title: Power generation and oil sands process-affected water treatment in microbial fuel cells.
abstract: Oil sands process-affected water (OSPW), a product of bitumen isolation in the oil sands industry, is a source of pollution if not properly treated. In present study, OSPW treatment and voltage generation were examined in a single chamber air-cathode microbial fuel cell (MFC) under the effect of inoculated carbon source and temperature. OSPW treatment with an anaerobic sludge-inoculated MFC (AS-MFC) generated 0.55 ± 0.025 V, whereas an MFC inoculated with mature-fine tailings (MFT-MFC) generated 0.41 ± 0.01 V. An additional carbon source (acetate) significantly improved generated voltage. The voltage detected increased to 20-23% in MFCs when the condition was switched from ambient to mesophilic. The mesophilic condition increased OSPW treatment efficiency in terms of lowering the chemical oxygen demand and acid-extractable organics. Pyrosequencing analysis of microbial consortia revealed that Proteobacteria were the most abundant in MFCs and microbial communities in the AS-MFC were more diverse than those in the MFT-MFC.
authors.affiliation: Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta T6G 2W2, Canada.
authors.forename: Jeongdong
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Choi
authors.affiliation: Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta T6G 2W2, Canada. Electronic address: yang.liu@ualberta.ca.
authors.forename: Yang
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Liu
mesh_terms: D000693:Anaerobiosis / Q000187:drug effects; D001674:Bioelectric Energy Sources / Q000382:microbiology; D057919:Biological Oxygen Demand Analysis; D002244:Carbon / Q000494:pharmacology; D004560:Electricity; D006358:Hot Temperature; D061329:Oil and Gas Fields; D009930:Organic Chemicals / Q000302:isolation & purification; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA; D012722:Sewage / Q000382:microbiology; D013696:Temperature; D014865:Waste Disposal, Fluid; D018508:Water Purification / Q000379:methods*
chemical_list: D009930:Organic Chemicals; D012722:Sewage; D002244:Carbon
keywords: Electricity; Mature fine tailings; Microbial fuel cell; Oil sands process-affected water; Pyrosequencing