Energy Harvesting from Dairy and Hospital

Wastewater Using Microbial Fuel Cell (MFC)

C. Shakunthala(&) and Surekha Manoj

Vidya Vikas Institute of Engineering and Technology, Mysuru, India

shakunthala.mys@gmail.com,
surekhamanoj.vviet@gmail.com

Abstract. The present experiment is focused on the production of electricity

using Double Chambered Microbial Fuel Cell (DCMFC). In the present exper-
imental study Distillery and Sugar industrial wastewater was used as substrate,
which were collected from Mymul Nandini Dairy, Nazarbad, Mysore, India and
JSS Hospital, Near Agrahara, Mysore, India, were used. The Biochemical
Oxygen Demand (BOD) of JSS Hospital wastewater was found to be
62.64 mg/L. The maximum voltage and current obtained from JSS Hospital
wastewater were found to be 825 mV and 2.1 mA, respectively, by using Alu-
minium as electrode. Experiments were also conducted using Dairy wastewater
which yielded a maximum voltage of 1000 mV and current of 4.5 mA by using
Copper electrode. Higher BOD and COD (Chemical Oxygen Demand) con-
centrations of wastewaters was found to yield greater current production, on the
other hand dilution of wastewater resulted in lower current production.

Keywords: Microbial Fuel Cell
Micro-organisms
Electricity

Substrate
Organic matter

1 Introduction

In the recent decades, consumption of energy within the world has an emerging trend
[1]. Energy sources are classified into two types’ renewable sources and non-renewable
sources, in which non-renewable sources of energy, which include an enormous portion
of energy consumption, could be categorized into two major classifications: nuclear and
fossil energy [2]. Fossil fuels negatively influence the nature owing to the emission of
carbon dioxide (CO2). Consumption of fossil fuels has severely imperilled human life
through its drastic aftermaths, such as global warming and atmospheric pollution.
However, miscellaneous countries around the world have made significant efforts to find
a piece of convincing solution for energy crisis by revolving the eyes into renewable
energy sources such as solar energy, energy produced from wind and water. As an
outcome of these efforts, one of the future alternative energy sources is Fuel Cell (FC),
which generates energy using high value metal catalysts [1]. The prime advantage of this
types of energy generator lead to-no emissions of environmental polluting gases (such as
SO2, NO2, CO2 and CO), higher efficiency, no existence of transportable parts [2].
MFCs are the kind of FCs uses an active microorganism as a biocatalyst in an anaerobic
anode compartment for production of bioelectricity. A MFC transforms organic energy,

© Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2018

T. N. Nagabhushan et al. (Eds.): CCIP 2017, CCIS 801, pp. 440–446, 2018.
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-10-9059-2_39
 Energy Harvesting from Dairy and Hospital Wastewater 441

existing in a bio-convertible substrate directly into Electrical energy. To reach this,

bacteria are used as a catalytic agent and to convert substrate into electrons and protons
which will pass through on Peripheral Circuit and Proton Exchange Membrane (PEM),
separately [3]. MFCs are used to generate less excess sludge as compared to the aerobic
treatment process [3]. Sediment fuel cells are being developed to monitor eco-friendly
systems such as bays, rivers, and oceans [4]. MFCs are special types of bio-fuel cells,
producing electricity through consuming microorganisms. Liu has conducted experi-
ments on Single Chamber Microbial Fuel Cells (SC-MFC) using an enhanced cathode
assembly [5]. Patra has conducted experiments using low cost single chambered fuel
cells, which return electricity and produce domestic water from wastewater. Banik have
carried out studies on the development of SC-MFC using wastewaters under anaerobic
condition with two sets of electrode configurations [7]. Logan has demonstrated the
significance of thickness of anode on electrical energy generation in a SC-MFC with
different electrode distances with 28 ml capacity [6, 8, 9].

2 Materials and Methods

Microbial Fuel Cells (MFC) have been defined as bioreactors, which transform the
energy stored in biological compounds present in wastewater into electric power
through catalytic activity of micro-organisms under anaerobic conditions. Many
researchers have worked on the generation of power from wastewater using different
electrodes under varied operational conditions. In this work, laboratory experiments
were conducted to generate power from sugar and distillery industrial wastewater by
using Aluminium and Copper electrodes in DC-MFC. The detailed discussion on the
materials used and methods adopted have been discussed in the following sections.

