Effect of hydraulic retention time and electrode type on the performance of semi-continuous flow microbial fuel cell

Abstract

Abstract Traditional wastewater treatment processes demand high energy and are not economically feasible for domestic wastewater treatment. Microbial fuel cell (MFC) offers an alternative option for wastewater treatment with simultaneous energy recovery by utilizing the electrogenic bacteria and organic matter present in wastewater. This study investigates the performance of MFC for the treatment of domestic wastewater when operated at different hydraulic retention times (HRTs). Two dual-chamber MFCs were used each installed with a different type of anode. One of the anodes was a carbon fiber brush and the other was a graphite rod. Domestic wastewater was utilized as a substrate and the reactors were run in a semi-continuous flow at HRTs of 48, 36, 24, 12, 8, 4 and 2 h under 1000 Ω external resistance. At HRT of 8 h, maximum voltage of 319 mV and 308 were achieved for MFC with carbon fiber brush (CFBMFC) and graphite rod (GRMFC), respectively. Maximum COD removals of 80.3% and 73.9% corresponding to maximum coulombic efficiency of 5.4% and 4.2% were achieved for CFBMFC and GRMFC at an HRT of 48 h respectively. Power curves showed that maximum power density of 77 mW/m 2 and 58 mW/m 2 was achieved for CFBMFC and GRMFC, respectively.

Key findings

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Identifiers

DOI

10.21203/rs.3.rs-3312674/v1

Journal

Research Square

Year

2023