title: Improving the flexibility of microbial desalination cells through spatially decoupling anode and cathode.
abstract: To improve the flexibility of microbial desalination cell (MDC) construction and operation, a new configuration with decoupled anode and cathode was developed and examined in this study. A higher salt concentration resulted in higher current generation, as well as a higher salt removal rate. The effect of the distance between the anode and the cathode on the MDC performance was not obvious, likely due to a sufficient conductivity in the salt solution. Because the cathode was identified as a limiting factor, adding one more cathode unit increased the current generation from 72.3 to 116.0 A/m(3), while installing additional anode units did not obviously alter the MDC current production. Changing the position of the anode/cathode units exhibited a weak influence on the MDC performance. Parallel connection of electrical circuits generally produced more current than the individual connections, and a strong competition was observed between multiple units sharing the same opposite unit.
authors.affiliation: Department of Civil Engineering and Mechanics, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, Milwaukee, WI 53211, United States.
authors.forename: Qingyun
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Ping
authors.forename: Zhen
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: He
mesh_terms: D001419:Bacteria / Q000378:metabolism*; D001674:Bioelectric Energy Sources / Q000382:microbiology*; D004560:Electricity; D004566:Electrodes; D005240:Feasibility Studies; D018583:Pliability; D054712:Salinity; D018508:Water Purification / Q000295:instrumentation* / Q000379:methods*
keywords: Bioelectricity; Decoupling; Electrical connection; Microbial desalination cell