Energy and Pollution Mitigation: The Role of Coconut Sugar in Microbial Fuel Cell

Abstract

This study explores the use of microbial fuel cell (MFC) for wastewater treatment and energy production, focusing on enhancing electron generation. To encourage bacterial activity in removing metal ions from the inoculation source, coconut sugar and organic contaminants were used as dual substrates. With phenol degradation at 82.18% and removal efficiencies for Pb²⁺, Cd²⁺, and Cr³⁺ at 92.10%, 89.85%, and 90.60%, respectively, the study’s energy efficiency was 72.7 mW/m² within 21 days. Compared to the external resistance of 1000 Ω, the internal resistance was 514.39 Ω. On day 30, CV studies revealed maximum oxidation currents of 4.0 × 10⁻⁵ mA and peak reduction currents of -1.6 × 10⁻⁵ mA, suggesting increasing metal and phenol treatment. Lysinibacillus, Lysobacter, and Pseudoxanthomonas were found to be the dominating bacterial species at the anode biofilm, confirming the efficacy of this strategy via electrochemical and biological testing. The potential of coconut sugar in MFC applications was highlighted by its greater voltage generation when compared to other substrates. The research highlighted pH 7 and room temperature as optimal conditions while discussing processes and parameter optimization. The challenges of electron transportation are crucial for advancing MFC to a practical stage: hence, using waste materials for electrode production is a novel approach to address this challenge. However, there has been a thorough discussion of promising key challenges and potential future perspectives.