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Related Experiment Videos

Microbial fuel cells for sulfide removal.

Korneel Rabaey1, Kirsten Van de Sompel, Lois Maignien

  • 1Laboratory of Microbial Ecology and Technology, Ghent University, Coupure Links 653, B-9000 Ghent, Belgium. Korneel.Rabaey@ugent.be

Environmental Science & Technology
|September 27, 2006
PubMed
Summary

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Microbial fuel cells (MFCs) can now convert dissolved sulfide into electricity and elemental sulfur, offering a novel way to treat wastewater. This technology simultaneously removes sulfur and carbon compounds from digester effluents, recovering energy.

Area of Science:

  • Environmental Science
  • Electrochemistry
  • Biotechnology

Background:

  • Microbial fuel cells (MFCs) traditionally convert carbon-based substrates to electricity.
  • Sulfur compounds are common in organic waste and wastewater, posing treatment challenges.
  • Existing MFCs do not efficiently address sulfur compound removal.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the conversion of dissolved sulfide to elemental sulfur using MFCs.
  • To evaluate the efficiency of different MFC designs (square and tubular) for sulfide removal and electricity generation.
  • To assess the combined treatment of sulfide and carbon compounds in digester effluents using coupled MFC and anaerobic upflow sludge blanket reactors.

Main Methods:

  • Utilized MFCs with a hexacyanoferrate cathodic electrolyte.

Related Experiment Videos

  • Employed square-type MFCs (closed to air) and tubular MFCs (cathode open to air).
  • Coupled MFCs with an anaerobic upflow sludge blanket reactor for combined effluent polishing.

    • Main Results:

    • Demonstrated potential-dependent conversion of sulfide to sulfur in square-type MFCs.
    • Achieved significant sulfide removal rates (up to 514 mg L(-1) NAC day(-1)) in tubular MFCs.
    • Generated electricity with power outputs up to 101 mW L(-1) NAC.
    • Attained high removal efficiencies for sulfide (up to 98%) and acetate (up to 46%) when coupled with anaerobic reactors.
    • Showed MFCs could simultaneously remove sulfate via sulfide.

    Conclusions:

    • MFCs can effectively convert dissolved sulfide to elemental sulfur, generating electricity.
    • MFC technology offers a viable method for polishing digester effluents by removing residual sulfur and carbon compounds.
    • This approach recovers energy from sulfides that would otherwise be lost in methane digesters.