Electricity generation and pollutants removal of landfill leachate by osmotic microbial fuel cells with different forward osmosis membranes

Jili Guo,Zhuang Kong,Li Huang,Jialing Song,Shengyang Zheng,Nan Jiang,Teng Cai,Liang Chen,Manhong Huang

doi:10.1186/s42834-021-00095-7

Abstract

In this study, thin-film composite with embedded polyester screen, cellulose triacetate with a cast nonwoven and cellulose triacetate with embedded polyester screen (CTA-ES) was examined as the intermediate membranes in osmotic microbial fuel cells (OsMFCs). The reactors were fed with actual landfill leachate and the performance was studied in two operation modes: active layer facing draw solution and active layer facing feed solution (AL-FS). The OsMFC with CTA-ES exhibited the best energy generation (maximum power density: 0.44 W m− 2) and pollutant removal efficiency (ammonia nitrogen: 70%, total nitrogen: 74%) in the AL-FS mode, which could be ascribed to the lowest internal resistance (237 Ω) and highest microbial richness. Pseudomonas was the highest proportion of microbial in OsMFCs. The result of this study has demonstrated the potential of OsMFCs for landfill leachate treatment.

Highlights

Landfill leachate contains a wide range of organics, inorganics, heavy metals and salts
The results demonstrated that the electricity generation and water flux of cellulose triacetate with embedded polyester screen (CTA-ES) in osmotic microbial fuel cells (OsMFCs) were higher than those of CTA-NW and PA
The volltage of CTA-ES-OsMFC remained high throughout the experiment, while that of the CTA-NWOsMFC was high at the beginning, dropped rapidly in a first 2000 min of operation, and remained relatively stable

Summary

Introduction

Landfill leachate contains a wide range of organics, inorganics, heavy metals and salts It is generally characterized with a high concentration of ammonia and a low biodegradable organic matter content [1]. Wu et al [6] summarized the effects of different feed modes, cell structures and leachate loading rates on the energy recovery efficiency of MFCs, and identified chemicals and leachate characteristics that could potentially improve bioelectrochemical activity and energy production. These include high concentration of nitrogen and electrical conductivity, which could improve the electrical

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Results

Conclusion