Removal of ammonia nitrogen from wastewater using an aerobic cathode microbial fuel cell.
A new system for removing ammonia nitrogen was developed, which integrated a microbial fuel cell (MFC) with an aerobic bioreactor. A three-chamber reactor consisted of an anode chamber, a middle chamber and a cathode chamber. The chambers were separated by an anion exchange membrane and a cation exchange membrane (CEM), respectively. Driven by the power generated by the MFC, NH4(+) in the middle chamber could migrate through CEM into the cathode chamber. The migrated NH4(+) further removed via biological denitrification in the cathode chamber. Up to 90.2% of total NH4(+)-N could be removed with an initial concentration of 100 mg/L in 98 h. Affecting factors were investigated on the removal efficiency including cathode surface area, electrode spacing, chemical oxygen demand concentration, dissolved oxygen concentration, and NH4(+)-N concentration. The system was characterized by simple configuration and high efficiency, and was successfully applied to the treatment of brewery wastewater.
College of Chemistry, Chemical Engineering and Materials Science, Soochow University, Suzhou, Jiangsu 215123, China.
Xiaoyan
X
Zhang
College of Chemistry, Chemical Engineering and Materials Science, Soochow University, Suzhou, Jiangsu 215123, China.
Feng
F
Zhu
College of Chemistry, Chemical Engineering and Materials Science, Soochow University, Suzhou, Jiangsu 215123, China.
Li
L
Chen
College of Chemistry, Chemical Engineering and Materials Science, Soochow University, Suzhou, Jiangsu 215123, China.
Qin
Q
Zhao
College of Chemistry, Chemical Engineering and Materials Science, Soochow University, Suzhou, Jiangsu 215123, China. Electronic address: taogh@suda.edu.cn.
Guanhong
G
Tao
D000332:Aerobiosis; D000641:Ammonia / Q000032:analysis*; D001673:Biodegradation, Environmental; D001674:Bioelectric Energy Sources; D057919:Biological Oxygen Demand Analysis; D019149:Bioreactors; D058440:Denitrification; D004560:Electricity; D004566:Electrodes; D004867:Equipment Design; D019649:Food Industry; D058465:Nitrification; D009584:Nitrogen / Q000737:chemistry; D013997:Time Factors; D014865:Waste Disposal, Fluid / Q000379:methods; D062065:Wastewater; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical / Q000032:analysis*; D018508:Water Purification / Q000379:methods*
D000641:Ammonia; D009584:Nitrogen; D062065:Wastewater; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical
Ammonia nitrogen; Biological denitrification; Microbial fuel cell; Removal; Wastewater