Exploring the role of domesticated resistors in batch-mode microbial desalination cell.

Microbial Desalination Cells (MDCs) are an electrochemical process that harnesses microbial reactions to simultaneously treat wastewater, generate power, and desalinate water. By utilizing microbial decomposition of organic pollutants in wastewater, MDCs offer a sustainable and energy-efficient alternative to conventional desalination technologies. The technical framework of MDCs emphasizes the integration of water-electricity principles, making them promising for future applications in seawater desalination, wastewater treatment, resource recovery, and water softening. This study investigates the impact of acclimation resistance, represented by four different domesticated resistors values of 1 kΩ, 100Ω, 51Ω, and 10Ω, on the performance of MDCs. Larger acclimation resistors exhibit higher power performance, with the case of 100Ω achieving a power density of 0.33 mA/m2 and the case of 1 kΩ achieving the highest current density of 1.90 mA/m2. Furthermore, the case with an acclimation resistance of 1 kΩ exhibits superior performance in terms of chemical oxygen demand (COD) removal, achieving a removal rate of 76.3% on day 1. Conversely, the case with an acclimation resistance of 10Ω demonstrates the best desalination performance, achieving a desalination rate of 9.0%. It should be noted that the optimal performance in terms of COD removal and desalination capacity varies due to the various operational mechanisms involved. . The findings of this study provide valuable insights for enhancing the performance of MDCs in future applications, enabling further improvements in their efficiency and effectiveness.

Binder-free NiO/MnO2 coated carbon based anodes for simultaneous norfloxacin removal, wastewater treatment and power generation in dual-chamber microbial fuel cell.

Norfloxacin (NFX) is a commonly consumed synthetic antibiotic drug to cure many adverse infectious diseases of humans worldwide, but their presence in almost all aquatic environments has grown into severe global health concerns. In this study, the power performance of dual-chamber microbial fuel cells (MFCs) with two different types of base anodes (graphite felt and activated carbon cloth) were tested with a coating of NiO/MnO2 for removal of NFX in wastewater. As transition metal oxides have excellent electrochemical stability and a higher specific capacitance, their application in MFC for antibiotic removal and wastewater treatment would be an interesting study. Four different NFX concentrations were studied in two different base material with a coating of NiO/MnO2. Coating was done with 2 step hydro solvothermal method and modified anode surface was characterized by XRD and XPS analyses. Extracellular electron transfer between microorganisms and the modified anode improved significantly as a consequence of reduced internal resistance and a more biocompatible surface as measured by Electroscopy Impedance Spectroscopy (EIS) and polarization curves. NiO/MnO2 coated graphite felt performed 1.2 fold better than the control plain graphite felt. Similar results were found for activated carbon cloth (ACC). Modified ACC performed 1.3 fold better than the control plain ACC.

Integration of various technology-based approaches for enhancing the performance of microbial fuel cell technology: A review.

The conflict between climate change and growing global energy demand is an immense sustainability challenge that requires noteworthy scientific and technological developments. Recently the importance of microbial fuel cell (MFC) on this issue has seen profound investigation due to its inherent ability of simultaneous wastewater treatment, and power production. However, the challenges of economy-related manufacturing and operation costs should be lowered to achieve positive field-scale demonstration. Also, a variety of different field deployments will lead to improvisation. Hence, this review article discusses the possibility of integration of MFC technology with various technologies of recent times leading to advanced sustainable MFC technology. Technological innovation in the field of nanotechnology, genetic engineering, additive manufacturing, artificial intelligence, adaptive control, and few other hybrid systems integrated with MFCs is discussed. This comprehensive and state-of-the-art study elaborates hybrid MFCs integrated with various technology and its working principles, modified electrode material, complex and easy to manufacture reactor designs, and the effects of various operating parameters on system performances. Although integrated systems are promising, much future research work is needed to overcome the challenges and commercialize hybrid MFC technology.

Fundamental understanding of microbial fuel cell technology: Recent development and challenges.

The research on microbial fuel cells (MFCs) is rising tremendously but its commercialization is restricted by several microbiological, material, and economic constraints. Hence, a systematic assessment of the research articles published previously focusing on potential upcoming directions in this field is necessary. A detailed multi-perspective analysis of various techniques for enhancing the efficiency of MFC in terms of electric power production is presented in this paper. A brief discussion on the central aspects of different issues are preceded by an extensive analysis of the strategies that can be introduced to optimize power generation and reduce energy losses. Various applications of MFCs in a broad spectrum ranging from biomedical to underwater monitoring rather than electricity production and wastewater treatment are also presented followed by relevant possible case studies. Mathematical modeling is used to understand the concepts that cannot be understood experimentally. These methods relate electrode geometries to microbiological reactions occurring inside the MFC chamber, which explains the system's behavior and can be improved. Finally, directions for future research in the field of MFCs have been suggested. This article can be beneficial for engineers and researchers concerned about the challenges faced in the application of MFC.