Ammonia removal from swine wastewater using microbial fuel cell (MFC)

Microbial fuel cells (MFCs) are an emerging technology that converts the energy contained in organic matters such as carbohydrates, volatile fatty acids, and other wastewater compounds (e.g. Ammonia) directly to useful electrical power. The principle relies on the fact that generating current is in the nature of microorganisms, as they transfer electrons from a reduced electron donor to an electron acceptor at a higher electrochemical potential. Wastewater treatment using MFC was suggested as a sustainable method of simultaneous wastewater treatment and bioenergy generation. Nitrogen removal from wastewater is an important component of treatment, particularly for high strength animal wastewaters. Nitrogen removal has been difficult to achieve in single-process systems, and usually multiple reactors are needed. This study was aimed to study Nitrogen removal in two-chamber continues MFC. Ammonia removal were measured in MFC and compared with the results of conventional methods. Polarization and power density curves were also conducted in this system and the results show that the MFC was producing the maximum power output of 32.71 mWm-2 .The ammonia oxidation peaks in cyclic voltammetry (CV) tests show the presence and activity of nitrifying microorganisms in the system.