Skip to main content

Advertisement

SpringerLink
Log in

Application of a weak magnetic field to improve microbial fuel cell performance

  • Published:
Ecotoxicology Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Microbial fuel cells (MFCs) have emerged as a promising technology for wastewater treatment with concomitant energy production but the performance is usually limited by low microbial activities. This has spurred intensive research interest for microbial enhancement. This study demonstrated an interesting stimulation effect of a static magnetic field (MF) on sludge-inoculated MFCs and explored into the mechanisms. The implementation of a 100-mT MF accelerated the reactor startup and led to increased electricity generation. Under the MF exposure, the activation loss of the MFC was decreased, but there was no increased secretion of redox mediators. Thus, the MF effect was mainly due to enhanced bioelectrochemical activities of anodic microorganisms, which are likely attributed to the oxidative stress and magnetohydrodynamic effects under an MF exposure. This work implies that weak MF may be applied as a simple and effective approach to stimulate microbial activities for various bioelectrochemical energy production and decontamination applications.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Fig. 4
Fig. 5

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Afanasyeva MS, Taraban MB, Purtov PA, Leshina TV, Grissom CB (2006) Magnetic spin effects in enzymatic reactions: radical oxidation of NADH by horseradish peroxidase. J Am Chem Soc 128:8651–8658

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Borole AP, Hamilton CY, Vishnivetskaya T, Leak D, Andras C (2009) Improving power production in acetate-fed microbial fuel cells via enrichment of exoelectrogenic organisms in flow-through systems. Biochem Eng J 48:71–80

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Borole AP, Reguera G, Ringeisen B, Wang ZW, Yj Feng, Kim BH (2011) Electroactive biofilms: current status and future research needs. Energy Environ Sci 4:4813–4834

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Chen YP, Li R, He JM (2011) Magnetic field can alleviate toxicological effect induced by cadmium in mungbean seedlings. Ecotoxicology 20:760–769

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Di Lorenzo M, Scott K, Curtis TP, Head IM (2010) Effect of increasing anode surface area on the performance of a single chamber microbial fuel cell. Chem Eng J 156:40–48

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Filipic J, Kraigher B, Tepus B, Kokol V, Mandic-Mulec I (2012) Effects of low-density static magnetic fields on the growth and activities of wastewater bacteria Escherichia coli and Pseudomonas putida. Bioresour Technol 120:225–232

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Ji Y, Wang Y, Sun J, Yan T, Li J, Zhao TT, Yin XH, Sun CJ (2010) Enhancement of biological treatment of wastewater by magnetic field. Bioresour Technol 101:8535–8540

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Jones AR, Hay S, Woodward JR, Scrutton NS (2007) Magnetic field effect studies indicate reduced geminate recombination of the radical pair in substrate-bound adenosylcobalamin-dependent ethanolamine ammonia lyase. J Am Chem Soc 129:15718–15727

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Katz E, Lioubashevski O, Willner I (2005) Magnetic field effects on bioelectrocatalytic reactions of surface-confined enzyme systems: enhanced performance of biofuel cells. J Am Chem Soc 127:3979–3988

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Kriklavova L, Truhlar M, Skodova P, Lederer T, Jirku V (2014) Effects of a static magnetic field on phenol degradation effectiveness and Rhodococcus erythropolis growth and respiration in a fed-batch reactor. Bioresour Technol 167:510–513

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Łebkowska M, Rutkowska-Narozniak A, Pajor E, Pochanke Z (2011) Effect of a static magnetic field on formaldehyde biodegradation in wastewater by activated sludge. Bioresour Technol 102:8777–8782

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Li WW, Sheng GP, Liu XW, Yu HQ (2011a) Recent advances in the separators for microbial fuel cells. Bioresour Technol 102:244–252

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Li WW, Sheng GP, Liu XW, Cai PJ, Sun M, Xiao X, Wang YK, Tong ZH, Dong F, Yu HQ (2011b) Impact of a static magnetic field on the electricity production of Shewanella-inoculated microbial fuel cells. Biosens Bioelectron 26:3987–3992

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Li WW, Yu HQ, He Z (2014) Towards sustainable wastewater treatment technologies by using microbial fuel cells–centred technologies. Energy Environ Sci 7:911–924

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Liu S, Yang F, Meng F, Chen H, Gong Z (2008) Enhanced anammox consortium activity for nitrogen removal: impacts of static magnetic field. J Biotechnol 138:96–102

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Logan BE, Hamelers B, Rozendal RA, Schrorder U, Keller J, Freguia S, Aelterman P, Verstraete W, Rabaey K (2006) Microbial fuel cells: methodology and technology. Environ Sci Technol 40:5181–5192

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Lovley DR (2008) The microbe electric: conversion of organic matter to electricity. Curr Opin Biotechnol 19:564–571

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Lovley DR (2011) Live wires: direct extracellular electron exchange for bioenergy and the bioremediation of energy-related contamination. Energy Environ Sci 4:4896–4906

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Luo HP, Liu GL, Zhang RD, Jin S (2009) Phenol degradation in microbial fuel cells. Chem Eng J 147:259–264

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Mathuriya AS (2014) Eco-affectionate face of microbial fuel cells. Crit Rev Environ Sci Technol 44:97–153

