Deposition and separation of W and Mo from aqueous solutions with simultaneous hydrogen production in stacked bioelectrochemical systems (BESs): Impact of heavy metals W(VI)/Mo(VI) molar ratio, initial pH and electrode material

The deposition and separation of W and Mo from aqueous solutions with simultaneous hydrogen production was investigated in stacked bioelectrochemical systems (BESs) composed of microbial electrolysis cell (1#) serially connected with parallel connected microbial fuel cell (2#). The impact of W/Mo molar ratio (in the range 0.01 mM : 1 mM and vice-versa), initial pH (1.5 to 4.0) and cathode material (stainless steel mesh (SSM), carbon rod (CR) and titanium sheet (TS)) on the BES performance was systematically investigated. The concentration of Mo(VI) was more influential than W(VI) in determining the rate of deposition of both metals and the rate of hydrogen production. Complete metal recovery was achieved at equimolar W/Mo ratio of 0.05 mM : 0.05 mM. The rates of metal deposition and hydrogen production increased at acidic pH, with the fastest rates at pH 1.5. The morphology of the metal deposits and the valence of the Mo were correlated with W/Mo ratio and pH. CR cathodes (2#) coupled with SSM cathodes (1#) achieved a significant rate of hydrogen production (0.82 ± 0.04 m3/m3/d) with W and Mo deposition (0.049 ± 0.003 mmol/L/h and 0.140 ± 0.004 mmol/L/h (1#); 0.025 ± 0.001 mmol/L/h and 0.090 ± 0.006 mmol/L/h (2#)).