Simultaneously Dairy Wastewater Treatment and Power Generation Using Microbial Fuel Cells: A Comparison of Single- and Double-Chamber

Microbial fuel cells (MFCs) have received considerable attention due to their diverse applications, including wastewater treatment, power generation, and use as sensors. This study evaluates the performance of single-chamber and double-chamber MFCs for simultaneous dairy wastewater treatment (DWWT) and electricity generation. A ۳D carbon felt was employed as the anode, while activated carbon-carbon black (AC-CB) pressed on a stainless-steel mesh (SSM) served as the cathode. The results showed that the single-chamber MFC achieved superior performance, with ۸۸.۷۷% COD removal and a power density of ۶۸۶.۶۷ mW/m³, compared to the double-chamber MFC, which reached a maximum of ۸۵.۸۱% COD removal and ۴۶۱.۷۸ mW/m³. The enhanced performance of the single-chamber system was attributed to lower internal resistance, more efficient oxygen reduction via air cathodes, and its simpler design. Furthermore, the outcomes of this study were compared with previous reports on MFCs applied for wastewater treatment and power generation. Overall, the findings suggest that single-chamber MFCs represent a promising approach for dairy wastewater treatment coupled with energy recovery.

کلیدواژه ها:

Microbial fuel cells ، Wastewater treatment ، Renewable energy ، Bacterial growth rate ، Gompertz modeling