Effect of dissolved oxygen on nitrogen and phosphorus removal and electricity production in microbial fuel cell

• Published in: Bioresource technology Vol. 164; pp. 402 - 407
• Main Authors: Tao, Qinqin, Luo, Jingjing, Zhou, Juan, Zhou, Shaoqi, Liu, Guangli, Zhang, Renduo
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Kidlington Elsevier Ltd 01-07-2014; Elsevier
• Subjects: Biochemical fuel cells; Bioelectric Energy Sources; Biofuel production; Biological and medical sciences; Biological Oxygen Demand Analysis; Biotechnology; Cathodes; Chambers; Chemical Precipitation; Dissolution; Dissolved oxygen; Electricity; Electrodes; Energy; Fourier transforms; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; Hydrogen-Ion Concentration; Industrial applications and implications. Economical aspects; Infrared spectroscopy; Microbial fuel cell; Microorganisms; Nitrogen; Nitrogen - isolation & purification; Oxygen - pharmacology; Phosphorus; Phosphorus - isolation & purification; Precipitate; Scanning electron microscopy; Solubility; Waste Water - chemistry; Microbial fuel cell; Phosphorus; Precipitate; Nitrogen; Dissolved oxygen; Microbial electrode; Biochemical fuel cell; Electric power production; Dephosphorization; Denitrogenation
• ISSN: 0960-8524; 1873-2976
• DOI: 10.1016/j.biortech.2014.05.002

•Nitrogen and phosphorus were simultaneous removed without pH adjustment.•Phosphorus was removed by chemical precipitation and microbial absorption.•Results confirm that no nitrifying or anammox bacteria exist in anode chamber.•Mechanisms of nitrogen and phosphorus removal were analyzed.
Performance of a two-chamber microbial fuel cell (MFC) was evaluated with the influence of cathodic dissolved oxygen (DO). The maximum voltage, coulombic efficiency and maximum power density outputs of MFC decreased from 521 to 303mV, 52.48% to 23.09% and 530 to 178mW/m2 with cathodic DO declining. Furthermore, a great deal of total phosphorus (TP) was removed owing to chemical precipitation (about 80%) and microbial absorption (around 4–17%). COD was first removed in anode chamber (>70%) then in cathode chamber (<5%). Most of nitrogen was removed when the cathodic DO was at low levels. Chemical precipitates formed in cathode chamber were verified as phosphate, carbonate and hydroxyl compound with the aid of scanning electron microscope capable of energy dispersive spectroscopy (SEM-EDS), X-ray diffractometer (XRD) and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR).