MALACHITE GREEN REMOVAL AND BIOELECTRICITY GENERATION USING A NOVEL DESIGN MULTI-ELECTRODE MICROBIAL FUEL CELL

Aim of the study Malachite green (MG) is a well-known synthetic dye, which is used as liquid pharmaceutical to improve the problem of protozoan and fungal diseases. MG can be fermented to harmful carcinogen, leuco-malachite green, when discharged to water stream by normal flora. Material and methods In this study, a novel-design microbial fuel cell (MFC) was developed, and reported to remove the MG by immobilizing the laccase-producing yeast Galactomycess reessii onto the anode electrode. Results and conclusions In our study results, we have demonstrated that it successfully removed the MG in 98.15 +/- 0.92% within 1 day of operation, while by direct inoculation it is possible to remove 88.93 +/- 1.00% after 5 days. Moreover, the open circuit voltage (OCV), current density (CD), and power density (PD) of 550.00 +/- 10.00%, 3.90 +/- 0.10 A/m3 and 1.52 +/- 0.08 W/m3 were achieved. The study demonstrates that the novel-design MFC has great potential for MG removal and bioelectricity generation. The present work is the first report of using termite-associated yeast to decolourise a synthetic dye.