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. 2023 Aug 15;231(Pt 2):116159.
doi: 10.1016/j.envres.2023.116159. Epub 2023 May 20.

Microbial fuel cell: Interplay of energy production, wastewater treatment, toxicity assessment with hydraulic retention time

Ana Carla Sorgato  1 , Thamires Custódio Jeremias  2 , Fernanda Leite Lobo  3 , Flávio Rubens Lapolli  2
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Microbial fuel cell: Interplay of energy production, wastewater treatment, toxicity assessment with hydraulic retention time

Ana Carla Sorgato et al. Environ Res. .

Abstract

Microbial fuel cell (MFC) operation under similar conditions to conventional methods will support the use of this technology in large-scale wastewater treatment. The operation of scaled-up air-cathode MFC (2 L) fed with synthetic wastewater (similar to domestic) in a continuous flow was evaluated using three different hydraulic retention times (HRT), 12, 8, and 4 h. We found that electricity generation and wastewater treatment could be enhanced under an HRT of 12 h. Additionally, the longer HRT led to greater coulombic efficiency (5.44%) than MFC operating under 8 h and 4 h, 2.23 and 1.12%, respectively. However, due to the anaerobic condition, the MFC was unable to remove nutrients. Furthermore, an acute toxicity test with Lactuca sativa revealed that MFC could reduce wastewater toxicity. These outcomes demonstrated that scaled-up MFC could be operated as a primary effluent treatment and transform a wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) into a renewable energy producer.

Keywords: Domestic wastewater treatment; Microbial fuel cell; Phytotoxicity; Power generation; Upscaling.

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Conflict of interest statement

Declaration of competing interest The authors declare the following financial interests/personal relationships which may be considered as potential competing interests: Ana Carla Sorgato reports financial support was provided by Coordination for the Improvement of Higher Education Personnel (CAPES). Thamires Custódio Jeremias reports financial support was provided by Coordination for the Improvement of Higher Education Personnel (CAPES)

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