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Delgado Y, Tapia N, Muñoz-Morales M, Ramirez Á, Llanos J, Vargas I, Fernández-Morales FJ. Effect of hydrochar-doping on the performance of carbon felt as anodic electrode in microbial fuel cells. ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE AND POLLUTION RESEARCH INTERNATIONAL 2024:10.1007/s11356-024-33338-2. [PMID: 38653895 DOI: 10.1007/s11356-024-33338-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/18/2024] [Accepted: 04/11/2024] [Indexed: 04/25/2024]
Abstract
In this study, the feasibility of using hydrochars as anodic doping materials in microbial fuel cells (MFCs) was investigated. The feedstock used for hydrochar synthesis was metal-polluted plant biomass from an abandoned mining site. The hydrochar obtained was activated by pyrolysis at 500 °C in N2 atmosphere. Under steady state conditions, the current exerted by the MFCs, as well as the cyclic voltammetry and polarization curves, showed that the activated hydrochar-doped anodes exhibited the best performance in terms of power and current density generation, 0.055 mW/cm2 and 0.15 mA/cm2, respectively. These values were approximately 30% higher than those achieved with non-doped or doped with non-activated hydrochar anodes which can be explained by the highly graphitic carbonaceous structures obtained during the hydrochar activation that reduced the internal resistance of the system. These results suggest that the activated hydrochar materials could significantly enhance the electrochemical performance of bioelectrochemical systems. Moreover, this integration will not only enhance the energy generated by MFCs, but also valorize metal polluted plant biomass within the frame of the circular economy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yelitza Delgado
- Department of Chemical Engineering, ITQUIMA, University of Castilla La Mancha, Campus Universitario S/N., 13071, Ciudad Real, Spain
| | - Natalia Tapia
- Department of Chemical Engineering, ITQUIMA, University of Castilla La Mancha, Campus Universitario S/N., 13071, Ciudad Real, Spain
- Department of Hydraulic and Environmental Engineering, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, 7820436, Santiago, Chile
| | - Martín Muñoz-Morales
- Department of Chemical Engineering, ITQUIMA, University of Castilla La Mancha, Campus Universitario S/N., 13071, Ciudad Real, Spain
| | - Álvaro Ramirez
- Department of Chemical Engineering, ITQUIMA, University of Castilla La Mancha, Campus Universitario S/N., 13071, Ciudad Real, Spain
| | - Javier Llanos
- Department of Chemical Engineering, ITQUIMA, University of Castilla La Mancha, Campus Universitario S/N., 13071, Ciudad Real, Spain
| | - Ignacio Vargas
- Department of Hydraulic and Environmental Engineering, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, 7820436, Santiago, Chile
| | - Francisco Jesús Fernández-Morales
- Department of Chemical Engineering, ITQUIMA, University of Castilla La Mancha, Campus Universitario S/N., 13071, Ciudad Real, Spain.
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Abstract
In this work, the effect of the external load on the current and power generation, as well as on the pollutant removal by microbial fuel cells (MFCs), has been studied by step-wise modifying the external load. The load changes included a direct scan, in which the external resistance was increased from 120 Ω to 3300 Ω, and a subsequent reverse scan, in which the external resistance was decreased back to 120 Ω. The reduction in the current, experienced when increasing the external resistance, was maintained even in the reverse scan when the external resistance was step-wise decreased. Regarding the power exerted, when the external resistance was increased below the value of the internal resistance, an enhancement in the power exerted was observed. However, when operating near the value of the internal resistance, a stable power exerted of about 1.6 µW was reached. These current and power responses can be explained by the change in population distribution, which shifts to a more fermentative than electrogenic culture, as was confirmed by the population analyses. Regarding the pollutant removal, the effluent chemical oxygen demand (COD) decreased when the external resistance increased up to the internal resistance value. However, the effluent COD increased when the external resistance was higher than the internal resistance. This behavior was maintained in the reverse scan, which confirmed the modification in the microbial population of the MFC.