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Mohanakrishna G, Mohan SK, Mohan SV (2012) Carbon based nanotubes and nanopowder as impregnated electrode structures for enhanced power generation: evaluation with real field wastewater. Appl Energy 95:31–37

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Pant D, Van Bogaert G, Diels L, Vanbroekhoven K (2010) A review of the substrates used in microbial fuel cells (MFCs) for sustainable energy production. Bioresour Technol 101:1533–1543

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Pant D, Singh A, Van Bogaert G, Olsen SI, Nigam PS, Diels L, Vanbroekhoven K (2012) Bioelectrochemical systems (BES) for sustainable energy production and product recovery from organic wastes and industrial wastewaters. RSC Adv 2:1248–1263

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Pham TH, Aelterman P, Verstraete W (2009) Bioanode performance in bioelectrochemical systems: recent improvements and prospects. Trends Biotechnol 27:168–178

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Sheng GP, Yu HQ (2006) Characterization of extracellular polymeric substances of aerobic and anaerobic sludge using three-dimensional excitation and emission matrix fluorescence spectroscopy. Water Res 40:1233–11239

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Solanki K, Subramanian S, Basu S (2013) Microbial fuel cells for azo dye treatment with electricity generation: a review. Bioresour Technol 131:564–571

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Sun SY, Xu YB (2010) Effect of stable weak magnetic field on Cr(VI) bio-removal in anaerobic SBR system. Biodegradation 19:455–462

    Google Scholar 

  • Sun M, Sheng GP, Zhang L, Liu XW, Xia CR, Mu ZX, Wang HL, Yu HQ, Qi R, Yu T, Yang M (2008) An MEC-MFC-coupled system for biohydrogen production from acetate. Environ Sci Technol 42:8095–8100

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Sun M, Mu ZX, Sheng GP, Liu XW, Zhang L, Xia CR, Wang HL, Tong ZH, Yu HQ (2011) Effects of a transient external voltage application on the bioanode performance of microbial fuel cells. Electrochim Acta 55:3048–3054

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tao QQ, Zhou SQ (2014) Effect of static magnetic field on electricity production and wastewater treatment in microbial fuel cells. Appl Microbiol Biotechnol 98:9879–9887

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Torres CI, Marcus AK, Lee HS, Parameswaran P, Krajmalnik-Brown R, Rittmann BE (2010) A kinetic perspective on extracellular electron transfer by anode-respiring bacteria. FEMS Microbiol Rev 34:3–17

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Wang ZW, Wu ZC, Tang SJ (2009) Characterization of dissolved organic matter in a submerged membrane bioreactor by using three-dimensional excitation and emission matrix fluorescence spectroscopy. Water Res 43:1533–1540

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Wang YP, Liu XW, Li WW, Li F, Wang YK, Sheng GP, Zeng RJ, Yu HQ (2012) A microbial fuel cell-membrane bioreactor integrated system for cost-effective wastewater treatment. Appl Energy 98:230–235

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Wang HY, Wang GM, Ling YC, Qian F, Song Y, Lu XH, Chen SW, Tong YX, Li Y (2013) High power density microbial fuel cell with flexible 3D graphene-nickel foam as anode. Nanoscale 5:10283–10290

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Xiang K, Qiao Y, Ching CB, Li CM (2009) GldA overexpressing-engineered E. coli as superior electrocatalyst for microbial fuel cells. Electrochem Commun 11:1593–1595

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Yin Y, Huang GT, Tong YR, Liu YD, Zhang LH (2013) Electricity production and electrochemical impedance modeling of microbial fuel cells under static magnetic field. J Power Sources 237:58–63

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Zaidi NS, Sohaili J, Muda K, Sillanpaa M (2014) Magnetic field application and its potential in water and wastewater treatment systems. Sep Purif Rev 43:206–240

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Zhang CY, Liang P, Jiang Y, Huang X (2015) Enhanced power generation of microbial fuel cell using manganese dioxide-coated anode in flow-through mode. J Power Sources 273:580–583

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Zhou M, Chi M, Luo J, He H, Jin T (2011) An overview of electrode materials in microbial fuel cells. J Power Sources 196:4427–4435

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgments

The authors wish to thank the Natural Science Foundation of China (51278479 and 21261160489) for the partial support of this study.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Chemistry, University of Science & Technology of China, Hefei, 230026, China

    Zhong-Hua Tong, Han-Qing Yu, Wen-Wei Li, Yun-Kun Wang, Min Sun, Xian-Wei Liu & Guo-Ping Sheng

  2. Collaborative Innovation Center of Suzhou Nano Science and Technology, University of Science & Technology of China, Hefei, 230026, China

    Zhong-Hua Tong & Han-Qing Yu

Authors
  1. Zhong-Hua Tong
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Han-Qing Yu
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Wen-Wei Li
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Yun-Kun Wang
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. Min Sun
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  6. Xian-Wei Liu
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  7. Guo-Ping Sheng
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Wen-Wei Li.

Ethics declarations

Conflict of interest

All authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Tong, ZH., Yu, HQ., Li, WW. et al. Application of a weak magnetic field to improve microbial fuel cell performance. Ecotoxicology 24, 2175–2180 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10646-015-1545-2

Download citation

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10646-015-1545-2

Keywords

Search

Navigation