Abstract
ObjectivesSingle chamber air cathode microbial fuel cells (MFCs) were investigated with sodium-acetate and peptone as test substrates to assess the potential for application as biosensor to determine the concentration of biodegradable organics in water/wastewater samples.ResultsMFCs provided well-reproducible performance at high (> 2000 mg COD l−1—Chemical Oxygen Demand) acetate concentration values. Current in the cells proved to be steady from 25 to 35 °C, significant decrease was, however, revealed in the current below 20 °C. Direct calculation of non-toxic biodegradable substrate concentration in water/wastewater from the current in MFCs is possible only in the non-saturated substrate concentration range due to the Monod-like dependence of the current. This range was determined by a fitted and verified Monod-based kinetic model. Half saturation constant (KS) values were calculated at 30 °C applying different external resistance values (100 Ω, 600 Ω and 1000 Ω, respectively). In each case KS remained below 10 mg COD l−1.ConclusionsBiosensors with this particular MFC design and operation are potentially applicable for detecting as low as 5 mg COD l−1 readily biodegradable substrates, and measuring the concentration of these substances up to ~ 50–70 mg COD l−1.
Highlights
Microbial fuel cells (MFCs) are special bioreactors that can convert the chemical energy stored in biodegradable substances directly into electricity
The operating principle of an MFC is based on the metabolism of exoelectrogenic bacteria: these organisms can transfer the electrons gained through biodegradation of organic compounds to the solid anode, generating electricity in the external circuit of the cell
One of the most promising way of utilizing MFCs is the application as biosensors to detect biodegradable organics and/or toxic compounds even at extremely low concentrations (Abrevaya et al 2015a, b; Sun et al 2015)
Summary
Microbial fuel cells (MFCs) are special bioreactors that can convert the chemical energy stored in biodegradable substances directly into electricity. The operating principle of an MFC is based on the metabolism of exoelectrogenic bacteria: these organisms can transfer the electrons gained through biodegradation of organic compounds to the solid anode, generating electricity in the external circuit of the cell. One of the most promising way of utilizing MFCs is the application as biosensors to detect biodegradable organics and/or toxic compounds even at extremely low concentrations (Abrevaya et al 2015a, b; Sun et al 2015). The basic way of measuring the concentration of non-toxic biodegradable organic matter in water or wastewater with MFCs is based on the correlation between the generated current and substrate concentration in the anolyte, which can be described generally with Monod-like kinetics (Lorant et al 2015), as shown in Eq 1.
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