2.1 Materials
Fabrication of MFC necessitates the use of materials that are often utilized in the
construction of conventional fuel cells. It is important to note that, microorganisms are
the vital components of the MFC. The materials which have been used in the present
MFC study have been discussed in the following sub-sections.
In this study, Double Chamber MFCs were fabricated with acrylic Plexi glass was
used to conduct the laboratory experiments. Electrodes such as, Aluminium and Copper
electrodes were used. In this experimental study Distillery and Sugar industrial
wastewater were used as substrate, which were collected from Mymul Nandini Dairy,
Nazarbad, Mysore, India and JSS Hospital, Near Agrahara, Mysore, India. For the
preparation of the Salt-bridge, Potassium Chloride and Agar media were used. Medi-
ators such as, Potassium Permanganate, Phosphate buffer and Potassium Ferri cyanide
of laboratory grade was used to enhance the electron transfer. For conducting the
laboratory experiments, chemicals such as, sulphuric acid, hydrochloric acid, was used.

2.2 Methods
Laboratory experiments were planned to conduct under various conditions such as: dif-
ferent electrode materials, MFC module and different wastewater. A detailed discussion
442 C. Shakunthala and S. Manoj

on the wastewater analysis as well as the experimental procedure on the generation of

power from industrial wastewater has been discussed in the following sub-sections.
The Double Chamber Microbial Fuel Cell (DC-MFC) reactors used in the present
study were made of acrylic Plexi glass. Laboratory experiments were conducted using
DC-MFC reactor dimensioning (10  10  20) cm with a working volume of 2 L
capacity. Plexi glass DC-MFC reactors were used because of its high durability and
stability compared to normal glass material. Usage of plastic material has been avoided
in the fabrication of DC- MFC reactor, as it is known to be reactive with chemicals
present in the reactor. In the present study, different types of electrodes were used, these
include: Aluminium electrodes and Copper electrodes. The dimensions of the elec-
trodes were (8 (height)  4 (width)  0.5 (thickness)) cm. Both the electrodes were
kept in the DC-MFC reactor at a distance of 5 cm from each other. In order to have
effectiveness of the electrodes, electrodes were dipped in distilled water over a period
of 24 h before start-up of the experiment. Membrane is defined as a layer of material,
which assists as a selective barrier wall between two ways, which is resistant to specific
particles, particles and substances. Synthetic membranes include anion, cation and
ultrafiltration membranes. These membranes are most costly and are susceptible to
clogging and hence, agar-salt bridge was taken as proton exchange membrane (PEM).
The salt bridge was prepared by taking 9.6 gm of KCl and 1.3 gm of agar with
25 ml of distiller water and allowed to boil for about 2 min. The hot solution was then
poured into the hollow tube having 5 cm length and internal 1.5 cm diameter. The setup
was further allowed to cool for nearly 2 h, and the salt bridge was thus ready for use.
Micro-organisms are generally used in MFC to degrade the wastewater in the
absence of oxygen and to transfer the electron to the anode. The ability of many
microorganisms possesses to relocation of the electrons resulting from the metabolism
of organic matters to the anode. These microorganisms are steady and have great
coulombic efficiency. Shewanella putrefaciens [1], Geobacteraceae sulfurreducens [4]
and Geobacter metallireducens [7] bacterial strains have showed effective growth on
the anode surface and transmission of electrons directly to electrode across the mem-
brane. These types of microbial cultures are costly and the growth and maintenance of
these cultures are also found to be very difficult.
Hence, in this work culture obtained from Dairy and Hospital generally contains
certain anaerobic microbes. An ideal catalyst can be able to cross the cell membrane, be
able to grasp electrons from the electron carrier of the electron track chains, should
possess a high electrode reaction rate, good solubility in the anolyte,
non-biodegradable, non-toxic to micro-organisms and should be of low cost. In this
study, Phosphate buffer, Potassium Ferri-cyanide and Potassium Permanganate were
used as catalysts to maintain pH of wastewater between 7.0 and 7.7. Phosphate buffer
was prepared by taking 80.2 ml of Potassium Phosphate di-basic and 19.8 ml of
Potassium Phosphate mono-basic, which was diluted with 900 ml of distilled water,
and 0.1 mg Potassium Ferri-cyanide solution was prepared by taking 3.292 gm of
Potassium Ferri-cyanide (K3[Fe(CN)6]) crystals in 100 ml distilled water. On the other
hand, 600 µg Potassium Permanganate solutions was prepared by taking 0.1 gm of
Potassium Permanganate crystals in 1 litre of distilled water. In order to increase the
electron transfer efficiency Phosphate buffer and Potassium Permanganate was used.
 Energy Harvesting from Dairy and Hospital Wastewater 443

In the present experimental study Distillery and Sugar industrial wastewater were
used as substrate, which were collected from Mymul Nandini Dairy, Nazarbad, Mysore,
India and JSS Hospital, Near Agrahara, Mysore, India. Glucose has been added for the
growth of micro-organisms present in the wastewater. The wastewater collected from
both the industries was analysed for Nitrate, Phosphate, BOD, COD and pH
concentrations.

