Abstract
The conversion of activated sludge into high value-added materials, such as sludge carbon (SC), has attracted increasing attention because of its potential for various applications. In this study, the effect of SC carbonized at temperatures of 600, 800, 1000, and 1200 °C on the anode performance of microbial fuel cells and its mechanism are discussed. A pyrolysis temperature of 1000 °C for the loaded electrode (SC1000/CC) generated a maximum areal power density of 2.165 ± 0.021 W·m−2 and a current density of 5.985 ± 0.015 A·m−2, which is 3.017- and 2.992-fold that of the CC anode. The addition of SC improves microbial activity, optimizes microbial community structure, promotes the expression of c-type cytochromes, and is conducive to the formation of electroactive biofilms. This study not only describes a technique for the preparation of high-performance and low-cost anodes, but also sheds some light on the rational utilization of waste resources such as aerobic activated sludge.
Highlights
Microbial fuel cells (MFCs) can convert chemical energy in organic matter into electric energy by using the oxidation and metabolism mechanism of anaerobic bacteria on anodic electroactive biofilms (EABFs) [1,2]
For the SC1000 sample, the surfaces were relatively rough, and carbon microspheres and small pores appeared due to the release of volatile substances and the sintering effect, which converted a large number of inorganic parts into mineral-like compounds and induced the carbon phase to warp some metals [27]
For SC1200 samples, high temperature enhanced the shrinkage of carbon, hindered the development of pores, led to the collapse or deformation of coke, and reduced the pore volume
Summary
Microbial fuel cells (MFCs) can convert chemical energy in organic matter into electric energy by using the oxidation and metabolism mechanism of anaerobic bacteria on anodic electroactive biofilms (EABFs) [1,2]. MFCs can generate electrical energy while efficiently treating wastewater, which significantly reduces the operation cost of sewage treatment plants, and makes efficient use of waste resources [3]. Traditional wastewater biological treatment approaches mainly involve anaerobic digestion and aerobic treatment technologies [5]. Anaerobic digestion technology is mainly applicable to high concentration wastewater [6,7]. It can produce fuel gases such as methane or hydrogen from organic wastewater, it produces gases with no practical value such as carbon dioxide, hydrogen sulfide and nitrogen [5,8]. Aerobic treatment technology is mainly applicable to medium and low concentration wastewater. MFCs have a wide application range, low sludge output and directly utilize electric energy. MFCs have incomparable technical advantages compared with traditional wastewater biological treatment technologies [3,7]
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