Copper removal and microbial community analysis in single-chamber microbial fuel cell

In this study, copper removal and electricity generation were investigated in a single-chamber microbial fuel cell (MFC). Result showed that copper was efficiently removed in the membrane-less MFC with removal efficiency of 98.3% at the tolerable Cu2+ concentration of 12.5 mg L−1, the corresponding open circuit voltage and maximum power density were 0.78 V and 10.2 W m−3, respectively. The mechanism analysis demonstrated that microbial electrochemical reduction contributed to the copper removal with the products of Cu and Cu2O deposited at biocathode. Moreover, the microbial community analysis indicated that microbial communities changed with different copper concentrations. The dominant phyla were Proteobacteria and Bacteroidetes which could play key roles in electricity generation, while Actinobacteria and Acidobacteria were also observed which were responsible for Cu-resistant and copper removal. It will be of important guiding significance for the recovery of copper from low concentration wastewater through single-chamber MFC with simultaneous energy recovery.