Spatiometabolic stratification of anoxic biofilm in prototype bioelectrogenic system.

A prototype bio-catalyzed electrogenic system integrated with a biological treatment process (SBR-BET) was evaluated to study specific function of anoxic condition on the electrogenic activity. A multiphasic approach was employed, where the influence of DO on bio-electrogenic activity was optimized initially, later optimal anode to cathode inter-electrode distance was enumerated. Amongst the four electrode distances evaluated, 2cm showed higher power output. Bioelectrokinetics analysis was used to validate the system performance with the experimental variation studied. The redox behavior showed an increase in cathodic catalytic activity with an increase in the inter-electrode distance. Spatiometabolic distribution depicted the microbial stratification on the anode. Electrochemically active bacteria present on the anode surface (inner and outer layers of biofilms) showed relatively uniform diversity compared with the suspension culture.

Rhizosphere mediated electrogenesis with the function of anode placement for harnessing bioenergy through CO2 sequestration.

The feasibility of power generation by non-destructive usage of rhizodeposits of Pennisetum setaceum plant formed mainly due to photosynthesis-carbon sequestration mechanism was studied in rhizosphere based microbial fuel-cell (R-MFC). Four fuel-cell assemblies (non-catalyzed graphite-plates; membrane-less operation; air-cathode) were evaluated for their electrogenic activity by varying anode distances from root in rhizosphere [A1 - 0; A2 - 8; A3 - 12 and A4 - 16 cm] at 2 cm depth from soil-layer and analyzed their electrogenic potential. The fuel-cell assembly near to the root zone showed maximum electrogenic-activity (R1, 1007 mV/4.52 mA) followed by R2 (780 mV/4.11 mA), R3 (720 mV/3.4 mA) and R4 (220 mV/1.2 mA). The observed maximum electrogenesis with R1 and minimum with R4 electrode-assemblies enumerated the critical role of root-exudates as substrates. All fuel-cell assemblies showed 10% higher electrogenic activity during day-time operation which can be directly attributed to plant's photosynthetic activity. The study enumerated the potential of plant to harness power in a sustainable way by optimum placement of fuel-cell setup in their rhizosphere.

Sustainable power generation from floating macrophytes based ecological microenvironment through embedded fuel cells along with simultaneous wastewater treatment.

Miniatured floating macrophyte based ecosystem (FME) designed with Eichornia as the major biota was evaluated for bioelectricity generation and wastewater treatment. Three fuel cell assemblies (non-catalyzed electrodes) embedded in FME were evaluated with domestic sewage and fermented distillery wastewater in continuous mode for 210 days. Fermented distillery effluents from biohydrogen production (dark-fermentation) process exhibited effective power generation with simultaneous waste remediation. Two fuel cell assemblies (A1 and A2) showed effective bioelectricity generation. Increasing the organic load of wastewater showed good correlation with both power generation (A1, 211.14 mA/m(2); A2, 224.93 mA/m(2)) and wastewater treatment (COD removal, 86.67% and VFA removal 72.32%). Combining A1 and A2 assemblies depicted stabilized performance with respect to current and voltage along with significant decrease in ohmic and activation losses. FME also exhibited effective removal of nitrates, colour and turbidity from wastewater. The studied miniatured ecological system facilitates both energy generation and wastewater treatment with a sustainable perspective.

Potential of mixed microalgae to harness biodiesel from ecological water-bodies with simultaneous treatment.

Biodiesel as an eco-friendly fuel is gaining much acceptance in recent years. This communication provides an overview on the possibility of using mixed microalgae existing in ecological water-bodies for harnessing biodiesel. Microalgal cultures from five water-bodies are cultivated in domestic wastewater in open-ponds and the harvested algal-biomass was processed through acid-catalyzed transesterification. Experiments evidenced the potential of using mixed microalgae for harnessing biodiesel. Presence of palmitic acid (C16:0) in higher fraction and physical properties of algal oil correlated well with the biodiesel properties. Functional characteristics of water-bodies showed to influence both species diversity and lipid accumulation. Microalgae from stagnant water-bodies receiving domestic discharges documented higher lipid accumulation. Algal-oil showed to consist 33 types of saturated and unsaturated fatty acids having wide food and fuel characteristics. Simultaneous wastewater treatment was also noticed due to the syntrophic association in the water-body microenvironment. Diversity studies visualized the composition of algae species known to accumulate higher lipids.

