Electricity generation from indole and microbial community analysis in the microbial fuel cell

Area of Science:

• Environmental Science
• Electrochemistry
• Microbiology

Background:

• Indole is a refractory pollutant in coking wastewater.
• Indole's presence inhibits biological treatment processes.
• Microbial fuel cells (MFCs) offer a potential method for simultaneous degradation and electricity generation.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate electricity generation from indole degradation in MFCs.
• To compare performance between continuous-fed MFC (C-MFC) and batch-fed MFC (B-MFC).
• To analyze the impact of indole concentration on power density and degradation.

Main Methods:

• Experiments were conducted using C-MFC and B-MFC configurations.
• Different concentrations of indole and glucose were used as fuel.
• Microbial community analysis of the anode electrode was performed.

Main Results:

• The B-MFC achieved higher maximum power densities (3.3 W/m³) and coulombic efficiencies (81.5%) compared to the C-MFC.
• Indole removal efficiency reached 88% within 3 hours at 250 mg/L in the C-MFC.
• Increasing indole concentration decreased power density and degradation rates.

Conclusions:

• MFCs are effective for simultaneous indole degradation and electricity generation.
• B-MFC configuration is superior for indole treatment and power production.
• Indole significantly alters anode microbial communities, impacting MFC performance.