Study Of Microbial Fuel Cells Based On The Combined Process Of Electric Generation And Decontamination

Microbial fuel cell (MFC) has been addressed able to generate electrical currents via oxidizing organic compounds by using microorganisms as the bio-catalysts. Electricity generation during organic degradation represents a process of directly converting chemical energy within organic matters to electrical energy, which gives rise to a potential for MFC to produce electricity from organic wastewater along with wastewater treatment. MFC has the advantages of abundant fuel resource, mild reaction condition and high efficiency. Because of harmfulness of heavy metal for the ecological environment, and has a strong oxidation and high redox potential, and has the possibility of being cathode electron acceptor. It has of important scientific value and practical significance for practical application to study the MFC for heavy metal wastewater treatment and its factors that affect the MFC performance.This study utilized the two chambers-MFC, by using anaerobic microorganisms as anodic biocatalyst and saccharose-containing domestic sewage as anolyte. To study handily, it used single metal ion as electroplating effluent to experimental analysis. First of all, the study used copper ion as cathode electron acceptor to confirm the feasibility of setting up MFC, at the same time, which investigated the effect of performance of heavy metal cathode MFC that using graphite, thin carbon paper and thick carbon paper respectively as anode materials. When copper ion solution as catholyte, the power and organic matter degradation of graphite is the lowest among the three, and thick carbon paper as anode, MFC has the maximum power density of 16.3rnW/m2, and steadied operation long, removal of COD was 60%. This illustrate that heavy metal wastewater can be as the cathode of MFC while it can treatment organic wastewater. In addition, silver ion, copper ion and zinc ion solution at 1000mg/L was as catholyte of MFC. Research has revealed that zinc ion has the worst productivity effect, the maximum power density was 1.9×10-6mW/m2. Copper ion as cathode, the maximum power density was more (13.9mW/m2) than zinc ion. The maximum power density was 23.1mW/m2 at the current density of 82.7mA/m2 and the maximum removal of 72% generated with silver ion as electron acceptor.Research has shown that heavy metal ion can be as a MFC cathode electron acceptor. MFC can directly converting microbial metabolie power into electricity with the microbial catalysts, and heavy metal was reducted, which could accomplish wastewater treatment and recycle heavy metals, which has significant environmental benefits and economic benefits.