Performance of microbial fuel cells based on the operational parameters of biocathode during simultaneous Congo red...

A biocathode microbial fuel cell was constructed to investigate Congo red decolorization and power generation under different cathode operational parameters. The results showed that the suspended sludge in the cathode could improve the performance of the microbial fuel cell for electricity generation but had a negligible effect on the Congo red decolorization. The maximum voltage increased as the aeration rate was increased up to 100 mL/min. At aeration rates of 150 and 200 mL/min, the maximum voltage was lower than that at 100 mL/min. In the meantime, the Congo red decolorization efficiency decreased with increasing cathode aeration rate. These results showed that excessive aeration is not favorable in a bio-cathode microbial fuel cell used for simultaneous Congo red decolorization and electricity generation. The addition of Mn²⁺ to the biocathode resulted in a 74.5% increase in maximum power density but had no effect on Congo red decolorization. SEM and 16S rRNA sequencing analysis confirmed that Mn²⁺ was involved in the electrochemical reaction of the biocathode as an electron mediator, and it could induce a difference in the biocathode-attached populations.