2.3 Experimental Procedure

Three Double Chambered MFC units have been fabricated using acrylic Plexi-glass
and used for conducting laboratory experiments with a working volume of 2 L capacity
each. A 5 mm diameter hole has been bored in the middle of each top of the reactor and
30 cm long conductor has been inserted through the hole. Another hole is drilled on
same horizontal level, on walls of both reactors facing each other, where a hollow tube
of 5 cm long is inserted, which acts as a salt bridge. The experiment was conducted
with different types of electrodes such as, Copper (Cu) and Aluminium (Al) electrodes.
Agar Salt-bridge was used as Proton Exchange Membrane (PEM), which was prepared
by taking 9.6 gm of KCl (Potassium Chloride) and 1.3 gm of agar medium. Anaerobic
sludge of 10 gm was taken into the anodic section, which leads to have a better electron
transfer to the cathode by degrading the wastewater. Wastewater samples were col-
lected from Mymul Nandini Dairy and JSS Hospital, Mysore.

2.4 Analysis
DC-MFC experiments have been carried out in different phases over a period of 3–5
days. However, voltage and current have been measured at an interval of one hour for
1st day and every two hour during 2nd and 3rd days. The influent and effluent COD,
BOD applications and pH were monitored as per Regular Methods for analysis of water
and wastewater (Fig. 1).

Fig. 1. Experimental setup of Double-Chambered Microbial Fuel Cell (DC-MFC)

444 C. Shakunthala and S. Manoj

3 Results and Discussion

In the degradation of Dairy wastewater, it was found that, Dairy wastewater using
Copper electrode generated more voltage (*1000 mV) compared to Hospital
wastewater (*800 mV) using Aluminium electrode. The reason might be due to, BOD
and COD of the Dairy wastewater was found to be more when compared to Hospital
wastewater, which leads to movement of more electrons. It was also observed that, at
the initial stage of the experiment, voltage increases, then drops and finally again
reduces and maintains constant. Figures 2, 3, 4 and 5 represent the variation of voltage,
current, current density and power versus time for Dairy and Hospital wastewater in
MFC reactor.

1200
Voltage
1000

800
Voltage (mV)

600

400
Hospital ww
200
Dairy ww

0
0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45
Time (Hours)

Fig. 2. Variation of voltage with time in double chambered microbial fuel cell.

5
4.5 Current Hospital ww
4 Dairy ww
3.5
Current (mA)

3
2.5
2
1.5
1
0.5
0
0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45
Time (Hours)

Fig. 3. Variation of current with time in double chambered microbial fuel cell.
 Energy Harvesting from Dairy and Hospital Wastewater 445

0.45
0.4
Current Density Hospital ww
Current Density (A/m²)

0.35 Dairy ww
0.3
0.25
0.2
0.15
0.1
0.05
0
0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45
Time (Hours)

Fig. 4. Variation of current density with time in double chambered microbial fuel cell.

5000
4500
Power Hospital ww
4000 Dairy ww
3500
Power (µW)

3000
2500
2000
1500
1000
500
0
0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45
Time (Hours)

Fig. 5. Variation of power with time in double chambered microbial fuel cell.

From the Fig. 3, it was found that, Dairy wastewater using Copper electrode
generated more current (*4.5 mA) when compared to Hospital wastewater using
Aluminium electrode. This may be due to; Copper electrodes are more favourable to
transfer electrons to the cathode than Aluminium electrodes. However, a maximum
current density of approximately 0.4 A/m2 (Fig. 4) was observed for Dairy wastewater,
which was found to be greater than the current density (0.05 A/m2) generated from
Hospital wastewater using Aluminium electrode. It was also observed that, at the initial
stage of the experiment, current density was found to be maximum and then drops and
finally maintains the constant value. Power generation from the MFCs were also cal-
culated (Fig. 5) and found that, Dairy wastewater using copper electrode generated
more power (*4700 µW) compared to Hospital wastewater (*500 µW).

4 Conclusion

This paper represents the implementation of a generation of electricity that assists a

utilization of wastewater like industrial as well as hospital wastewater, which contain
high BOD and COD values. The voltage and current values obtained in DC-MFC using
446 C. Shakunthala and S. Manoj

Dairy wastewater was 1000 mV and 4.5 mA, respectively, which was found to be
higher than the voltage and current values of 825 mV and 2.1 mA, respectively,
obtained from Hospital wastewater. It was also found that, Copper electrodes were
more effective in electron transfer and electricity generation when compared to Alu-
minium electrodes.

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