Reduced energy consumption during low strength domestic wastewater treatment in a semi-pilot tubular microbial electrolysis cell

Gil-Carrera, L.; Escapa, Adrián; Moreno, Rubén Martínez; Morán, Antonio

doi:10.1016/j.jenvman.2013.03.001

Cited by 65 publications

(45 citation statements)

References 31 publications

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“…When the temperature was artificially increased to 31°C, this biogas increased to 0.19 L/ L/day, most of which was methane with no recorded hydrogen. Gil-Carrera et al (2013) report a maximum hydrogen production of 19.2 mL/L/day in a 2 L pilot reactor, which is also higher than the amount recorded in this study. Both studies were of membraneless systems which are known to reduce overpotential and increase performance (Call and Logan, 2008), however such designs produce a mixed biogas.…”

Section: Hydrogen Productioncontrasting

confidence: 81%

“…However greater anode area to reactor volume and more digestible wastewater components are likely to improve COD removal. Using a series of 2 2 L reactors Gil-Carrera et al (2013) was able to reduce COD by 87%, the second reactor in the series had a higher CE possibly suggesting that pre-fermented wastewater has more electrogenically available organics. All of these studies with greater COD removal also used recirculation pumps, which also will be a consideration in future design although the energetic cost of this must be balanced.…”

Section: Cod Removalmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Performance of a pilot scale microbial electrolysis cell fed on domestic wastewater at ambient temperatures for a 12 month period

Heidrich

Edwards

Dolfing

et al. 2014

Bioresource Technology

248

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A 100-L microbial electrolysis cell (MEC) was operated for a 12-month period fed on raw domestic wastewater at temperatures ranging from 1°C to 22°C, producing an average of 0.6 L/day of hydrogen. Gas production was continuous though decreased with time. An average 48.7% of the electrical energy input was recovered, with a Coulombic efficiency of 41.2%. COD removal was inconsistent and below the standards required. Limitations to the cell design, in particular the poor pumping system and large overpotential account for many of the problems. However these are surmountable hurdles that can be addressed in future cycles of pilot scale research. This research has established that the biological process of an MEC will to work at low temperatures with real wastewater for prolonged periods. Testing and demonstrating the robustness and durability of bioelectrochemical systems far beyond that in any previous study, the prospects for developing MEC at full scale are enhanced.

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Section: Hydrogen Productioncontrasting

confidence: 81%

Section: Cod Removalmentioning

confidence: 99%

Performance of a pilot scale microbial electrolysis cell fed on domestic wastewater at ambient temperatures for a 12 month period

Heidrich

Edwards

Dolfing

et al. 2014

Bioresource Technology

248

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Figure 1a shows the hydrogen production rate as a function of the applied voltage and the initial COD fed to the reactor. The maximum hydrogen production rate was 81 ± 5 mL H 2 /L/day, which is on the same order of magnitude as that reported in previous studies [12][13][14][15][16][17] ( Table 1). This study was conducted applying relatively low voltages (350 and 550 mV).…”

Section: Synthetic Substratesupporting

confidence: 86%

Hydrogen production in a microbial electrolysis cell fed with a dark fermentation effluent

et al. 2015

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The organic matter consumption and hydrogen production rate were evaluated in a two-chamber microbial electrolysis cell (MEC). Three chemical oxygen demand (COD) concentration levels (400, 600 and 1200 mg/L) were tested. The COD was composed of a mixture of volatile fatty acids (VFAs) present in the effluent of a dark fermentation process. The two levels of voltage studied were 350 and 550 mV. The performance of the MEC was evaluated using either an anionic (AEM) or cationic exchange membrane (CEM). The robustness of the MEC was tested using two dark fermentation effluents, one with VFAs and another containing 1100 mg/L glucose. The highest production rates (81 mL/L/day) were obtained with 550 mV, and 85 % COD consumption was attained. No considerable differences in the hydrogen production rate were observed when the COD was increased from 400 to 1200 mg/L using 550 mV. However, maximal hydrogen production rates were obtained with the lower COD concentration using 350 mV. Neither the employment of AEM and CEM nor the change from synthetic substrate to real substrate resulted in remarkable changes in MEC performance. The substrate containing glucose was more slowly degraded because glucose was first transformed into VFAs, and then the VFAs were consumed to produce hydrogen. In this case, methane and carbon dioxide were detected.

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“…This significant difference INTRODUCTION Microbial electrolysis cells (MEC) allow combining wastewater treatment and production of hydrogen at low cost. They combine the ability of electroactive (EA) bacteria to oxidize organic matter, using the anode as an electron acceptor, with the hydrogen evolution reaction at the cathode (Liu et al, 2004;Gil-Carrera et al, 2013). The valorization of this hydrogen as an energy source reduces the environmental impact associated with the chemical oxygen demand (COD) removal during wastewater treatment (Gude, 2016).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Benchmarking of Industrial Synthetic Graphite Grades, Carbon Felt, and Carbon Cloth as Cost-Efficient Bioanode Materials for Domestic Wastewater Fed Microbial Electrolysis Cells

Roubaud

Lacroix²,

Silva³

et al. 2019

Front. Energy Res.

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Reduced energy consumption during low strength domestic wastewater treatment in a semi-pilot tubular microbial electrolysis cell

Cited by 65 publications

References 31 publications

Performance of a pilot scale microbial electrolysis cell fed on domestic wastewater at ambient temperatures for a 12 month period

Performance of a pilot scale microbial electrolysis cell fed on domestic wastewater at ambient temperatures for a 12 month period

Hydrogen production in a microbial electrolysis cell fed with a dark fermentation effluent

Benchmarking of Industrial Synthetic Graphite Grades, Carbon Felt, and Carbon Cloth as Cost-Efficient Bioanode Materials for Domestic Wastewater Fed Microbial Electrolysis Cells

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