Influence of NO3 and SO4 on power generation from microbial fuel cells

Potential competition in terms of electron transfer from bacteria to electron acceptors such as nitrate (NO3) and sulfate (SO4) or the anode of a microbial fuel cell (MFC) was investigated to determine how alternative electron acceptors would influence power generation in an MFC. The cell voltage was not initially affected when these electron acceptors were introduced into the MFCs. However, the presence of NO3 decreased the CE of the MFC compared to the injections of SO4 or control salt (sodium chloride). This suggests that the growth of nitrate-reducing bacteria independent of the microbial populations on the MFC anode were not utilizing the anode as an electron acceptor, rather, they were consuming organic carbon in the anodic chamber of the MFC, resulting in a decrease of the CE of this MFC with no immediate impact on power output. This suggests that the bacterial consortium in the nitrate-MFC still preferred the anode over nitrate as the electron acceptor, although the theoretical reduction voltage of nitrate (+0.74 V) is higher than the reduction voltage in an MFC air cathode (as high as +0.425). These results are useful when considering whether MFC technology can be applied in situ to enhance biodegradation of organic contaminants in the presence of alternative electron acceptors.