Remediation of Cd Contaminated Soil in Microbial Fuel Cells: Effects of Cd Concentration and Electrode Spacing
Publication: Journal of Environmental Engineering
Volume 146, Issue 7
Abstract
A microbial fuel cell (MFC) was constructed to remediate cadmium (Cd) contaminated soil, and the effects of Cd concentration (0, 5, 20, and ) and electrode spacing (3, 6, and 9 cm) on reactors were studied. The results showed that different Cd concentrations had no significant effect on the output voltage and internal resistance. However, the electrode spacing was inversely proportional to the MFC power generation and proportional to the charge transfer internal resistance () by the electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) test. The maximum power density was (in ) and (in MFC-3 cm), which was the best among the MFCs of different Cd concentrations and electrode spacing, respectively. After 50 days of operation, the maximum accumulation rate of Cd at the cathode was observed in and MFC-3 cm, which were 130.00% and 107.70%, respectively. The kinetic analysis showed that high Cd concentrations and large electrode spacing could reduce the accumulation of Cd () at the cathode as a result of the influence of soil respiration and cation migration, respectively. The results revealed that a MFC is a feasible option for remediating Cd contaminated soil, and the electrode spacing was the main determinant of the MFC performance and Cd accumulation rate, while the impact of the Cd concentration was minimal.
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Data Availability Statement
Some or all data, models, or code that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request (https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.10271567, which will be published under the agreement of corresponding author).
Acknowledgments
The authors would like to thank the help from the analysts at Center of Analysis and Test, Laboratory for Resource and Environmental Education, and School of Chemical Engineering in East China University of Science and Technology.
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Published In
Journal of Environmental Engineering
Volume 146 • Issue 7 • July 2020
Copyright
©2020 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Aug 30, 2019
Accepted: Jan 13, 2020
Published online: Apr 21, 2020
Published in print: Jul 1, 2020
Discussion open until: Sep 21, 2020
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