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Electricity generation from young landfill leachate in a microbial fuel cell with a new electrode material

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Abstract

This study aims at evaluating the performance of a two-chambered continuously fed microbial fuel cell with new Ti–TiO2 electrodes for bioelectricity generation from young landfill leachate at varying strength of wastewater (1–50 COD g/L) and hydraulic retention time (HRT, 0.25–2 days). The COD removal efficiency in the MFC increased with time and reached 45 % at full-strength leachate (50 g/L COD) feeding. The current generation increased with increasing leachate strength and decreasing HRT up to organic loading rate of 100 g COD/L/day. The maximum current density throughout the study was 11 A/m2 at HRT of 0.5 day and organic loading rate of 67 g COD/L/day. Coulombic efficiency (CE) decreased from 57 % at feed COD concentration of 1 g/L to less than 1 % when feed COD concentration was 50 g/L. Increase in OLR resulted in increase in power output but decrease in CE.

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Acknowledgments

The authors gracefully acknowledge the financial support of TÜBİTAK, Project no. 109Y269.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Environmental Engineering, Yildiz Technical University, Davutpasa Campus, Esenler, Istanbul, Turkey

    Bestamin Özkaya, Afşin Yusuf Cetinkaya, Mehmet Cakmakci & Doğan Karadağ

  2. Bioengineering Department, Istanbul Medeniyet University, Goztepe, Istanbul, Turkey

    Erkan Sahinkaya

  3. Department of Chemistry and Bioengineering, Faculty of Science and Environmental Engineering, Tampere University of Technology, Tampere, Finland

    Bestamin Özkaya

Authors
  1. Bestamin Özkaya
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  2. Afşin Yusuf Cetinkaya
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  3. Mehmet Cakmakci
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  4. Doğan Karadağ
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  5. Erkan Sahinkaya
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Correspondence to Bestamin Özkaya.

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Özkaya, B., Cetinkaya, A.Y., Cakmakci, M. et al. Electricity generation from young landfill leachate in a microbial fuel cell with a new electrode material. Bioprocess Biosyst Eng 36, 399–405 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00449-012-0796-z

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00449-012-0796-z

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