A Study on Polythiophene Modified Carbon Cloth as Anode in Microbial Fuel Cell for Lead Removal

Abstract

In this study, the performance of carbon cloth (CC) modified with iodine (I2) doped polythiophene nanoparticles (PTh-NP) as an anode was investigated in a double chamber microbial fuel cell (MFC) for the purpose of simultaneous power generation and lead (Pb2+) removal using Shewanella putrefaciens as the biocatalyst. The CC with I2 doped PTh-NP displayed good electrochemical characteristics compared to pristine CC and the CC with undoped PTh-NP. A further increase in the electrical conductivity using the modified CC with biofilm was observed, which matured after 51 h, as evident from cyclic voltametry. The removal of lead for concentrations, viz., 20 ppm, 30 ppm, and 40 ppm, was analyzed. The optimum concentration was found to be 30 ppm with a maximum power density of 0.84 W/m2 and a current density of 1.45 A/m2 at an optimum resistance of 250 ohms. At the end of the process, total organic carbon (TOC) and Pb2+ removal of 95.1% and 89.6%, respectively, were obtained at the optimum concentration. Hence, this study demonstrates the possibility of utilizing MFC for treating low concentrated metal wastewater.