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. 2020 Nov 12;10(1):19665.
doi: 10.1038/s41598-020-76668-0.

Enhanced bioelectrochemical treatment of petroleum refinery wastewater with Labaneh whey as co-substrate

Gunda Mohanakrishna  1 , Ibrahim M Abu-Reesh  2 , Deepak Pant  3
Affiliations

Enhanced bioelectrochemical treatment of petroleum refinery wastewater with Labaneh whey as co-substrate

Gunda Mohanakrishna et al. Sci Rep. .

Abstract

Petroleum refinery wastewater (PRW) that contains recalcitrant components as the major portion of constituents is difficult to treat by conventional biological processes. Microbial fuel cells (MFCs) which also produce renewable energy were found to be promising for the treatment of PRW. However, due to the high total dissolved solids and low organic matter content, the efficiency of the process is limited. Labaneh whey (LW) wastewater, having higher biodegradability and high organic matter was evaluated as co-substrate along with PRW in standard dual chambered MFC to achieve improved power generation and treatment efficiency. Among several concentrations of LW as co-substrate in the range of 5-30% (v/v) with PRW, 85:15 (PRW:LW) showed to have the highest power generation (power density (PD), 832 mW/m2), which is two times higher than the control with PRW as sole substrate (PD, 420 mW/m2). On the contrary, a maximum substrate degradation rate of 0.420 kg COD/m3-day (ξCOD, 63.10%), was registered with 80:20 feed. Higher LW ratios in PRW lead to the production of VFA which in turn gradually decreased the anolyte pH to below 4.5 (70:30 feed). This resulted in a drop in the performance of MFC with respect to power generation (274 mW/m2, 70:30 feed) and substrate degradation (ξCOD, 17.84%).

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no competing interests.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Bioelectrogenic behaviour observed during MFC operation for co-substrate influence. (a) Current density (mA/m2) during 6 different combinations of (PRW:LW) and control operations studied for co-substrate influence on bioelectrogenesis (refer to Table 1 for exp. conditions for C1 to C21), (b) potentials and power density registered during the 3 cycles of each experimental variation.
Figure 2
Figure 2
The trend of COD removal efficiency and substrate degradation rate with respect to different (PRW:LW) ratios for bioelectricity generation.
Figure 3
Figure 3
The shift of outlet pH (end of the cycle operation) from the neutral condition at the beginning of cycle (inlet pH 7.0) at different (PRW:LW) ratios for bioelectricity generation.
Figure 4
Figure 4
(a) Polarization behaviour at different co-substrate conditions evaluated at different (PRW:LW) ratios in MFC. (b) Maximum volumetric power density and cell design point recorded.
Figure 5
Figure 5
(a) Cycle wise performance of MFC with respect to specific power yield and volumetric power density, (b) consolidated representation of specific power yield and volumetric power density during operation at 6 different substrate combinations and control operations.
Figure 6
Figure 6
Energy yield evaluated in relation to power produced and COD removed during all cycles of operation.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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