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A constructed wetland-microbial fuel cell (CW-MFC) powered photoelectrocatalytic (PEC) system was used to treat refractory wastewater, showing a 93.29% increase in degradation rate compared to other methods.

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What they did

System
MFC

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Abstract

Abstract Constructed wetland‐microbial fuel cell (CW‐MFC) offers a dual benefit of wastewater treatment and energy recovery from wastewater to generate electricity. The optimization and application of this electricity have garnered significant attention in recent years. In this study, we utilized the electricity generated by CW‐MFCs to power a photoelectrocatalytic (PEC) system designed to enhance the degradation of refractory wastewater contaminants. We investigated the efficiency of Rhodamine B (RhB) wastewater degradation using a CW‐MFC coupled PEC system under varying bias voltages supplied by the CW‐MFC. The results demonstrated that the CW‐MFC‐PEC coupled system exhibited superior degradation efficiency for Rhodamine B under a bias voltage of 0.6 V. Compared to TiO 2 adsorption, electrocatalysis (EC), UV photodegradation, and UV‐TiO 2 photocatalysis (PC), the degradation rate of the CW‐MFC‐PEC coupled system increased by 93.29 ± 1.6%, 89.41 ± 1.49%, 59.34 ± 0.06%, and 16.4 ± 2.46%, respectively. Further investigation by free radical capture experiments verified that activated substances including hydroxyl radical (•OH) play a crucial role in the catalytic degradation process. This study demonstrates that the electricity generated by CW‐MFC can be used for photoelectrocatalysis to improve the efficacy of wastewater treatment, presenting a novel method for treating highly concentrated organic wastewater and refractory wastewater simultaneously.

Key findings

  • The CW-MFC-PEC coupled system exhibited superior degradation efficiency for Rhodamine B under a bias voltage of 0.6 V.
  • The degradation rate of the CW-MFC-PEC coupled system increased by 93.29 ± 1.6% compared to TiO2 adsorption.
  • The degradation rate of the CW-MFC-PEC coupled system increased by 89.41 ± 1.49% compared to electrocatalysis (EC).
  • The degradation rate of the CW-MFC-PEC coupled system increased by 59.34 ± 0.06% compared to UV photodegradation.
  • The degradation rate of the CW-MFC-PEC coupled system increased by 16.4 ± 2.46% compared to UV-TiO2 photocatalysis (PC).

Keywords

Microbial fuel cellRefractory (planetary science)WastewaterMechanism (biology)WetlandConstructed wetland

Identifiers

DOI
10.1002/ep.70001
Journal
Environmental Progress & Sustainable Energy
Year
2025