Creating tidal flow via siphon for better pollutants removal in a microbial fuel cell-constructed wetland

Oxygen is the electron acceptor in cathode chamber of microbial fuel cell-constructed wetland system (MFC-CW). The objective of the study lies in creating a "tidal flow" (TF) in cathode chamber via a siphon to enhance the oxygen diffusion, thus promoting the system performance. A laboratory scale MFC-CW with a siphon driven TF recirculation was proposed and designed. It allows the variable water level being created in four operational modes. The results demonstrated the significance of the siphon which was reflected by the attractive wastewater treatment performance. Compared with the tested four operational modes under the same hydraulic condition, the highest total nitrogen removal efficiency of 96.32% and COD removal efficiency of 92.37% were achieved, respectively, in 1st full siphon recirculation mode (FSR) and 2nd FSR operation mode. Indeed, the water level variation range played an important role in pollutants removal performance. Reduced water level variation of the TF in cathode chamber hindered excessive oxygen diffusion into MFC-CW and thus adversely affected the system performance. It is clear that the siphon is a wiser input to bring about the better treatment performance, but it is believed that the enhanced microbial activities behind the oxygen promotion is the driven force to exhibiting a better performance in the MFC-CW system.