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Increased power generation from primary sludge by a submersible microbial fuel cell and optimum operational conditions

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Abstract

Microbial fuel cells (MFCs) have received attention as a promising renewable energy technology for waste treatment and energy recovery. We tested a submersible MFC with an innovative design capable of generating a stable voltage of 0.250 ± 0.008 V (with a fixed 470 Ω resistor) directly from primary sludge. In a polarization test, the maximum power density was 0.18 W/m2 at a current density of 0.8 A/m2 with an external resistor of 300 Ω. The anodic solution of the primary sludge needs to be adjusted to a pH 7 for high power generation. The modified primary sludge with an added phosphate buffer prolonged the current generation and increased the power density by 7 and 1.5 times, respectively, in comparison with raw primary sludge. These findings suggest that energy recovery from primary sludge can be maximized using an advanced MFC system with optimum conditions.

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Acknowledgments

This research was supported by the Danish Agency for Science Technology and Innovation: 2104-05-0003. The study was supported by the National Research Foundation of Korea Grant (No: 2010-0003940, 2012R1A1A2042031).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Environmental Engineering, Technical University of Denmark, 2800, Lyngby, Denmark

    Valentina Vologni, Irini Angelidaki & Booki Min

  2. Department of Environmental Science and Engineering, Kyung Hee University, 1 Seocheon-dong, Giheung-gu, Yongin-si, Gyeonggi-do, 446-701, Republic of Korea

    Ramesh Kakarla & Booki Min

Authors
  1. Valentina Vologni
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  2. Ramesh Kakarla
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  3. Irini Angelidaki
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  4. Booki Min
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Correspondence to Booki Min.

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Figure. S1 SEM images of the biofilm on the anode electrode. (DOCX 967 kb)

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Vologni, V., Kakarla, R., Angelidaki, I. et al. Increased power generation from primary sludge by a submersible microbial fuel cell and optimum operational conditions. Bioprocess Biosyst Eng 36, 635–642 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00449-013-0918-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00449-013-0918-2

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