title: Increased power generation from primary sludge by a submersible microbial fuel cell and optimum operational conditions.
abstract: Microbial fuel cells (MFCs) have received attention as a promising renewable energy technology for waste treatment and energy recovery. We tested a submersible MFC with an innovative design capable of generating a stable voltage of 0.250 ± 0.008 V (with a fixed 470 Ω resistor) directly from primary sludge. In a polarization test, the maximum power density was 0.18 W/m(2) at a current density of 0.8 A/m(2) with an external resistor of 300 Ω. The anodic solution of the primary sludge needs to be adjusted to a pH 7 for high power generation. The modified primary sludge with an added phosphate buffer prolonged the current generation and increased the power density by 7 and 1.5 times, respectively, in comparison with raw primary sludge. These findings suggest that energy recovery from primary sludge can be maximized using an advanced MFC system with optimum conditions.
authors: Department of Environmental Engineering, Technical University of Denmark, 2800 Lyngby, Denmark.
authors: Valentina
authors: V
authors: Vologni
authors: Ramesh
authors: R
authors: Kakarla
authors: Irini
authors: I
authors: Angelidaki
authors: Booki
authors: B
authors: Min
mesh_terms: D001674:Bioelectric Energy Sources / Q000382:microbiology*; D006863:Hydrogen-Ion Concentration; D012722:Sewage / Q000382:microbiology*
chemical_list: D012722:Sewage