Electricity generation in a ceramic separator microbial fuel cell employing a bacterial consortium for penicillin removal

Abstract

The contamination of the environment by antibiotics has become a serious problem, supported by abundant scientific evidence of its negative impact on both aquatic ecosystems and human health. Therefore, it is crucial to intensify research efforts towards developing effective and efficient processes for removing antibiotics from the aquatic environment. In this study, a bacterial consortium capable of breaking down penicillin was employed in a ceramic separator microbial fuel cell (MFC) to generate electricity. The consortium's properties such as laccase activity, penicillin removal and microbial structure were studied. The SF11 bacterial consortium, with a laccase activity of 6.16±0.04 U/mL, was found to be effective in breaking down penicillin. The highest rate of penicillin removal (92.15±0.27%) was achieved when the SF11 consortium was incubated at 30 °C for 48 hours. Furthermore, when used as a whole-cell biocatalyst in a low-cost upflow MFC, the Morganella morganii-rich SF11 consortium demonstrated the highest voltage and power density of 964.93±1.86 mV and 0.56±0.00 W/m3, respectively. These results suggest that the SF11 bacterial consortium has the potential for use in ceramic separator MFCs for the removal of penicillin and electricity generation.