Pre-treatment of anodic inoculum with nitroethane to improve performance of a microbial fuel cell

Methanogenic substrate loss is reported to be a major bottleneck in microbial fuel cell (MFC), which significantly reduces the power production capacity and coulombic efficiency (CE) of this system. Nitroethane is found to be a potent inhibitor of hydrogenotrophic methanogens in rumen fermentation p...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Water science and technology 2018-05, Vol.77 (9-10), p.2491-2496
Main Authors: Rajesh, P P, Noori, Md T, Ghangrekar, M M
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Anaerobic treatment
Biochemical fuel cells
Capacity
Cattle
Chaetoceros
Chemical oxygen demand
Efficiency
Electric power generation
Electricity
Electrodes
Fermentation
Fuel cells
Fuel technology
Inoculation
Inoculum
Methanogenesis
Methanogenic bacteria
Microorganisms
Oxidation
Performance enhancement
Power efficiency
Pretreatment
Sewage
Sewage sludge
Sewage treatment
Sludge
Substrates
Treated sewage
Wastewater treatment
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Summary:Methanogenic substrate loss is reported to be a major bottleneck in microbial fuel cell (MFC), which significantly reduces the power production capacity and coulombic efficiency (CE) of this system. Nitroethane is found to be a potent inhibitor of hydrogenotrophic methanogens in rumen fermentation process. Influence of nitroethane pre-treated sewage sludge inoculum on suppressing the methanogenic activity and enhancing the electrogenesis in MFC was evaluated. MFC inoculated with nitroethane pre-treated anodic inoculum demonstrated a maximum operating voltage of 541 mV, with CE and maximum volumetric power density of 39.85% and 20.5 W/m , respectively. Linear sweep voltammetry indicated a higher electron discharge on the anode surface due to enhancement of electrogenic activity while suppressing methanogenic activity. A 63% reduction in specific methanogenic activity was observed in anaerobic sludge pre-treated with nitroethane, emphasizing the significance of this pre-treatment for suppressing methanogenesis and its utility for enhancing electricity generation in MFC.
ISSN:0273-1223
1996-9732
DOI:10.2166/wst.2018.206