Investigating the Potential of a Ceramic-Based Microbial Fuel Cell for Concomitant Nutrient Removal and Power Recovery from Rice Mill Wastewater
Publication: Journal of Hazardous, Toxic, and Radioactive Waste
Volume 27, Issue 4
Abstract
Microbial fuel cells (MFCs) are emerging as a promising technology for sustainable wastewater treatment and electricity generation that utilizes microorganisms to convert organic matter into electricity. In this study, synthetic rice mill wastewater was treated in a ceramic-based MFC having a biocathode. The wastewater was pumped into the anodic chamber of the MFC, in which exoelectrogens utilized the organic matter for electricity generation, and the effluent was channelized in the cathodic chamber in which aerobic bacteria removed the pollutants from wastewater. The influence of initial chemical oxygen demand (COD) concentration was investigated by operating the MFC with four different COD concentrations ranging from 500 to 3,000 mg/L. The highest power output was observed in an MFC operated with an initial COD concentration of 2,000 mg/L. The power density obtained in an MFC operated with a graphite felt cathode (282 mW/m3) was found to be 3.4 times and 4.5 times higher than the power density obtained in MFCs operated with graphite plate and stainless-steel mesh cathodes, respectively. Almost 95% of COD, 88% of lignin, 90% of ammonia, and 87% of phosphate removal were observed in the MFC operated with the graphite felt cathode. Therefore, a dual-chamber biocathode MFC was demonstrated to be a viable method for removing nutrients and recovering electricity from wastewater.
Get full access to this article
View all available purchase options and get full access to this article.
Acknowledgments
The work is funded by the Department of Science and Technology, New Delhi, Government of India (EEQ/2016/000820). The doctoral fellowship received from the Ministry of Human Resources Development (MHRD), Government of India, is duly acknowledged.
References
Abinandan, S., R. Bhattacharya, and S. Shanthakumar. 2015. “Efficacy of Chlorella pyrenoidosa and Scenedesmus abundans for nutrient removal in rice mill effluent (paddy soaked water).” Int. J. Phytoremediation 17 (4): 377–381. https://doi.org/10.1080/15226514.2014.910167.
APHA (American Public Health Association). 2012. Standard methods for examination of water and wastewater. Washington, DC: APHA.
Bagchi, S., and M. Behera. 2020. “Performance evaluation of microbial fuel cells employing ceramic separator of different surface area modified with mineral cation exchanger.” SN Appl. Sci. 2 (2): 309. https://doi.org/10.1007/s42452-020-2095-7.
Choudhary, M., S. Majumder, and S. Neogi. 2015. “Studies on the treatment of rice mill effluent by electrocoagulation.” Sep. Sci. Technol. 50 (4): 505–511. https://doi.org/10.1080/01496395.2014.956225.
Ganta, A., Y. Bashir, and S. Das. 2022. “Dairy wastewater as a potential feedstock for valuable production with concurrent wastewater treatment through microbial electrochemical technologies.” Energies (Basel) 15 (23): 9084. https://doi.org/10.3390/en15239084.
Guo, K., A. Prévoteau, S. A. Patil, and K. Rabaey. 2015. “Engineering electrodes for microbial electrocatalysis.” Curr. Opin. Biotechnol. 33: 149–156. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.copbio.2015.02.014.
Kelly, P. T., and Z. He. 2014. “Nutrients removal and recovery in bioelectrochemical systems: A review.” Bioresour. Technol. 153: 351–360.
Kim, J. R., Y. Zuo, J. M. Regan, and B. E. Logan. 2008. “Analysis of ammonia loss mechanisms in microbial fuel cells treating animal wastewater.” Biotechnol. Bioeng. 99 (5): 1120–1127. https://doi.org/10.1002/bit.21687.
Kumar, A., R. Priyadarshinee, A. Roy, D. Dasgupta, and T. Mandal. 2016a. “Current techniques in rice mill effluent treatment: Emerging opportunities for waste reuse and waste-to-energy conversion.” Chemosphere 164: 404–412. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chemosphere.2016.08.118.
