Abstract
Microbial fuel cell (MFC) is a recommended treatment to remediate hexavalent chromium (Cr(VI)) in wastewater. In this study, a wood carbon (WC) electrode was introduced in MFC to enhance the Cr(VI) removal efficiency. WC electrode in MFC completely removed Cr(VI) as compared to the carbon cloth (31.12%) and carbon felt (34.83) within 48 h of operation at 20 mg L-1 of Cr(VI) concentration. The maximum power density of WC electrode was 62.59 mW m-2 higher than 0.115 and 3.154 mW m-2 of carbon cloth and felt respectively. The specific surface area of WC increased to 158.47 m-2 g-1 after high-temperature carbonization, and electrochemical tests indicate it has higher electrocatalytic ability. Therefore, WC might be a good electrode material to effectively remove Cr(VI) and generate bioelectricity simultaneously.
Highlights
Hexavalent chromium (Cr(VI)), a toxic metal ion (Saha et al 2011), comes from electroplating wastewater and causing serious effects on human health (Antoniadis et al 2018)
The results show that the Cr(VI) was completely removed with wood carbon (WC) electrode as compare to the carbon cloth (31.12 ± 0.31%) and carbon felt (34.83% ± 0.12) within 48 hours
A large number of holes were observed on surface of WC by SEM (Fig. 1a & b)
Summary
Hexavalent chromium (Cr(VI)), a toxic metal ion (Saha et al 2011), comes from electroplating wastewater and causing serious effects on human health (Antoniadis et al 2018). The reduction of Cr(VI) to (Cr(III)) less toxic by physiochemical treatment have been reported (Avila et al 2014). The natural carbon materials have strong electrocatalytic ability (Gao et al 2015), and carbon materials derived from wood would be appropriate to use as an electrode in MFCs. In this study, wood carbon (WC) electrode was prepared by a simple carbonization process and applied in the cathode of MFC. The enhancement of Cr(VI) removal efficiency and bioelectricity generation in MFC due to its dense porous structure and the strong electrocatalytic ability in comparison to control carbon electrodes. Surface morphology, electrochemical tests, and valence change of chromium were conducted in anticipation of using the electrode for practical application
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