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Tian Y, Li D, Liu G, Li C, Liu J, Wu J, Liu J, Feng Y. Formate production from CO 2 electroreduction in a salinity-gradient energy intensified microbial electrochemical system. BIORESOURCE TECHNOLOGY 2021; 320:124292. [PMID: 33161313 DOI: 10.1016/j.biortech.2020.124292] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/30/2020] [Revised: 10/14/2020] [Accepted: 10/15/2020] [Indexed: 06/11/2023]
Abstract
The electricity production of microbial electrochemical system can be substantially strengthened by coupling with a reverse electrodialysis stack which extracts energy from salinity gradient, therefore provides a possible way for value-added products in cathode without external energy input. Here, a microbial reverse-electrodialysis CO2 reduction cell (MRECC) was developed and successfully utilized to drive CO2-to-formate conversion on a Bi/Cu cathode. Results confirmed the optimal anodic COD load and cathodic CO2 flow rate to be 1 g NaAc L-1 and 10 mL min-1. MRECC could yielded 143.5 ± 8.1 mg L-1 of formate with total energy efficiency of 4.6 ± 0.9% and coulombic efficiency of 46.4 ± 2.4%. Increasing or decreasing anode or cathode load impaired MRECC performance from economic and environmental viabilities. MRECC provided a promising platform for simultaneous CO2 reduction and value-added chemicals production by using sustainable energy from wastewaters.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yan Tian
- State Key Laboratory of Urban Water Resource and Environment, School of Environment, Harbin Institute of Technology, No. 73 Huanghe Road, Nangang District, Harbin 150090, China
| | - Da Li
- State Key Laboratory of Urban Water Resource and Environment, School of Environment, Harbin Institute of Technology, No. 73 Huanghe Road, Nangang District, Harbin 150090, China; School of Materials Science and Engineering, Harbin Institute of Technology (Shenzhen), Pingshan Road, Shen Zhen, Guangdong 518055, China
| | - Guohong Liu
- State Key Laboratory of Urban Water Resource and Environment, School of Environment, Harbin Institute of Technology, No. 73 Huanghe Road, Nangang District, Harbin 150090, China
| | - Chao Li
- State Key Laboratory of Urban Water Resource and Environment, School of Environment, Harbin Institute of Technology, No. 73 Huanghe Road, Nangang District, Harbin 150090, China
| | - Jia Liu
- State Key Laboratory of Urban Water Resource and Environment, School of Environment, Harbin Institute of Technology, No. 73 Huanghe Road, Nangang District, Harbin 150090, China
| | - Jing Wu
- State Key Laboratory of Urban Water Resource and Environment, School of Environment, Harbin Institute of Technology, No. 73 Huanghe Road, Nangang District, Harbin 150090, China
| | - Junfeng Liu
- State Key Laboratory of Urban Water Resource and Environment, School of Environment, Harbin Institute of Technology, No. 73 Huanghe Road, Nangang District, Harbin 150090, China
| | - Yujie Feng
- State Key Laboratory of Urban Water Resource and Environment, School of Environment, Harbin Institute of Technology, No. 73 Huanghe Road, Nangang District, Harbin 150090, China.
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The Influent Effects of Flow Rate Profile on the Performance of Microbial Fuel Cells Model. ENERGIES 2020. [DOI: 10.3390/en13184735] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/17/2022]
Abstract
The energy contained in wastewaters has been identified as a promising sustainable energy resource that could be harvested by using microbial fuel cells (MFC). When dealing with real wastewaters, the MFCs should be able to manage high flow rates and flow rates fluctuations. In this work, the short-term effects of the influent flow rate variations on the performance of a microbial fuel cell has been studied. With this aim, the influent flow rate was stepwise increased from 0.72 to 7.2 L/d and then stepwise decreased. The obtained results indicate that, on the one hand, an increase in the influent flow rate leads to higher chemical oxygen demand removal rates up to 396 g/(L/d) and higher electric power generation almost 18 mW/m2, but to lower coulombic efficiencies. On the other hand, the reduction of the flow rate increases the coulombic efficiencies, as well as the percentage of chemical oxygen demand removed, but decreases electric power generation. In the short-term, the exposition to higher influent flow rates causes the growth of the microbial population of the MFC, the growth of the non-electrogenic microorganisms being higher than that of the electrogenic ones. The higher growth of non-electrogenic microorganisms may lead to lower coulombic efficiencies.
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Leon-Fernandez LF, Villaseñor J, Rodriguez L, Cañizares P, Rodrigo MA, Fernández-Morales FJ. Dehalogenation of 2,4-Dichlorophenoxyacetic acid by means of bioelectrochemical systems. J Electroanal Chem (Lausanne) 2019. [DOI: 10.1016/j.jelechem.2019.113564] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/25/2022]
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Carboneras B, Villaseñor J, Fernandez-Morales FJ. Modelling aerobic biodegradation of atrazine and 2,4-dichlorophenoxy acetic acid by mixed-cultures. BIORESOURCE TECHNOLOGY 2017; 243:1044-1050. [PMID: 28764106 DOI: 10.1016/j.biortech.2017.07.089] [Citation(s) in RCA: 37] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/11/2017] [Revised: 07/10/2017] [Accepted: 07/17/2017] [Indexed: 06/07/2023]
Abstract
The aim of this work was to study and to model the biodegradation of atrazine and 2,4-dichlorophenoxy acetic acid by aerobic mixed cultures. Slow removal rates were observed when biodegrading atrazine, in spite of the initial concentrations. However, high removal rates were obtained when biodegrading 2,4-D, removing up to 100mg/L in about 2months. Regarding the 2,4-D it must be highlighted that a lag phase appears, being its length proportional to the initial 2,4-D concentration. The biodegradation trends were fitted to a Monod based model and the value of the main parameters determined. In the case of atrazine they were µmax: 0.011 1/d and Y: 0.53g/g and in the case of 2,4-D µmax: 0.071 1/d and Y: 0.44g/g, indicating the higher persistence of atrazine. Once finished the experiments the microbial population was characterized being the major genus Pseudomonas when treating atrazine and Rhodococcus when treating 2,4-D.
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Affiliation(s)
- Belen Carboneras
- University of Castilla-La Mancha, ITQUIMA, Chemical Engineering Department, Avenida Camilo José Cela S/N, 13071 Ciudad Real, Spain
| | - José Villaseñor
- University of Castilla-La Mancha, ITQUIMA, Chemical Engineering Department, Avenida Camilo José Cela S/N, 13071 Ciudad Real, Spain
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Mateo S, D’Angelo A, Scialdone O, Cañizares P, Rodrigo MA, Fernandez-Morales FJ. The influence of sludge retention time on mixed culture microbial fuel cell start-ups. Biochem Eng J 2017. [DOI: 10.1016/j.bej.2017.03.018] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/30/2022]
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