Potato waste as an effective source of electron generation and bioremediation of pollutant through benthic microbial fuel cell

Abstract

The goal of this research was to improve electron generation in BMFC by utilizing potatoes waste as an electron donor source for bacterial species. Pollutant remediation is a secondary applications of BMFC, hence the current research investigated heavy metal remediation from wastewater and energized the system using potato waste. Within 20 days of operation, the present study provided 112 mV, with a maximum current density of 36.84 mA/m2. The cell measured an internal resistance of 1557 Ω, which is bit higher than the external resistance. Several electrochemical studies were also carried out to validate the BMFC findings. On day 30, the specific capacitance was measured with a cyclic voltameter at 0.00057F/g to investigate the biofilm. It demonstrates that the biofilm remains stable throughout the BMFC process. Overall, the electrochemical studies demonstrated that potato waste was a good source of bacterial activity. The Enterobacter, Proteus, and Xenorhabdus species are detected on the surface of anode. Lastly, within 40 days, the maximum efficiency of metal remediation was found to be 94.20 % (Cd2+), 97.34 % (Pb2+), and 84.12 % (Cr3+).