Microbial Fuel Cell Using Sequential Anode-cathode to Treat Brewery Wastewater

A sequential anode-cathode double-chamber MFC, in which the effluent of anode chamber was used as a continuous feed for an aerated cathode chamber, was constructed to treat brewery wastewater. The chemical oxygen demand(COD) can also be removed by heterotrophic bacteria in the cathode chamber. The performances of electricity generation and brewery wastewater treatment were studied. The results showed that the sequential anode-cathode MFC had a great potential for substrate removal in both anode and cathode. Total COD removal efficiency of 92.2%-95. 1% was achieved, with COD removal efficiency of 47.6%-56.5% in anode chamber. The open circuit voltage of the MFC is 0.451 V and the maximum power output is 2.89 W/m(3). According to electrode potential measurement and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy, the key limited factor was polarization loss of cathode. The performance of MFC can be optimized by decreasing COD of cathode chamber, using more superior cathode materials, increasing oxygen concentration etc.