Effect of Nitrogen Concentration on the Performance of Single-Chamber Microbial Fuel Cells

The nitrogen removal in wastewater using single chamber microbial fuel cells is an interesting process. The nitrogen removal from nitrogen wastewater was examined using single chamber air cathode microbial fuel cells (SC-MFCs). SC-MFCs were fed with synthetic wastewater containing the initial chemical oxygen demand (COD) 1,000 mg L-1 and nitrogen (N) 125, 250, 625, and 875 mg-N L-1, respectively and operated under mesophilic batch mode. Performance of SC-MFCs with external resistances 1,000 Ω was based on maximum power density, COD and nitrogen removal. The SC-MFCs with ammonia-N concentration 625 mg-N L-1 gained higher maximum power density by 160 mW m-2.The ammonium removal was 58%. The results suggested that SC-MFCs are potential technology for simultaneous nitrogen and COD removal; and electricity generation.