Kumar, A., S. Singha, D. Dasgupta, S. Datta, and T. Mandal. 2015. “Simultaneous recovery of silica and treatment of rice mill wastewater using rice husk ash: An economic approach.” Ecol. Eng. 84: 29–37. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecoleng.2015.07.010.
Kumar, A., S. Singha, B. Sengupta, D. Dasgupta, S. Datta, and T. Mandal. 2016b. “Intensive insight into the enhanced utilization of rice husk ash: Abatement of rice mill wastewater and recovery of silica as a value added product.” Ecol. Eng. 91: 270–281. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecoleng.2016.02.034.
Logan, B. E. 2012. “Essential data and techniques for conducting microbial fuel cell and other types of bioelectrochemical system experiments.” ChemSusChem 5 (6): 988–994. https://doi.org/10.1002/cssc.201100604.
Logan, B. E., B. Hamelers, R. Rozendal, U. Schröder, J. Keller, S. Freguia, P. Aelterman, W. Verstraete, and K. Rabaey. 2006. “Microbial fuel cells: Methodology and technology.” Environ. Sci. Technol. 40 (17): 5181–5192. https://doi.org/10.1021/es0605016.
Moon, J. M., S. Kondaveeti, and B. Min. 2015. “Evaluation of low-cost separators for increased power generation in single chamber microbial fuel cells with membrane electrode assembly.” Fuel Cells 15 (1): 230–238. https://doi.org/10.1002/fuce.201400036.
Mukherjee, C., R. Chowdhury, T. Sutradhar, M. Begam, S. M. Ghosh, S. K. Basak, and K. Ray. 2016. “Parboiled rice effluent: A wastewater niche for microalgae and cyanobacteria with growth coupled to comprehensive remediation and phosphorus biofertilization.” Algal Res. 19: 225–236. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.algal.2016.09.009.
Priyadarshini, M., A. Ahmad, S. Das, and M. M. Ghangrekar. 2022. “Application of microbial electrochemical technologies for the treatment of petrochemical wastewater with concomitant valuable recovery: A review.” Environ. Sci. Pollut. Res. 29 (41): 61783–61802. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-021-14944-w.
Ray, G., M. T. Noori, and M. M. Ghangrekar. 2017. “Novel application of peptaibiotics derived from Trichoderma sp. for methanogenic suppression and enhanced power generation in microbial fuel cells.” RSC Adv. 7 (18): 10707–10717. https://doi.org/10.1039/C6RA27763B.
Raychaudhuri, A., and M. Behera. 2020a. “Comparative evaluation of methanogenesis suppression methods in microbial fuel cell during rice mill wastewater treatment.” Environ. Technol. Innov. 17: 100509. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.eti.2019.100509.
Raychaudhuri, A., and M. Behera. 2020b. “Review of the process optimization in microbial fuel cell using design of experiment methodology.” J. Hazard. Toxic Radioact. Waste 24 (3): 04020013. https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)HZ.2153-5515.0000503.
Raychaudhuri, A., and M. Behera. 2020c. “Ceramic membrane modified with rice husk ash for application in microbial fuel cells.” Electrochim. Acta 363: 137261. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.electacta.2020.137261.
Raychaudhuri, A., and M. Behera. 2021a. “Enhancement of bioelectricity generation by integrating acidogenic compartment into a dual-chambered microbial fuel cell during rice mill wastewater treatment.” Process Biochem. 105: 19–26. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.procbio.2021.03.003.
Raychaudhuri, A., and M. Behera. 2021b. “Nutrient removal and recovery in bioelectrochemical systems.” In Delivering low-carbon biofuels with bioproduct recovery, 45–83. Amsterdam, Netherlands: Elsevier.
Raychaudhuri, A., and M. Behera. 2022. “Effect of operating parameters on rice mill wastewater treatment in an acidogenic chamber and MFC coupled system.” Bioresour. Technol. Rep. 20: 101249. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biteb.2022.101249.
