Performance study of microbial fuel cell stack system for treating fine chemical wastewater

Area of Science:

• Environmental Science and Engineering
• Electrochemistry
• Biotechnology

Background:

• Refractory fine chemical wastewater poses significant environmental challenges.
• Benzene compounds in wastewater require effective treatment methods.
• Microbial fuel cells (MFCs) offer a promising approach for simultaneous wastewater treatment and energy generation.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and evaluate a stacked anaerobic fluidized bed microbial fuel cell (SAFB-MFC) system.
• To treat refractory fine chemical wastewater containing benzene compounds.
• To investigate the electricity generation capabilities of the SAFB-MFC system.

Main Methods:

• Integration of 45 air-cathode MFC units in a shared anode chamber using a 3D layout.
• Systematic evaluation of power output and wastewater treatment performance.
• Analysis of the impact of superficial velocity and parallel operation on system efficiency.

Main Results:

• Total power output increased linearly with the number of connected MFC units.
• Middle and upper MFC units showed superior performance compared to bottom units.
• Increased superficial velocity enhanced mass transfer and maximum power density by 18.3%.
• Parallel operation improved COD removal rate by 9.1% and total power output by 43.5 times.

Conclusions:

• The SAFB-MFC system demonstrates high integration density and efficient treatment of benzene wastewater.
• The system effectively generates electricity, with performance influenced by unit position and operational parameters.
• SAFB-MFC technology shows significant potential for scalable and efficient industrial wastewater treatment and energy recovery.