Improved Electricity Generation by a Microbial Fuel Cell after Pretreatment of Ammonium and Nitrate in Livestock Wastewater with Microbubbles and a Catalyst.
Livestock wastewater containing high concentrations of ammonium and nitrate ions was pretreated with microbubbles and an Fe/MgO catalyst prior to its application in microbial fuel cells because high ion concentrations can interfere with current generation. Therefore, tests were designed to ascertain the effect of pretreatment on current generation. In initial tests, the optimal amount of catalyst was found to be 300 g/l. When 1,000 ml/min O₂ was used as the oxidant, the removal of ammonium- and nitrate-nitrogen was highest. After the operating parameters were optimized, the removal of ammonium and nitrate ions was quantified. The maximum ammonium removal was 32.8%, and nitrate was removed by up to 75.8% at a 500 g/l catalyst concentration over the course of the 2 h reaction time. The current was about 0.5 mA when livestock wastewater was used without pretreatment, whereas the current increased to 2.14 ± 0.08 mA when livestock wastewater was pretreated with the method described above. This finding demonstrates that a 4-fold increase in the current can be achieved when using pretreated livestock wastewater. The maximum power density and current density performance were 10.3 W/m³ and 67.5 A/m³, respectively, during the evaluation of the microbial fuel cells driven by pretreated livestock wastewater.
Energy and Environmental Engineering Division, National Institute of Agricultural Science, Rural Development Administration, Jeonju 54875, Republic of Korea.
Jae Kyung
JK
Jang
Energy and Environmental Engineering Division, National Institute of Agricultural Science, Rural Development Administration, Jeonju 54875, Republic of Korea.
Taeyoung
T
Kim
Energy and Environmental Engineering Division, National Institute of Agricultural Science, Rural Development Administration, Jeonju 54875, Republic of Korea.
Sukwon
S
Kang
Energy and Environmental Engineering Division, National Institute of Agricultural Science, Rural Development Administration, Jeonju 54875, Republic of Korea.
Je Hoon
JH
Sung
Energy and Environmental Engineering Division, National Institute of Agricultural Science, Rural Development Administration, Jeonju 54875, Republic of Korea.
Youn Koo
YK
Kang
Energy and Environmental Engineering Division, National Institute of Agricultural Science, Rural Development Administration, Jeonju 54875, Republic of Korea.
Young Hwa
YH
Kim
D064751:Ammonium Compounds / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism*; D000818:Animals; D001419:Bacteria / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism*; D001673:Biodegradation, Environmental; D001674:Bioelectric Energy Sources / Q000382:microbiology*; D002384:Catalysis; D004560:Electricity; D058751:Livestock; D045423:Microbubbles; D009566:Nitrates / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism*; D014865:Waste Disposal, Fluid / Q000295:instrumentation / Q000379:methods*; D062065:Wastewater / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000382:microbiology
D064751:Ammonium Compounds; D009566:Nitrates; D062065:Wastewater
Microbial fuel cell; ammonium; catalyst; electricity generation; livestock wastewater; microbubble