobulbus and Acinetobacter were abundant in MFCs powered with waste VFAs.


2013 ◽  
Vol 777 ◽  
pp. 92-95
Author(s):  
Wei Ping Liu ◽  
Xia Fei Yin

A continuous flow double chamber microbial fuel cell (MFC) for wastewater treatment was constructed. Anaerobic activated sludge was used as bacterial source and simulated organic wastewater was used as substrate. Effluent of anode chamber was used directly as influent of the cathode chamber. The aerobic microorganisms could degrade organic matters further. The electricity production and organic wastewater treatment of the MFC were studied. The results show that the wastewater chemical oxygen demand (COD) of the total removal rate was 74.1%~77.45%, the anode chamber in which the removal rate of COD is 32.2%~35.3%, and COD removal efficiency of aerobic biological treatment in the cathode chamber was 60.2%~66.7%. The continuous flow system could improve the removal rate further. The maximum current density of MFC was 1.56 mAm-2, the maximum output power was 24.336 mWm-2.


Author(s):  
Jie Yang ◽  
Sasan Ghobadian ◽  
Reza Montazami ◽  
Nastaran Hashemi

Microbial fuel cell (MFC) technology is a promising area in the field of renewable energy because of their capability to use the energy contained in wastewater, which has been previously an untapped source of power. Microscale MFCs are desirable for their small footprints, relatively high power density, fast start-up, and environmentally-friendly process. Microbial fuel cells employ microorganisms as the biocatalysts instead of metal catalysts, which are widely applied in conventional fuel cells. MFCs are capable of generating electricity as long as nutrition is provided. Miniature MFCs have faster power generation recovery than macroscale MFCs. Additionally, since power generation density is affected by the surface-to-volume ratio, miniature MFCs can facilitate higher power density. We have designed and fabricated a microscale microbial fuel cell with a volume of 4 μL in a polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) chamber. The anode and cathode chambers were separated by a proton exchange membrane. Carbon cloth was used for both the anode and the cathode. Shewanella Oneidensis MR-1 was chosen to be the electrogenic bacteria and was inoculated into the anode chamber. We employed Ferricyanide as the catholyte and introduced it into the cathode chamber with a constant flow rate of approximately 50 μL/hr. We used trypticase soy broth as the bacterial nutrition and added it into the anode chamber approximately every 15 hours once current dropped to base current. Using our miniature MFC, we were able to generate a maximum current of 4.62 μA.


2008 ◽  
Vol 58 (11) ◽  
pp. 2195-2201 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. Ki ◽  
J. Park ◽  
J. Lee ◽  
K. Yoo

In this study, we performed microbial community analysis to examine microbial diversity and community structure in microbial fuel cells (MFCs) seeded with activated sludge from a municipal wastewater treatment plant in South Korea. Because anode-attached biofilm populations are particularly important in electricity transfer, the ecological characteristics of anode-attached biofilm microbes were explored and compared with those of microbes grown in suspension in an anode chamber. 16S rDNA-based community analysis showed that the degree of diversity in anode-attached biofilms was greater than that of the originally seeded activated sludge as well as that of the suspension-grown microbes in the anode bottle. In addition, Bacteroidetes and Clostridia grew preferentially during MFC electricity generation. Further phylogenetic analysis revealed that the anode biofilm populations described in this work are phylogenetically distant from previously characterized MFC anode biofilm microbes. These findings suggest that a phylogenetically diverse set of microbes can be involved in the electricity generation of MFC anode compartments, and that increased microbial diversity in anode biofilms may help to stabilize electricity production in the MFC.


Author(s):  
Pedy Artsanti ◽  
Sudarlin Sudarlin ◽  
Eka Fadzillah Kirana

The effect of increasing surface area of graphite electrode on the performance of dual chamber Microbial Fuel Cells (MFC) was observed. The surface area of graphite electrode (anode and cathode) that was using in this experiment was 29.5cm2 and 44.5cm2 for the A and B reactor, respectively. The anode chamber contained mixed microorganism culture from real wastewater of textile industry and the cathode chamber contained 0.1M potassium permanganate electrolyte solution. The salt bridge was required to stabilize the charge between the anode and cathode chambers, and the electrodes attached to the anode and cathode chambers as the electron catcher. Both, the A and B reactor were observed for 72 hours of running time. The voltage and power density were found to increase with the increase in surface area of the graphite electrode. The highest power density was 93.93mWm-2 and 197.23mWm-2 that obtained at 36 hours and 48 hours on the A and B reactor, respectively. At the end of experiment, these MFCs system could also reduce COD by 28.6% and 15.6% on A and B reactor, respectively.


2021 ◽  
Vol 11 ◽  
Author(s):  
Priyadharshini Mani ◽  
V. T. Fidal ◽  
Taj Keshavarz ◽  
T. S. Chandra ◽  
Godfrey Kyazze

Enzymatic biocathodes have the potential to replace platinum as an expensive catalyst for the oxygen reduction reaction in microbial fuel cells (MFCs). However, enzymes are fragile and prone to loss of activity with time. This could be circumvented by using suitable immobilization techniques to maintain the activity and increase longevity of the enzyme. In the present study, laccase from Trametes versicolor was immobilized using three different approaches, i.e., crosslinking with electropolymerized polyaniline (PANI), entrapment in copper alginate beads (Cu-Alg), and encapsulation in Nafion micelles (Nafion), in the absence of redox mediators. These laccase systems were employed in cathode chambers of MFCs for decolourization of Acid orange 7 (AO7) dye. The biocatalyst in the anode chamber was Shewanella oneidensis MR-1 in each case. The enzyme in the immobilized states was compared with freely suspended enzyme with respect to dye decolourization at the cathode, enzyme activity retention, power production, and reusability. PANI laccase showed the highest stability and activity, producing a power density of 38 ± 1.7 mW m−2 compared to 25.6 ± 2.1 mW m−2 for Nafion laccase, 14.7 ± 1.04 mW m−2 for Cu-Alg laccase, and 28 ± 0.98 mW m−2 for the freely suspended enzyme. There was 81% enzyme activity retained after 1 cycle (5 days) for PANI laccase compared to 69% for Nafion and 61.5% activity for Cu-alginate laccase and 23.8% activity retention for the freely suspended laccase compared to initial activity. The dye decolourization was highest for freely suspended enzyme with over 85% decolourization whereas for PANI it was 75.6%, Nafion 73%, and 81% Cu-alginate systems, respectively. All the immobilized laccase systems were reusable for two more cycles. The current study explores the potential of laccase immobilized biocathode for dye decolourization in a microbial fuel cell.


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