3D electrode use in MDC for enhanced removal of boron from geothermal water

Abstract

Microbial desalination cell (MDC) is a significantly promising technology due to its simultaneous features of electricity production, wastewater treatment and desalination. In this paper, the three-dimensional (3D) sponge with activated carbon-chitosan (AC-CS) was synthesized to enhance the efficiency of the MDC system. Effects of operating parameters (boron concentration, electrode surface area, catholyte solution, and activated sludge volume) on MDC performance were also investigated. The MDC with 3D AC-CS anode provided a higher power density of 970 mW/m2, boron removal efficiency of 75.9%, and COD removal efficiency of >90% under optimized conditions. The maximum boron and COD removal efficiencies were 65.6 and 81.4% with the power density of 866.9 mW/m2 for geothermal brine. Moreover, BET analysis showed that the 3D AC-CS anode presented high surface area (230 m2/g) and pore volume (0.202 cm3/g). As an overall result, not only the production of 3D sponge anode electrodes with AC-CS composite was achieved but also desalination and power generation results that were comparable with the literature were presented.