Electricity generation and treatment of paper recycling wastewater using a microbial fuel cell.
Increased interest in sustainable agriculture and bio-based industries requires that we find more energy-efficient methods for treating cellulose-containing wastewaters. We examined the effectiveness of simultaneous electricity production and treatment of a paper recycling plant wastewater using microbial fuel cells. Treatment efficiency was limited by wastewater conductivity. When a 50 mM phosphate buffer solution (PBS, 5.9 mS/cm) was added to the wastewater, power densities reached 501+/-20 mW/m2, with a coulombic efficiency of 16+/-2%. There was efficient removal of soluble organic matter, with 73+/-1% removed based on soluble chemical oxygen demand (SCOD) and only slightly greater total removal (76+/-4%) based on total COD (TCOD) over a 500-h batch cycle. Cellulose was nearly completely removed (96+/-1%) during treatment. Further increasing the conductivity (100 mM PBS) increased power to 672+/-27 mW/m2. In contrast, only 144+/-7 mW/m2 was produced using an unamended wastewater (0.8 mS/cm) with TCOD, SCOD, and cellulose removals of 29+/-1%, 51+/-2%, and 16+/-1% (350-h batch cycle). These results demonstrate limitations to treatment efficiencies with actual wastewaters caused by solution conductivity compared to laboratory experiments under more optimal conditions.
School of Environmental and Biological Science and Technology, Dalian University of Technology, Dalian, 116024, China.
Liping
L
Huang
Bruce E
BE
Logan
D001419:Bacteria / Q000378:metabolism; D001674:Bioelectric Energy Sources / Q000382:microbiology*; D019149:Bioreactors / Q000382:microbiology; D002482:Cellulose / Q000378:metabolism*; D003246:Conservation of Energy Resources / Q000379:methods*; D004560:Electricity; D007220:Industrial Waste / Q000032:analysis*; D010100:Oxygen / Q000378:metabolism; D010209:Paper; D012722:Sewage / Q000382:microbiology*
D007220:Industrial Waste; D012722:Sewage; D002482:Cellulose; D010100:Oxygen