title: Using single-chamber microbial fuel cells as renewable power sources of electro-Fenton reactors for organic pollutant treatment.
abstract: Electro-Fenton reactions can be very effective for organic pollutant degradation, but they typically require non-sustainable electrical power to produce hydrogen peroxide. Two-chamber microbial fuel cells (MFCs) have been proposed for pollutant treatment using Fenton-based reactions, but these types of MFCs have low power densities and require expensive membranes. Here, more efficient dual reactor systems were developed using a single-chamber MFC as a low-voltage power source to simultaneously accomplish H2O2 generation and Fe(2+) release for the Fenton reaction. In tests using phenol, 75 ± 2% of the total organic carbon (TOC) was removed in the electro-Fenton reactor in one cycle (22 h), and phenol was completely degraded to simple and readily biodegradable organic acids. Compared to previously developed systems based on two-chamber MFCs, the degradation efficiency of organic pollutants was substantially improved. These results demonstrate that this system is an energy-efficient and cost-effective approach for industrial wastewater treatment of certain pollutants.
authors.affiliation: Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802, United States.
authors.forename: Xiuping
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Zhu
authors.forename: Bruce E
authors.initials: BE
authors.lastname: Logan
mesh_terms: D001674:Bioelectric Energy Sources; D006861:Hydrogen Peroxide / Q000737:chemistry*; D007501:Iron / Q000737:chemistry*; D019800:Phenol / Q000737:chemistry*; D059205:Renewable Energy; D014865:Waste Disposal, Fluid / Q000379:methods; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical / Q000737:chemistry*
chemical_list: D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical; D019800:Phenol; D006861:Hydrogen Peroxide; D007501:Iron