Ecologically engineered system (EES) designed to integrate floating, emergent and submerged macrophytes for the treatment of domestic sewage and acid rich fermented-distillery wastewater: Evaluation of long term performance.

An ecologically engineered system (EES) was designed to mimic the natural cleansing functions of wetlands to bring about wastewater treatment. EES consisted of three tanks containing diverse biota viz., aquatic macrophytes, submerged plants, emergent plants and filter feeders connected in series. The designed system was evaluated for 216days by operating in continuous mode (20l/day) to treat both sewage (DS) and fermented-distillery wastewater (FDW, from hydrogen producing bioreactor). Floating macrophyte system (Tank 1) was more effective in removing COD and nitrates. Submerged and emergent integrated macrophyte system (Tank 2) showed an effective removal of volatile fatty acids (VFAs) along with COD. Filter-feeding system (Tank 3) visualized the removal of COD, VFA, turbidity and color. On the whole the system can treat effectively DS (COD, 68.06%; nitrate, 22.41%; turbidity, 59.81%) and FDW (COD, 72.92%; nitrate, 23.15%; color, 46.0%). The designed EES can be considered as an economical approach for the treatment of both sewage and fermented wastewaters.

Bio-electrochemical treatment of distillery wastewater in microbial fuel cell facilitating decolorization and desalination along with power generation.

Microbial fuel cell (MFC; open-air cathode) was evaluated as bio-electrochemical treatment system for distillery wastewater during bioelectricity generation. MFC was operated at three substrate loading conditions in fed-batch mode under acidophilic (pH 6) condition using anaerobic consortia as anodic-biocatalyst. Current visualized marked improvement with increase in substrate load without any process inhibition (2.12-2.48mA). Apart from electricity generation, MFC documented efficient treatment of distillery wastewater and illustrated its function as an integrated wastewater treatment system by simultaneously removing multiple pollutants. Fuel cell operation yielded enhanced substrate degradation (COD, 72.84%) compared to the fermentation process ( approximately 29.5% improvement). Interestingly due to treatment in MFC, considerable reduction in color (31.67%) of distillery wastewater was also observed as against color intensification normally observed due to re-polymerization in corresponding anaerobic process. Good reduction in total dissolved solids (TDS, 23.96%) was also noticed due to fuel cell operation, which is generally not amenable in biological treatment. The simultaneous removal of multiple pollutants observed in distillery wastewater might be attributed to the biologically catalyzed electrochemical reactions occurring in the anodic chamber of MFC mediated by anaerobic substrate metabolism.

Composite vegetable waste as renewable resource for bioelectricity generation through non-catalyzed open-air cathode microbial fuel cell.

Single chambered mediatorless microbial fuel cell (MFC; non-catalyzed electrodes) was operated to evaluate the potential of bioelectricity generation from the treatment of composite waste vegetables (EWV) extract under anaerobic microenvironment using mixed consortia as anodic biocatalyst. The system was operated with designed synthetic wastewater (DSW; 0.98 kg COD/m(3)-day) during adaptation phase and later shifted to EWV and operated at three substrate load conditions (2.08, 1.39 and 0.70 kg COD/m(3)-day). Experimental data illustrated the feasibility of bioelectricity generation through the utilization of EWV as substrate in MFC. Higher power output (57.38 mW/m(2)) was observed especially at lower substrate load. The performance of MFC was characterized based on the polarization behavior, cell potentials, cyclic voltammetric analysis and sustainable resistance. MFC operation also documented to stabilize the waste by effective removal of COD (62.86%), carbohydrates (79.84%) and turbidity (55.12%).

Acidogenic fermentation of vegetable based market waste to harness biohydrogen with simultaneous stabilization.

