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Methanogenesis suppression in microbial fuel cell by aluminium dosing
Somdipta Bagchi1, Manaswini Behera1
1School of Infrastructure, Indian Institute of Technology Bhubaneswar, Odisha 752050, India.
Bioelectrochemistry (Amsterdam, Netherlands)
|June 15, 2019
Summary
Adding aluminum sulfate to microbial fuel cells (MFCs) suppresses methanogens, improving power density and coulombic efficiency. This strategy enhances MFC performance by optimizing biocatalytic activity and electron transfer.
Area of Science:
- Environmental Science
- Biotechnology
- Electrochemistry
Background:
- Methanogenesis limits microbial fuel cell (MFC) power production by consuming substrate.
- Aluminum (Al) exhibits antibacterial properties effective against slow-growing methanogens with thin cell membranes.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the effect of aluminum sulfate on suppressing methanogens in MFCs.
- To evaluate the impact of aluminum addition on MFC performance metrics, including power density, COD removal, and coulombic efficiency.
Main Methods:
- Addition of 5 mg/L aluminum sulfate to the anolyte of a treated MFC (MFC ).
- Comparison of performance between the treated MFC (MFC ) and a control MFC (MFC ) without aluminum.
- Electrochemical analysis to assess internal resistance and electron transfer capabilities.
Main Results:
- Reduced Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD) removal efficiency in MFC (86.11%) compared to MFC (96.25%).
- Increased average volumetric power density in MFC (1.84 W/m ) versus MFC (1.54 W/m ).
- Significantly lower internal resistance in MFC (195 ) compared to MFC (349 ), and a 2.5-fold higher coulombic efficiency (CE) in MFC .
Conclusions:
- Aluminum sulfate effectively suppresses methanogens in MFCs.
- Aluminum addition enhances MFC performance by improving biocatalytic activity and electron transfer.
- Reduced internal resistance and increased CE indicate improved MFC efficiency with aluminum treatment.
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