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Electrical current generation from a continuous flow macrophyte biocathode sediment microbial fuel cell (mSMFC) during the degradation of pollutants in urban river sediment

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Abstract

A new type of sediment microbial fuel cell (SMFC) with floating macrophyte Limnobium laevigatum, Pistia stratiotes, or Lemna minor L. biocathode was constructed and assessed in three phases at different hydraulic retention time (HRT) for electrical current generation during the degradation of urban river sediment. The results showed a highest voltage output of 0.88 ± 0.1 V, maximum power density of 80.22 mW m−3, highest columbic efficiency of 15.3%, normalized energy recovery of 0.030 kWh m−3, and normalized energy production of 0.005 kWh m−3 in the Lemna minor L. SMFC during phase 3 at HRT of 48 h, respectively. Highest removal efficiencies of total chemical oxygen demand of 80%, nitrite of 99%, ammonia of 93%, and phosphorus of 94% were achieved in Lemna minor L. system, and 99% of nitrate removal and 99% of sulfate removal were achieved in Pistia stratiotes and Limnobium laevigatum system during the SMFC operation, respectively. Pistia stratiotes exhibited the highest growth in terms of biomass and tap root system of 29.35 g and 12.2 cm to produce the maximum dissolved oxygen of 16.85 ± 0.2 mg L−1 compared with other macrophytes. The predominant bacterial phylum Proteobacteria of 62.86% and genus Exiguobacterium of 17.48% were identified in Limnobium laevigatum system, while the class Gammaproteobacteria of 28.77% was observed in the control SMFC. The integration of technologies with the continuous flow operation shows promising prospect in the remediation of polluted urban river sediments along with the generation of electrical current.

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Funding

This research was financially supported by the National Nature Science Foundation of China (Project 51778176) and the State Key Laboratory of Urban Water Resource and Environment, Harbin Institute of Technology (2019DX07).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. State Key Laboratory of Urban Water Resources and Environments (SKLURE), Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin, 150090, China

    Felix Tetteh Kabutey, Jing Ding, Qingliang Zhao & Frank Koblah Quashie

  2. Council for Scientific and Industrial Research-Institute for Scientific and Technological Information (CSIR–INSTI), P. O. Box M–32, Accra, Ghana

    Felix Tetteh Kabutey

  3. Jiangxi Key Laboratory of Mining & Metallurgy Environmental Pollution Control, School of Resources and Environmental Engineering, Jiangxi University of Science and Technology, Ganzhou, 341000, People’s Republic of China

    Philip Antwi

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  1. Felix Tetteh Kabutey
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Correspondence to Qingliang Zhao.

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Kabutey, F.T., Ding, J., Zhao, Q. et al. Electrical current generation from a continuous flow macrophyte biocathode sediment microbial fuel cell (mSMFC) during the degradation of pollutants in urban river sediment. Environ Sci Pollut Res 27, 35364–35380 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-020-09812-y

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