Simultaneous power generation and Congo red dye degradation in double chamber microbial fuel cell using spent carbon electrodes

Abstract

ABSTRACT This study investigates simultaneous power generation and Congo red dye degradation in a double chamber microbial fuel cell using carbon rods obtained from spent zinc-carbon (1050-D) batteries as the electrodes. Electrochemical analyzes such as cyclic voltammetry and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy confirm the feasibility of using spent carbon rods (SCR) as the electrodes. The effects of initial Congo red dye (anolyte) concentration (100–500 mg L−1) and choice of catholyte (KMnO4 and K2Cr2O7) on the performance of the microbial fuel cell were analyzed. A maximum power density of 0.90 Wm−2 was obtained for an anolyte concentration of 300 mg L−1 of Congo red dye and a catholyte concentration of 100 mg L−1 of KMnO4. Maximum chemical oxygen demand removal of 85% and color removal of 98% were obtained under optimized conditions. The obtained results show that spent carbon rods from batteries possess excellent potential as working electrodes in a microbial fuel cell.