Scaling up of MFC technology using cost effective electrodes for treatment of kitchen wastewater

Abstract

The current study aims to scale up Microbial Fuel cell (MFC) system for power generation and treat kitchen wastewater using a low-cost material. One MFC with stainless steel mesh as both anode and cathode and another MFC with carbon veil as anode and stainless-steel mesh as cathode with a natural clay as membrane was selected for this study. Ten cells, each with an anodic chamber of volume 275 mL and cathodic chamber of volume 90 mL were externally connected to perform the treatment. COD removal and power generation of the cells were monitored and the performances of electrically combined cells in series, parallel, series–parallel and parallel-series combinations were also studied. MFC with carbon veil as anode generates an open circuit voltage (OCV) of 476 mV, power density of 0.397 W/m3 and current density of 0.26 A/m2 which is higher than the system with stainless steel as the anode. The comparative study of the various electrical combinations concludes that the parallel combination shows a maximum power density of 0.55 W/m3. This study reveals that the best electrode material and electrical connection for a scaled up MFC were carbon veil as anode and stainless-steel mesh as cathode and a natural clay-based membrane connected in parallel combination.