Low pH, high salinity: Too much for microbial fuel cells?

Jannelli, N.; Nastro, Rosa Anna; Cigolotti, Viviana; Minutillo, Mariagiovanna; Falcucci, Giacomo

doi:10.1016/j.apenergy.2016.07.079

Cited by 75 publications

(34 citation statements)

References 21 publications

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“…Sediment surface layers consist of indicative quantities of pollutants like heavy metals and organic matter, probably impeding ecosystem integrity. 1,2 The oxidized layer at the surface of sediments prohibits the dispersion of heavy metals into marine water. One of the critical pollution dilemmas emerging from industries like electroplating and electronics is the production of wastewater containing heavy metals, which pose a severe risk to humans, animals and the environment.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Electrochemistry and microbiology of microbial fuel cells treating marine sediments polluted with heavy metals

et al. 2018

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The industrial contamination of marine sediments with chromium, copper and nickel in Penang, Malaysia was addressed with bio-remediation, coupled with power generation, using in situ sediment microbial cells (SMFCs) under various conditions. The efficiency of aerated sediment microbial fuel cells (A-SMFCs) and non-aerated sediment microbial fuel cells (NA-SMFCs) was studied. The A-SMFCs generated a voltage of 580.5 mV between 50 and 60 days, while NA-SMFCs produced a voltage of 510 mV between 60 and 80 days. The cell design point for A-SMFCs was 2 kU, while for NA-SMFCs it was 200 U.In both SMFCs, the maximum current values relating to forward scanning, reverse scanning and oxidation/reduction peaks were recorded on the 80 th day. The anode showed maximum additional capacitance on the 80 th day (A-SMFC: 2.7 F cm À2; and NA-SMFC: 2.2 F cm À2). The whole cell electrochemical impedance using the Nyquist model was 21 U for A-SMFCs and 15 U for NA-SMFCs.After glucose enrichment, the impedance of A-SMFCs was 24.3 U and 14.6 U for NA-SMFCs. After 60 days, the A-SMFCs reduced the maximum amount of Cr(VI) to Cr(III) ions (80.70%) and Cu(II) to Cu(I) ions (72.72%), and showed maximum intracellular uptake of Ni(II) ions (80.37%); the optimum remediation efficiency of NA-SMFCs was after 80 days toward Cr(VI) ions (67.36%), Cu(II) ions (59.36%) and Ni(II) ions (52.74%). Both SMFCs showed highest heavy metal reduction and power generation at a pH of 7.0. SEM images and 16S rRNA gene analysis showed a diverse bacterial community in both A-SMFCs and NASMFCs. The performance of A-SMFCs showed that they could be exercised as durable and efficient technology for power production and the detoxification of heavy metal sediments. The NA-SMFCs could also be employed where anaerobic fermentation is required.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Electrochemistry and microbiology of microbial fuel cells treating marine sediments polluted with heavy metals

et al. 2018

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“…A set of simulations was performed on a 400 × 100 lattice grid, in order to obtain polarization and power curves as a function of the imposed potential difference ∆V. Figure 9 displays the normalized numerical trends, compared to the experimental data presented in [57]. The agreement between the experiments and and the numerical predictions is remarkable, with the latter being capable of correctly predicting the typical trends of MFCs operation, namely:…”

Section: Microbial Fuel Cells Characterizationmentioning

confidence: 73%

“…In recent years, Microbial Fuel Cells (MFCs) have been the object of considerable research efforts all over the world, due to their interesting potential as direct waste-to-energy converters [16,[55][56][57]. Compared to the experimental activity on traditional Fuel Cells (FC), dealing with MFCs entails the management of a wider set of parameters, related to the electro-and bio-chemical processes that take place inside these reactors.…”

Section: Microbial Fuel Cells Characterizationmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Here, we present some preliminary LBM results, aimed at the reproduction of the experimental campaign performed at the Energy Lab of the University of Naples "Parthenope" [56,57]. The experimental apparatus featured tubular MFC reactors, made of Falcon test tubes [58] filled with carbon-fiber anode brushes and disk-shaped ceramic porous cathodes (see Figure 8a,b).…”

Section: Microbial Fuel Cells Characterizationmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Simulating Engineering Flows through Complex Porous Media via the Lattice Boltzmann Method

Krastev

Falcucci

2018

Energies

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Abstract:In this paper, recent achievements in the application of the lattice Boltzmann method (LBM) to complex fluid flows are reported. More specifically, we focus on flows through reactive porous media, such as the flow through the substrate of a selective catalytic reactor (SCR) for the reduction of gaseous pollutants in the automotive field; pulsed-flow analysis through heterogeneous catalyst architectures; and transport and electro-chemical phenomena in microbial fuel cells (MFC) for novel waste-to-energy applications. To the authors' knowledge, this is the first known application of LBM modeling to the study of MFCs, which represents by itself a highly innovative and challenging research area. The results discussed here essentially confirm the capabilities of the LBM approach as a flexible and accurate computational tool for the simulation of complex multi-physics phenomena of scientific and technological interest, across physical scales.

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“…However, the reactor performance deteriorates as the pH decreases to below 3, as the acidic environment becomes no longer suitable for the growth of most electrogenic microbes [28]. Nevertheless, certain species have been reported to function well in MFCs even at such severe low-pH conditions, generating power densities ranging from 20 to 55 mW/m 2 using single-chamber, air-cathode, tubular MFCs [29]. Comparing to MFCs, the performance of MECs are more vulnerable to the increase of pH, because the production of biohydrogen would not occur without the presence of a proton in the cathode chamber.…”

Section: Effects Of Ph On the Performance Of Microbial Fuel Cells Andmentioning

confidence: 99%

Factors Affecting the Effectiveness of Bioelectrochemical System Applications: Data Synthesis and Meta-Analysis

Chen

2018

Batteries

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Abstract:Microbial fuel cells (MFCs) and microbial electrolysis cells (MECs) are promising bioelectrochemical systems (BESs) for simultaneous wastewater treatment and energy/resource recovery. Unlike conventional fuel cells that are based on stable chemical reactions, these BESs are sensitive to environmental and operating conditions, such as temperature, pH, external resistance, etc. Substrate type, electrode material, and reactor configuration are also important factors affecting power generation in MFCs and hydrogen production in MECs. In order to discuss the influence of these above factors on the performance of MFCs and MECs, this study analyzes published data via data synthesis and meta-analysis. The results revealed that domestic wastewater would be more suitable for treatment using MFCs or MECs, due to their lower toxicity for anode biofilms compared to swine wastewater and landfill leachate. The optimal temperature was 25-35 • C, optimal pH was 6-7, and optimal external resistance was 100-1000 Ω. Although systems using carbon cloth as the electrodes demonstrated better performance (due to carbon cloth's large surface area for microbial growth), the high prices of this material and other existing carbonaceous materials make it inappropriate for practical applications. To scale up and commercialize MFCs and MECs in the future, enhanced system performance and stability are needed, and could be possibly achieved with improved system designs.

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Low pH, high salinity: Too much for microbial fuel cells?

Cited by 75 publications

References 21 publications

Electrochemistry and microbiology of microbial fuel cells treating marine sediments polluted with heavy metals

Electrochemistry and microbiology of microbial fuel cells treating marine sediments polluted with heavy metals

Simulating Engineering Flows through Complex Porous Media via the Lattice Boltzmann Method

Factors Affecting the Effectiveness of Bioelectrochemical System Applications: Data Synthesis and Meta-Analysis

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