Raychaudhuri, A., and M. Behera. 2023. “Biodegradation and power production kinetics in microbial fuel cell during rice mill wastewater treatment.” Fuel 339: 126904. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.fuel.2022.126904.
Raychaudhuri, A., R. N. Sahoo, and M. Behera. 2021. “Application of clayware ceramic separator modified with silica in microbial fuel cell for bioelectricity generation during rice mill wastewater treatment.” Water Sci. Technol. 84 (1): 66–76. https://doi.org/10.2166/wst.2021.213.
Raychaudhuri, A., R. N. Sahoo, and M. Behera. 2022. “Sequential anaerobic–aerobic treatment of rice mill wastewater and simultaneous power generation in microbial fuel cell.” Environ. Technol. https://doi.org/10.1080/09593330.2022.2053753.
Ullah, Z., and S. Zeshan. 2020. “Effect of substrate type and concentration on the performance of a double chamber microbial fuel cell.” Water Sci. Technol. 81 (7): 1336–1344. https://doi.org/10.2166/wst.2019.387.
Umamaheswari, J., and S. Shanthakumar. 2020. “Optimization of temperature and inoculum size for phycoremediation of paddy-soaked rice mill wastewater.” J. Environ. Eng. 146 (1): 04019091. https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)EE.1943-7870.0001612.
Wei, B., J. C. Tokash, F. Zhang, Y. Kim, and B. E. Logan. 2013. “Electrochemical analysis of separators used in single-chamber, air-cathode microbial fuel cells.” Electrochim. Acta 89: 45–51. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.electacta.2012.11.004.
Wu, H., Y.-l. Feng, H.-r. Li, H.-j. Wang, and J.-j. Wang. 2018. “Co-metabolism kinetics and electrogenesis change during cyanide degradation in a microbial fuel cell.” RSC Adv. 8 (70): 40407–40416. https://doi.org/10.1039/C8RA08775J.
Ye, Y., H. H. Ngo, W. Guo, Y. Liu, S. W. Chang, D. D. Nguyen, J. Ren, Y. Liu, and X. Zhang. 2019. “Feasibility study on a double chamber microbial fuel cell for nutrient recovery from municipal wastewater.” Chem. Eng. J. 358: 236–242. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cej.2018.09.215.
Yuan, P., and Y. Kim. 2017. “Increasing phosphorus recovery from dewatering centrate in microbial electrolysis cells.” Biotechnol. Biofuels 10 (1): 70. https://doi.org/10.1186/s13068-017-0754-8.
Zhang, J., P. Zheng, M. Zhang, H. Chen, T. Chen, Z. Xie, J. Cai, and G. Abbas. 2013. “Kinetics of substrate degradation and electricity generation in anodic denitrification microbial fuel cell (AD-MFC).” Bioresour. Technol. 149: 44–50. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biortech.2013.09.043.
Zhang, Y., J. Sun, Y. Hu, S. Li, and Q. Xu. 2012. “Bio-cathode materials evaluation in microbial fuel cells: A comparison of graphite felt, carbon paper and stainless steel mesh materials.” Int. J. Hydrogen Energy 37 (22): 16935–16942. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijhydene.2012.08.064.
Zhu, G., S. Huang, Y. Lu, and X. Gu. 2021. “Simultaneous nitrification and denitrification in the bio-cathode of a multi-anode microbial fuel cell.” Environ. Technol. 42 (8): 1260–1270. https://doi.org/10.1080/09593330.2019.1663938.
Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Copyright
© 2023 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Dec 15, 2022
Accepted: Apr 4, 2023
Published online: Jun 8, 2023
Published in print: Oct 1, 2023
Discussion open until: Nov 8, 2023
Authors
Metrics & Citations
Metrics
Citations
Download citation
If you have the appropriate software installed, you can download article citation data to the citation manager of your choice. Simply select your manager software from the list below and click Download.