Vegetable based market waste was evaluated as a fermentable substrate for hydrogen (H(2)) production with simultaneous stabilization by dark-fermentation process using selectively enriched acidogenic mixed consortia under acidophilic microenvironment. Experiments were performed at different substrate/organic loading conditions in concurrence with two types of feed compositions (with and without pulp). Study depicted the feasibility of H(2) production from vegetable waste stabilization process. H(2) production was found to be dependent on the concentration of the substrate and composition. Higher H(2) production and substrate degradation were observed in experiments performed without pulp (23.96 mmol/day (30.0 kg COD/m(3)); 13.96 mol/kg COD(R) (4.8 kg COD/m(3))) than with pulp (22.46 mmol/day (32.0 kg COD/m(3)); 12.24 mol/kg COD(R) (4.4 kg COD/m(3))). Generation of higher concentrations of acetic acid and butyric acid was observed in experiments performed without pulp. Data enveloping analysis (DEA) was employed to study the combined process efficiency of system by integrating H(2) production and substrate degradation.

Evaluation of the potential of various aquatic eco-systems in harnessing bioelectricity through benthic fuel cell: effect of electrode assembly and water characteristics.

Six different types of ecological water bodies were evaluated to assess their potential to generate bioelectricity using benthic type fuel cell assemblies. Experiments were designed with various combinations of electrode assemblies, surface area of anode and anodic materials. Among the 32 experiments conducted, nine combinations evidenced stable electron-discharge/current. Nature, flow conditions and characteristics of water bodies showed significant influence on the power generation apart from electrode assemblies, surface area of anode and anodic material. Stagnant water bodies showed comparatively higher power output than the running water bodies. Placement of cathode on algal mat (as bio-cathode) documented several folds increment in power output. Electron-discharge started at 1000 Omega resistance in polluted water bodies (Nacaharam cheruvu, Hussain Sagar lake Musi river), whereas, in relatively less polluted water bodies (Uppal pond/stream, Godavari river) electron-discharge was observed at low resistances (500/750 Omega).

Effect of anodic metabolic function on bioelectricity generation and substrate degradation in single chambered microbial fuel cell.

Influence of anodic metabolic function viz., aerobic, anoxic and anaerobic on bioelectricity generation was evaluated in single chamber mediatorless microbial fuel cells (non-catalyzed graphite electrodes; open-air cathode) during wastewater treatment under similar operating conditions (pH 7; ambient temperature/pressure). Despite the fluctuations observed, aerobic metabolic function (379 mV; 538 mA/m2) documented higher power generation compared to anoxic (251 mV; 348 mA/m2) and anaerobic (265 mV; 211 mA/m2) operations. Relatively higher treatment efficiency was also evidenced in aerobic operation (COD removal efficiency; 77.68% (aerobic), 56.84% (anoxic), 48.68% (anaerobic)). Polarization behavior, bioelectrochemical analysis, sustainable resistance and cell potentials also supported the aerobic operation. Aerobic metabolic function showed potential to generate higher power and substrate degradation over the corresponding anoxic and anaerobic metabolic functions. The relative efficiency of power generation observed in aerobic microenvironment might be attributed to effective substrate oxidation and good biofilm growth observed on the anodic surface. Presence of lower dissolved oxygen concentration in anodic chamber due to the establishment of equilibrium between substrate oxidation and oxygen scavenging might also contributes positively to power generation in aerobic operation.

Bioelectricity production from wastewater treatment in dual chambered microbial fuel cell (MFC) using selectively enriched mixed microflora: Effect of catholyte.

The performance of aerated and ferricyanide catholytes on the bioelectricity production was evaluated in dual chambered microbial fuel cell (MFC) (mediatroless anode; graphite electrodes) employing selectively enriched H(2) producing mixed consortia as anodic inoculum. Two MFCs with aerated catholyte (MFC(AC)) and ferricyanide catholyte (MFC(FC)) were operated separately to elucidate the difference in power generation potential and carbon removal efficiency under similar operating conditions [ambient pressure; room temperature (28+/-2 degrees C); acidophilic microenvironment (pH 6)]. The experimental data demonstrated the feasibility of in situ bioelectricity generation along with wastewater treatment. Effective power generation and substrate removal efficiency was documented in the fuel cell operated with ferricyanide catholyte (586 mV; 2.37 mA; 0.559 kg COD/m(3) day) than aerated catholyte (572 mV; 1.68 mA; 0.464 kg COD/m(3) day). Maximum power yield (0.635 W/kg COD(R) and 0.440 W/kg COD(R)) and current density (222.59 mA/m(2) and 190.28 mA/m(2)) was observed at 100 Omega resistor with ferricyanide and aerated catholytes, respectively. The study documented both wastewater treatment and electricity production through direct conversion of H(2) in a single system.