Enhancing the bioremediation by harvesting electricity from the heavily contaminated sediments

Bioresour Technol. 2015 Mar:179:615-618. doi: 10.1016/j.biortech.2014.12.034. Epub 2014 Dec 17.

Abstract

To test the long-term applicability of scaled-up sediment microbial fuel cells (SMFCs) in simultaneous bioremediation of toxic-contaminated sediments and power-supply for electronic devices, a 100 L SMFC inoculate with heavily contaminated sediments has been assembled and operated for over 2 years without external electron donor addition. The total organic chemical (TOC) degradation efficiency was 22.1% in the electricity generating SMFCs, which is significantly higher than that in the open-circuited SMFC (3.8%). The organic matters including contaminants in the contaminated sediments were sufficient for the electricity generation of SMFCs, even up to 8.5 years by the present SMFC theoretically. By using a power management system (PMS), the SMFC electricity could be harvested into batteries and used by commercial electronic devices. The results indicated that the SMFC-PMS system could be applied as a long-term and effective tool to simultaneously stimulate the bioremediation of the contaminated sediments and supply power for commercial devices.

Keywords: Bioremediation; Microbial fuel cells; Power management system; Sediments.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Biodegradation, Environmental
  • Bioelectric Energy Sources
  • Electricity*
  • Geologic Sediments / chemistry*
  • Organic Chemicals / analysis
  • Oxidation-Reduction
  • Soil Pollutants / chemistry*

Substances

  • Organic Chemicals
  • Soil Pollutants