Utilizing different food cultures for wastewater treatment and enhanced power generation in microbial fuel cells
Tariq Nawaz Chaudhary, Shaheryar Ahmed, Muhammad Usman, Ali O.M. Maka, Shafqat Rasool, Mohammad Ghaleeh, Baixin Chen
Abstract
This study investigates the impact of reactor architecture and biocompatibility of anode material on wastewater treatment and power generation in single-chamber (SC) and dual-chamber (DC) microbial fuel cells (MFCs) by utilizing different bacterial food cultures. Comparison between graphite-coated Cu (composite) and 304L stainless steel (SS) anodes is presented under optimized pH (7.13) and temperature (34 °C). Food cultures, especially buttermilk with an acetic acid substrate, significantly enhanced power density (PD), achieving 2.17 W/m 2 using composite anode and 1.67 W/m 2 using SS in SCMFCs. Mixed food cultures raised performance by ∼50 % achieving 3.31 W/m 2 and 2.97 W/m 2 using composite and SS anodes respectively. High chemical oxygen demand (COD) removal rates (>68 %) confirm effective wastewater treatment. These findings suggest that macroporous composite anodes can improve microbial compatibility and power output in MFCs, with optimal performance observed at neutral pH and ambient temperatures. • Impact of reactor parameters on MFC performance analyzed. • Testing MFCs with varied food cultures and electrode materials. • Comparing SCMFCs performance to traditional U-Tube DCMFCs. • Modified reactor optimizes power production and COD removal.