Denitrification of water in a microbial fuel cell (MFC) using seawater bacteria

Abstract

The sea contains various microbes which have an ability to reduce and oxidize substances like iron, sulphur, and nitrate. Most of these processes happen in the seawater, but can also be applied for puri[fi]cation of wastewater. In the present work, a consortium of seawater bacteria has been used for the first time in a microbial fuel cell to reduce nitrate in synthetic water samples and produce electricity by oxidizing organic matter. The concentrations of [Formula] and [Formula] were reduced to well below their permissible limits. Moreover, the growth of the bacterial consortium at cathode causes an increased electricity production in the cell because of the increased bacterial activity. The performance of the cell with a bicarbonate buffered solution (BBS) at the cathode was superior to that obtained with the commonly used phosphate buffered solution (PBS). As BBS is the natural buffering agent found in the sea, the use of BBS is eco-friendly. The same seawater bacterial consortium could be used at both the anode and the cathode, confirming their adaptability to different environments. Unfortunately, denitrification was accompanied by the generation of high concentrations of [Formula] at the anode and the cathode, probably because of the use of N2 gas for sparging the anolyte. This aspect merits further investigation.