title: Integrating microbial fuel cells with anaerobic acidification and forward osmosis membrane for enhancing bio-electricity and water recovery from low-strength wastewater.
abstract: Microbial fuel cells (MFCs) and forward osmosis (FO) are two emerging technologies with great potential for energy-efficient wastewater treatment. In this study, anaerobic acidification and FO membrane were simultaneously integrated into an air-cathode MFC (AAFO-MFC) for enhancing bio-electricity and water recovery from low-strength wastewater. During a long-term operation of approximately 40 days, the AAFO-MFC system achieved a continuous and relatively stable power generation, and the maximum power density reached 4.38 W/m3. The higher bio-electricity production in the AAFO-MFC system was mainly due to the accumulation of ethanol resulted from anaerobic acidification process and the rejection of FO membrane. In addition, a proper salinity environment in the system controlled by the addition of MF membrane enhanced the electricity production. Furthermore, the AAFO-MFC system produced a high quality effluent, with the removal rates of organic matters and total phosphorus of more than 97%. However, the nitrogen removal was limited for the lower rejection of FO membrane. The combined biofouling and inorganic fouling were responsible for the lower water flux of FO membrane, and the Desulfuromonas sp. utilized the ethanol for bio-electricity production was observed in the anode. These results substantially improve the prospects for simultaneous wastewater treatment and energy recovery, and further studies are needed to optimize the system integration and operating parameters.
authors.affiliation: Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Anaerobic Biotechnology, School of Environmental and Civil Engineering, Jiangnan University, Wuxi 214122, PR China.
authors.forename: Jinmeng
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Anaerobic Biotechnology, School of Environmental and Civil Engineering, Jiangnan University, Wuxi 214122, PR China. Electronic address: xhwang@jiangnan.edu.cn.
authors.forename: Xinhua
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Pollution Control and Resource Reuse, School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Tongji University, Shanghai 200092, PR China.
authors.forename: Zhiwei
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Anaerobic Biotechnology, School of Environmental and Civil Engineering, Jiangnan University, Wuxi 214122, PR China.
authors.forename: Yuqin
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Lu
authors.affiliation: Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Anaerobic Biotechnology, School of Environmental and Civil Engineering, Jiangnan University, Wuxi 214122, PR China. Electronic address: xfli@jiangnan.edu.cn.
authors.forename: Xiufen
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Anaerobic Biotechnology, School of Environmental and Civil Engineering, Jiangnan University, Wuxi 214122, PR China.
authors.forename: Yueping
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Ren
mesh_terms: D001674:Bioelectric Energy Sources; D004560:Electricity; D009995:Osmosis; D062065:Wastewater; D014867:Water
chemical_list: D062065:Wastewater; D014867:Water
keywords: Anaerobic acidification; Bio-electricity production; Forward osmosis membrane; Microbial fuel cell; Wastewater treatment