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A membrane-less microbial fuel cell (ML-MFC) was used to remove chemical oxygen demand (COD) from dewatered sludge, producing a voltage of 927.7 ± 11.24 mV and removing 178.7 mg/L of COD after 240 hours.

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What they did

System
MFC

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Abstract

Dewatered sludge is redundantly found in a municipal wastewater treatment plant, and the amount is increasing every year. However, the dewatered sludge could be used to power the membrane-less microbial fuel cell (ML-MFC), which is operated electrochemically via incorporation of electricity producing micro-organisms. The dewatered sludge normally acts as an electron donating substrate. Results showed that the ML-MFC produced voltage at about 927.7 ± 11.24 mV whereby 178.7 mg/L of chemical oxygen demand (COD) was removed after 240 h of incubation period. Nonetheless, voltage and COD removal values obtained from the dewatered sludge in the ML-MFC might differ every time the study is repeated because the availability of maximum biomass of electrogenic bacteria (EB) will be different due to the heterogeneous properties and EB performance inside the ML-MFC. The parametric uncertainty analysis of COD removal was then assessed using Monte Carlo simulation (stochastic variable) to determine the distribution probability affected by the fluctuation and variation of kinetic model parameters. From the study of 100 000 samples tested (simulation), the results show that the substrate removal (S) value ranged from 172.58 to 185.02 mg/L. The impact of each kinetic parameter on the ML-MFC performance was evaluated via sensitivity analysis. It is found that the ML-MFC performance significantly relied on the growth of EB present.

Key findings

  • The ML-MFC produced a significant amount of voltage and removed a substantial amount of COD from the dewatered sludge.
  • The availability of electrogenic bacteria (EB) and their performance inside the ML-MFC affects the voltage and COD removal values.
  • A Monte Carlo simulation was used to assess the parametric uncertainty analysis of COD removal, showing that the substrate removal is affected by the fluctuation and variation of kinetic model parameters.

Keywords

Microbial fuel cellChemical oxygen demandMonte Carlo methodBiomass (ecology)WastewaterPulp and paper industry

Identifiers

DOI
10.1063/5.0039014
Journal
AIP Advances
Year
2021