Utilization of a Silicone Rubber Membrane for Passive Oxygen Supply in a Microbial Fuel Cell Treating Carbon and Nitrogen from Synthetic Coke-Oven Wastewater

• Published in: Applied biochemistry and biotechnology Vol. 189; no. 1; pp. 217 - 232
• Main Authors: Wang, Fengyu, Matsubara, Hirokazu, Nittami, Tadashi, Fujita, Masafumi
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: New York Springer US 01.09.2019; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Aeration; Biochemical fuel cells; Biochemistry; Bioelectric Energy Sources; Biofilms; Biotechnology; Carbon - administration & dosage; Chemistry; Chemistry and Materials Science; Coke; Coke ovens; Fuel cells; Fuel technology; Maximum power density; Membranes; Membranes, Artificial; Microorganisms; Nitrification; Nitrogen - administration & dosage; Nitrogen dioxide; Oxygen; Oxygen - administration & dosage; Phenols; Rubber; Seawater; Silicone Elastomers - chemistry; Silicone rubber; Silicones; Wastewater treatment; Phenol; Gas-permeable membrane; Nitrification; Volumetric oxygen mass transfer coefficient; Seawater
• ISSN: 0273-2289; 1559-0291
• DOI: 10.1007/s12010-019-02994-3

This study firstly introduced a silicone rubber membrane (SRM) into microbial fuel cell (MFC) for passive oxygen supply to simultaneously remove phenol and nitrogen from synthetic coke-oven wastewater diluted with seawater. Passive oxygen transport with biofilm on the membrane was improved by ~ 18-fold in comparison with the one without a biofilm. In addition, although the oxygen supply was passive, nitrification accounted for 34% of those aeration conditions. It was also found that silicone rubber membrane can control NO 2 − –N and/or NO 3 − –N production. A dual-chamber MFC treating the synthetic coke-oven wastewater achieved a maximum power density of 54 mW m −2 with a coulombic efficiency of 2.7%. We conclude that silicone rubber membrane is effective for sustainable coke-oven wastewater treatment in MFCs.