Performance Evaluation Of Microbial Fuel Cells In Wastewater Treatment And Energy Production

Abstract

Globally, we are in need of the technology by which the problems of both wastewater treatment and energy demand to be solved. The Microbial Fuel Cell technology will be the proper solution for meeting the demand on both wastewater treatment and energy production. The possibility of converting the organic waste directly to energy is the basic principle of Microbial Fuel Cells. The recent developments and the factors influencing the performance of MFC have been studied. From the literature the gaps were identified and thus the scope and objectives were derived. The simple two chamber MFC was constructed and it was tested with sewage, whey wastetwater and tannery wastetwater. The performance in terms of power production and organic removal rate was listed in the study. In this thesis, experimental data related to the studies carried out on the treatment for wastewater using the MFC and biological H2 and CO2 production utilizing wastewater has been dealt. The system was designed in such a way that the anode and cathode chamber is separated with a cation exchange membrane that allows charge transfer between two electrodes. A wire containing a load connects the two electrodes, but in the laboratory, a resistor is used as the load. Electrons are transported through external circuit to cathodic chamber from anodic chamber because of the variation in the redox potential exists in these two chambers. The voltage generated by an MFC is monitored using a multimeter. Because of its advantageous properties including rapid growth rate and avirulence, E-Coli is one of the most frequently used bacterial model in laboratory for degradation studies. The experimental data evidenced that the 90% C.O.D removal efficiency while treating domestic water. In this study, continuous and batch mode system of working was investigated. It has been found that continuous mode system works to provide maximum power and C.O.D removal than the batch mode. The wastewater from milk product industry is strong with respect to its high organic content. The treatment of such wastewater is challenging and the disposal of such wastewater with our proper treatment will affect the eco systems strongly. The second part of the study examined the mediator-less microbial fuel cell (MFC) for the treatment of whey wastewater with simultaneous current generation in the presence of E. coli. The final part of the study dealt with effluent from tanning process. The tannery waste water was diluted to various COD concentrations ranging from 250 mg/l to 5000 mg/l and fed to the reactor continuously. The voltage generation and bio gas generation was monitored and recorded. It is understood from the study that MFC was performing well for treating all sewage, whey waste water and tannery waste water. The study also showed an advantage of simultaneous production of electricity and biogas with effective treatment of wastewater and thus being a novel method for sewage and effluent treatment. Though the performance is proven, the operation of MFC is limited to lab studies. The pilot scale of reactor to be developed to resolve the issues related to energy demand and wastewater treatment. The indigenous proton exchange membranes and electrodes to be developed to make the MFC a cost effective. By continuous research, MFC can be developed for industrial and practical applications and thus it will be become the sustainable solution to the current environmental problems. newline