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Utilization of a Silicone Rubber Membrane for Passive Oxygen Supply in a Microbial Fuel Cell Treating Carbon and Nitrogen from Synthetic Coke-Oven Wastewater

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Abstract

This study firstly introduced a silicone rubber membrane (SRM) into microbial fuel cell (MFC) for passive oxygen supply to simultaneously remove phenol and nitrogen from synthetic coke-oven wastewater diluted with seawater. Passive oxygen transport with biofilm on the membrane was improved by ~ 18-fold in comparison with the one without a biofilm. In addition, although the oxygen supply was passive, nitrification accounted for 34% of those aeration conditions. It was also found that silicone rubber membrane can control NO2−–N and/or NO3−–N production. A dual-chamber MFC treating the synthetic coke-oven wastewater achieved a maximum power density of 54 mW m−2 with a coulombic efficiency of 2.7%. We conclude that silicone rubber membrane is effective for sustainable coke-oven wastewater treatment in MFCs.

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Acknowledgments

This research was supported by the Steel Foundation for Environmental Protection Technology.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Major in Social Infrastructure System Science, Ibaraki University, Hitachi, Ibaraki, 316-8511, Japan

    Fengyu Wang

  2. Department of Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering, Ibaraki University, Hitachi, Ibaraki, 316-8511, Japan

    Hirokazu Matsubara & Masafumi Fujita

  3. Division of Materials Science and Chemical Engineering, Yokohama National University, Yokohama, Kanagawa, 240-8501, Japan

    Tadashi Nittami

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  1. Fengyu Wang
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Correspondence to Fengyu Wang.

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Wang, F., Matsubara, H., Nittami, T. et al. Utilization of a Silicone Rubber Membrane for Passive Oxygen Supply in a Microbial Fuel Cell Treating Carbon and Nitrogen from Synthetic Coke-Oven Wastewater. Appl Biochem Biotechnol 189, 217–232 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12010-019-02994-3

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