Author
Listed:
- Anup Gurung
(Department of Biological Environment, Kangwon National University, Chuncheon 24341, Republic of Korea
These authors contributed equally to this work.)
- Bhim Sen Thapa
(Department of Biological Environment, Kangwon National University, Chuncheon 24341, Republic of Korea
Department of Biological Science, WEHR Life Sciences, Marquette University, Milwaukee, WI 53233, USA
These authors contributed equally to this work.)
- Seong-Yun Ko
(Department of Biological Environment, Kangwon National University, Chuncheon 24341, Republic of Korea)
- Ebenezer Ashun
(Department of Biological Environment, Kangwon National University, Chuncheon 24341, Republic of Korea)
- Umair Ali Toor
(Department of Biological Environment, Kangwon National University, Chuncheon 24341, Republic of Korea)
- Sang-Eun Oh
(Department of Biological Environment, Kangwon National University, Chuncheon 24341, Republic of Korea)
Abstract
Nitrate (NO 3 − -N) and nitrites (NO 2 − -N) are common pollutants in various water bodies causing serious threats not only to aquatic, but also to animals and human beings. In this study, we developed a strategy for efficiently reducing nitrates in microbial fuel cells (MFCs) powered by a granular activated carbon (GAC)-biocathode. GAC was developed by acclimatizing and enriching denitrifying bacteria under a redox potential (0.3 V) generated from MFCs. Thus, using the formed GAC-biocathode we continued to study their effect on denitrification with different cathode materials and circulation speeds in MFCs. The GAC-biocathode with its excellent capacitive property can actively reduce nitrate for over thirty days irrespective of the cathode material used. The stirring speed of GAC in the cathode showed a steady growth in potential generation from 0.25 V to 0.33 V. A rapid lag phase was observed when a new carbon cathode was used with enriched GAC. While a slow lag phase was seen when a stainless-steel cathode was replaced. These observations showed that effective storage and supply of electrons to the GAC plays a crucial role in the reduction process in MFCs. Electrochemical analysis of the GAC properties studied using electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS), cyclic voltammetry (CV), and zeta potential showed distinct properties with different abiotic and biocathode conditions. We found that the enrichment of electrotrophic bacteria on GAC facilitates the direct electron transfer in the cathode chamber for reducing NO 3 − -N in MFCs as observed by scanning electron microscopy.
Suggested Citation
Anup Gurung & Bhim Sen Thapa & Seong-Yun Ko & Ebenezer Ashun & Umair Ali Toor & Sang-Eun Oh, 2023.
"Denitrification in Microbial Fuel Cells Using Granular Activated Carbon as an Effective Biocathode,"
Energies, MDPI, vol. 16(2), pages 1-11, January.
Handle:
RePEc:gam:jeners:v:16:y:2023:i:2:p:709-:d:1028179
Download full text from publisher
Most related items
These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
Corrections
All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jeners:v:16:y:2023:i:2:p:709-:d:1028179. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.
If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.
If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .
If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.
For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .
Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through
the various RePEc services.