Sharif Digital Repository

A successful design, previously adapted for treatment of complex wastewaters in a microbial fuel cell (MFC), was used to fabricate two MFCs, with a few changes for cost reduction and ease of construction. Performance and electrochemical characteristics of MFCs were evaluated in different environmental conditions (in complete darkness and presence of light), and different flow patterns of batch and continuous in four hydraulic retention times from 8 to 30h. Changes in chemical oxygen demand, and nitrate and phosphate concentrations were evaluated. In contrast to the microbial fuel cell operated in darkness (D-MFC) with a stable open circuit voltage of 700mV, presence of light led to growth of... 

The present study investigated the biological treatment of produced water in a microbial electrochemical cell (MXC). The main objectives were to develop a novel spiral microbial electrochemical cell (SMXC) and test its performance for produced water treatment under highly saline conditions (salinity > 200000 ppm). The bioelectrochemical performance of the system was also evaluated in terms of power and hydrogen production over time. The comparatively inexpensive material and ease of application increased the feasibility of the SMXC configuration for produced water treatment. Optimal SMXC performance as a microbial fuel cell was achieved at a maximum open circuit potential of 330 mV, maximum... 

The objective of this study was to construct a novel model to be applied in a general manner to simulate microbial electrochemical cells (MXCs); for both microbial fuel cell (MFC) and microbial electrolysis cell (MEC). The liquid bulk was modeled based on the organic matters degradation to acetate via the anaerobic digestion process. Biofilm simulation was established based upon one-dimensional distribution and the dynamical electron transfer was completed by means of the conduction-based mechanism. We, for the first time, introduced biofilm local potential modeling for MEC simulation with general and simplified linear boundary conditions. The MFC-related part of the model was evaluated... 

This study reports the fabrication of a new cathode electrode assembly using polyaniline (PANI) and graphene on a stainless steel mesh (SSM) as an alternative for the conventional expensive cathode of microbial electrolysis cells (MECs). With respect to the previous efforts to propose an efficient and cost-effective alternative for platinum (Pt) catalysts and cathode electrodes, the present study investigates the assessment of different catalysts to elucidate the potential of the modified SSM cathode electrode for larger-scale MECs. In the case of feeding dairy wastewater to the MEC, the maximum hydrogen production rate and COD removal were obtained by SSM/PANI/graphene cathode and had the... 

Microbial electrolysis cells (MECs) are bioelectrochemical reactors in which chemical energy stored in organic compounds are converted to hydrogen through biocatalytic oxidation by microorganisms. The performance of MECs is highly affected by microbial communities that are impartible parts of this technology. A better understanding of microbial interactions and competitions mechanisms, has aided the comprehension of ideas and guidelines for cost effective commercial scales design. In this study, a comprehensive review of current knowledge in the microbial characterization, enrichment, and evaluation of effective parameters of microbial community in microbial electrolysis cells for typical... 

The present study deals with the feasibility of a microfluidic microbial electrolysis cell (MEC) as an efficient biohydrogen generator for medical usage for the first time. The evaluation of nickel in microfluidic MEC as an alternative for conventional electrodes indicates successful performance in the improvement of bioenergy production. The maximum biohydrogen production rate and produced power density of 2.2 μW cm−2 and 1.4 μl H2 μl substrate−1 day−1 were obtained, respectively. It is considered a promising technology for medical usage due to the following factors: significant biohydrogen generation, low consumption of expensive materials, simple construction, and utilization of human... 

In current study, a meta-analysis approach was used to identify and evaluate the impact of various factors on the performance of integrated systems of anaerobic digestion with microbial electrolysis cell. In this study, related articles on the topic were systematically identified and collected according to the considered criteria, and the effect size that refers to the value of the difference between variables mean (total chemical oxygen demand (TCOD) removal rate and CH4 yield) was estimated. According to the meta-analysis, fed-batch operation mode, the range of 20< temperature ≤30 °C, metal cathodes, the range of 500< anode surface area ≤5000 cm2, HRT (hydraulic retention time) >20 days,...