Optimising the proportion of pure and mixed culture in inoculum to enhance the performance of microbial fuel cells
by Dipak A. Jadhav; Makarand M. Ghangrekar
International Journal of Environmental Technology and Management (IJETM), Vol. 23, No. 1, 2020

Abstract: Single-chambered microbial fuel cells (MFCs) were inoculated with different proportions of Shewanella putrefaciens and mixed-anaerobic sludge, viz. 100:0% (MFC-1), 0:100% (MFC-2), 10:90% (MFC-3), 30:70% (MFC-4) and 50:50% (MFC-5). Performance of these MFCs was evaluated using different electrochemical analyses. Due to specific substrate-selectivity, MFC-1 showed lower power (1.22 W.m⁻³) than MFC-2 (2.15 W.m⁻³). Power performance increased from 2.21 (MFC-3) to 2.56 W.m⁻³ (MFC-4) with increased fraction of Shewanella from 10 to 30% in the inoculum, and power density further enhanced to 3.1 W.m⁻³ in MFC-5 inoculated with equal-fraction of Shewanella and mixed sludge. Bioelectrochemical analyses showed higher electron transfer rate and lower charge-transfer resistance in MFC-5 due to synergy between both the inoculums and promoted the electron transfer at anode. Thus, inoculation of MFC with equal-fraction of mixed-anaerobic sludge and Shewanella showed effective bio-augmentation to improve the anodic bioactivity and power generation from MFC.

Online publication date: Wed, 07-Oct-2020

The full text of this article is only available to individual subscribers or to users at subscribing institutions.

 
Existing subscribers:
Go to Inderscience Online Journals to access the Full Text of this article.

Pay per view:
If you are not a subscriber and you just want to read the full contents of this article, buy online access here.

Complimentary Subscribers, Editors or Members of the Editorial Board of the International Journal of Environmental Technology and Management (IJETM):
Login with your Inderscience username and password:

Username:        Password:          Forgotten your password?

Want to subscribe?
A subscription gives you complete access to all articles in the current issue, as well as to all articles in the previous three years (where applicable). See our Orders page to subscribe.

If you still need assistance, please email subs@inderscience.com