Treatment of Simulated Wastewater by Bio-Cathode Microbial Fuel Cells at different C/N Ratio

Abstract

The study combined the microbial fuel cells (MFC) technology with the carbon and nitrogen removal technology of sewage based on the principle of MFC, constructing and running a bio-cathode microbial fuel cells (BCMFC) which could remove the carbon and nitrogen of sewage and generate electricity at the same time. The results indicated that the BCMFC was able to deal with low C/N ratio and high ammonia concentration wastewater on the condition of continuous flow. When the BCMFC was operated at the C/N ratio of 4, 7, 10 and 13, the lower C/N ratio was, the better performance was. When the C/N ratio was 4, the BCMFC reached the maximum power density of 786mW/m3, the highest denitrification rate of 50.1 mg/(L.d) and removing of 1gN, consuming 6.99 g COD.