ORIGINAL RESEARCH
Molasses Wastewater Treatment by Microbial Fuel
Cell with MnO2-Modified Cathode
Li-ping Fan1, Dan-dan Xu2,3, Chong Li1,4, Song Xue2
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1Shenyang University of Chemical Technology, College of Information Engineering, Shenyang, China
2Shenyang University of Chemical Technology, College of Environment and Safety Engineering, Shenyang, China
3Liaoning ERay Environmental Technology Engineering Co. Ltd, Fushun, China
4University of Chemical Technology and Metallurgy, Sofia, Bulgaria
Submission date: 2016-05-10
Final revision date: 2016-07-12
Acceptance date: 2016-07-13
Publication date: 2016-11-24
Pol. J. Environ. Stud. 2016;25(6):2359-2356
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ABSTRACT
An experimental system consisting of a dual chamber microbial fuel cell was constructed using simulated
molasses wastewater as the inoculum and anode substrate, carbon cloth or carbon felt as the cathode base,
and MnO2 as the oxygen reduction catalyst for cathode. By testing and analyzing the output voltage, power
density, and COD removal rate of the microbial fuel cell, the effects of the MnO2-modified cathode on
power generation and wastewater treatment of microbial fuel cells were studied. The steady output power
density of the microbial fuel cell with carbon cloth cathode were 6.8 and 10.33 mW/m2, respectively, before
and after modification by MnO2, that is, the power density of the microbial fuel cell with MnO2-modified
carbon cloth was increased by 51.91% more than that of unmodified carbon cloth. The stable output power
density of the microbial fuel cells with carbon felt were 3.6 and 31.37 mW/m2, respectively, before and after
modification by MnO2, that is, the power density of the microbial fuel cell with MnO2-modified carbon felt
was increased by 771.4% more than that of unmodified carbon felt. The results show that the electricity
generation capacity and the wastewater treatment effect of the microbial fuel cell using molasses wastewater
as the anode substrate can be improved significantly by using inexpensive MnO2 as the cathode modifier.